ABC: Clinton Privately Weighs Social Security Tax Hike; Edwards Goes After Her

[Colobo]

The indignation of the Edwards campaign was unleashed Thursday when a reporter for The Associated Press wrote that she had overheard Clinton, who has rejected the Edwards plan in public, privately tell a prospective voter she would consider a Social Security tax hike that resembles the approach favored by the former North Carolina senator.

"First Hillary Clinton says she opposes raising taxes to help make up the Social Security shortfall. Now she tells a voter privately that she would consider John Edwards' proposal for some additional taxes on workers making more than $200,000 a year," Edwards spokeswoman Andrea Purse told ABC News. "Voters deserve to know why she would consider one thing in private, but won't tell the American people where she stands in front of the TV cameras."

Reached by ABC News, the voter, Tod Bowman, a high school government teacher, confirmed the substance of the exchange. "Maybe I'm too harsh," Bowman told ABC News, "but it doesn't surprise me that any candidate would do a kind of flip-flopping, if I may use that term."

After a town hall meeting Sunday in Maquoketa, Iowa, Bowman says Clinton told him that she would consider applying the 12.4 percent Social Security tax to income above $200,000 while exempting income between $97,500 and $200,000.

Currently, all income above $97,500 is exempt from the Social Security tax. Half of the tax is paid by employers and half by employees.

Clinton's private comments to Bowman stand in contrast to a position she recently staked out during a Democratic debate sponsored by the AARP.

During that forum, which took place in Iowa, Sept. 20, Edwards voiced his support for imposing Social Security taxes on income above $200,000 per year.

When asked by PBS' Judy Woodruff, the debate moderator, whether she agreed with Edwards' proposal, the former first lady dodged the question, saying, "I want to focus on the fiscal responsibility piece of this," adding, "before we do anything else, we need to get back to what was working" in the 1990s.

At that point, Edwards interjected, hoping to get Clinton to directly answer whether she favored imposing the Social Security tax on income above $200,000 per year.

More at:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=3720221&page

[redqueen]

1. Why is flip-flopping such a big deal?

I flip-flop all the time when making big decisions. And I hope she would implement Edwards' idea, if she wins.

I hate that term. x(

[Colobo]

2. Well, to say one thing to voters but to actually do another is not a good thing.

[redqueen]

3. No, but she hasn't done that.

Flip-flopping while considering ideas, well that doesn't seem to be such a bad thing.

It's one of those damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situations. If she keeps a position after finding a better one, despite her agreeing that the new position is better, just to keep from being perceived as a 'flip flopper'... that's just messed up.

[Mojambo]

7. I don't think the "flip flop" (I hate that term too) is the objectionable part of this

It's just another case of Senator Clinton trying to have it whatever way is convenient for her at the time.

It's very good politics, that unfortunately make it REALLY hard on voters to figure out where her policy positions are going to be.

It's irritating.

[calteacherguy]

4. I don't think there is any flip-flopping here.

And even if there was, I don't like the term. It implies it's not O.K. to keep an open mind, and continue weighing the pros and cons of an issue.

But in any case, she never said she was against it. She's just said what she wanted to focus on.

[Colobo]

5. The Edwards's camp is the one arguing such thing.

[calteacherguy]

6. Well....

What can I say?

[Colobo]

8. I honestly think everything should be considered when it comes to

saving Social Security.

[calteacherguy]

12. I think the "crises" has been overblown

but I agree as a general principle that when considering anything, all options should be put on the table. That's the only way to arrive at the best course of action; debate all the options, the pros and the cons.

[hedgehog]

22. Transcripts don't record everything.

Her tone and demenour during the debate indicated that she thought it more important to talk about fiscal policy than social security. She also indicated theat she would put the priority on balancing the budget. The implication was that she was against raising the cap on social security taxes.

[rinsd]

9. Obama actually has the best idea here...remove the cap entirely.

[Colobo]

11. I'm glad you agree with Obama on this one.

[rinsd]

13. To me the removal of the wage cap is a no brainer.

Not sure why my candidate is fighting it.

Really don't know why Mr. Populist isn't running with it.

[Adelante]

20. I agree nt

[hedgehog]

10. It's not flip-flopping exactly when you wait to let other people

float ideas then adopt them as your own when they are well received. I would expect health care plans to be somewhat similar. They took a long time to put together and it makes sense that people would come to the same conclusions. But this isn't the first time that Hillary has all of a sudden decided that she would adopt the other guy's platform as her own and pretend she supported it all along.

[rinsd]

14. Except she isn't pretending she supported it all along.

[calteacherguy]

15. Let's assume all the is true. Does it matter in the end?

I think it's awfully childish of politicians to whine about "it was my idea first." The adult thing to do would be to acknowledge and appreciate the support being given to the idea and move on.

[hedgehog]

16. It matters if she says one thing while she's running, and

another thing if she gets into office.

The image of a candidate chasing the latest poll also adds to the cynicism which is destroying our democratic government. More and more people are saying" Why vote? All those politicians are liars."

[calteacherguy]

17. I don't doubt her progressive values and ideals.

She'll do the best she can for the cause.

[hedgehog]

19. For someone who claims to be a fighter, I think she gives up too easily.

Once her first health care proposal got shot down, she abandoned it. She could have spent the next few years giving speech after speech about the need for universal health insurance. How did opening the military to gays end up as "Don't ask, don't tell?" I know she wasn't president in those years, but she takes credit for the first Clinton administration



As for being a Progressive, would a progressive devise a plan for reforming health care in secret?

[Lucinda]

18. A voter asks her a question about something and she says she'll consider it?

OMG how could she!?!!!

Sounds like the newspeeps are stirring the pot

[illinoisprogressive]

21. dodging and flip flopping. sounds very much like the candidate.