commercial in Texas,... obama voted to raise taxes 94 times. what is that about?

[seabeyond]

son watched and was yelling from another room. anyone off hand know what they are talking about? seems like palin said something during vp debate. told son never on middle or lower class. could have been to increase over 250k, or any other way they are claiming 94 votes, or could be just a bald face lie.

any idea.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. They count voting against lowering taxes as voting to raise taxes.

If you remember, during the debate, Biden said, that if you use the standards Pail used, then MsSame voted to raise taxes 144 times.

[seabeyond]

3. i see. thanks. i remember something was said, but not specifics.

appreciate it.

hated to start a thread for it. thought someone might be able to easily explain.

[krispos42]

2. Been seeing it here in Minnesota too

Probably windfall profits tax on oil companies, not making the Bush tax cuts permenant, etc.

[seabeyond]

4. appreciate it.... i didnt even think not voting for a decrease is voting for an increase, lol. n/t

[NYC_SKP]

5. Watch the debate, Biden's response...

By the same standard, McCain raised taxes with many more votes.

[Born_A_Truman]

6. Sheesh, I haven't had my taxes raised 94 times...

I think I would notice something like that.

[WCGreen]

7. It's in Ohio as well...

I believe there are a lot of procedural votes in this as well. Votes on Amendments, that kind of stuff.

I'm sure they could look back on McCains voting record, oh that's right. He is almost never there to vote...

[Ioo]

8. I think iti s great they are spending money in Texas, they are scared.

Obama does not have a chance in TX, the fact that the GOP is spending money shows how scared they are

[MrsBrady]

17. as a texan, I think O does have a chance.

It will be closer than anyone thinks.
McShame is not terribly popular here with the rethughs. I do hear about people that would normally vote republican are voting for Obama.

I just think it will be close. The poll numbers are now a weak-republican instead of a strong republican.

Just my 2 cents, fwiw

[seabeyond]

21. it turned pink on the map. remember the vote switch in 2004. press kerry went to bush. that

will be something to look for. we were seeing it during 2 week early voting and they did nothing thru out to election day

my son use to stand alone, now he has a pretty good little crowd defended obama, and i am in the amarillo.

[rainbow4321]

22. To understand you may have to look back on 2000 and 2004

where chimpass took TX by 20+ points. Recent polls show Mclame with as little as only a 9 point lead. And that doesn't include the new voter surge going on down here. It may very well be a lower number than 9.
SINGLE digit lead in Texas. That's it.
In **just** the voter registration drive booths/tables that I have helped at in the last 3 weekends these are the number of people we have registered: 100, 136, and 160. That 160 mark was gotten in 6 hours. the 136 in 7 hours. Multiply these kind of numbers by the thousands of voter drives happening EVERY weekend statewide in TX and the number is probably a stat/number TX has never seen before. And the drives don't include whatever number of Texans who have registered on their OWN and not thru a voter drive table-booth.
McCan't and his people have probably seen numbers they don't like in TX. Hence the ads. He's been so focused on the official "swing states" and while there has been a coup going on in TX.

[bookman]

9. From Factcheck.org

Republicans claim Obama "voted 94 times for higher taxes." But their count is inflated and misleading.
Summary
The McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee both claim that Obama has voted 94 times “for higher taxes.” We find that their count is padded.

After looking at every one of the 94 votes that the RNC includes in its tally, we find:

Twenty-three were for measures that would have produced no tax increase at all; they were against proposed tax cuts.


Seven of the votes were in favor of measures that would have lowered taxes for many, while raising them on a relative few, either corporations or affluent individuals.


Eleven votes the GOP is counting would have increased taxes on those making more than $1 million a year – in order to fund programs such as Head Start and school nutrition programs, or veterans’ health care.

The GOP sometimes counted two, three and even four votes on the same measure. We found their tally included a total of 17 votes on seven measures, effectively padding their total by 10.


The majority of the 94 votes – 53 of them, including some mentioned above – were on budget measures, not tax bills, and would not have resulted in any tax change. Four other votes were non-binding motions related to conference report negotiations.

It's true that most of the votes the GOP counts would either have increased taxes for some, or set budget targets calling for such increases. But by repeating their inflated 94-vote figure, the McCain campaign and the GOP falsely imply that Obama has pushed indiscriminately to raise taxes for nearly everybody. A closer look reveals that he's voted consistently to restore higher tax rates on upper-income taxpayers but not on middle- or low-income workers. That's consistent with what he's said he'd do as president, which is to raise taxes only on those making more than $250,000 a year.


http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/tax_tally_trickery.html

[seabeyond]

11. excellent. thanks. n/t

[NotThisTime]

10. Here's the scoop from factcheck

* Palin repeated a false claim that Obama once voted in favor of higher taxes on “families” making as little as $42,000 a year. He did not. The budget bill in question called for an increase only on singles making that amount, but a family of four would not have been affected unless they made at least $90,000 a year.

* Biden wrongly claimed that McCain “voted the exact same way” as Obama on the budget bill that contained an increase on singles making as little as $42,000 a year. McCain voted against it. Biden was referring to an amendment that didn't address taxes at that income level.

* Palin claimed McCain’s health care plan would be “budget neutral,” costing the government nothing. Independent budget experts estimate McCain's plan would cost tens of billions each year, though details are too fuzzy to allow for exact estimates.

* Biden wrongly claimed that McCain had said "he wouldn't even sit down" with the government of Spain. Actually, McCain didn't reject a meeting, but simply refused to commit himself one way or the other during an interview.

* Palin wrongly claimed that “millions of small businesses” would see tax increases under Obama’s tax proposals. At most, several hundred thousand business owners would see increases.

For full details on these misstatements, and on additional factual disputes and dubious claims, please read on to the Analysis section.
Analysis
Vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin met for their one and only debate Oct. 2 in St. Louis, Missouri. The event was broadcast nationally. Gwen Ifill of PBS was the debate moderator.

We noted the following:

Palin repeated a false claim about Barack Obama's tax proposal:

Palin: Barack Obama even supported increasing taxes as late as last year for those families making only $42,000 a year. That's a lot of middle income average American families to increase taxes on them. I think that is the way to kill jobs and to continue to harm our economy.

Obama did not in fact vote to increase taxes on "families" making as little as $42,000 per year. What Obama actually voted for was a budget resolution that called for returning the 25 percent tax bracket to its pre-Bush tax cut level of 28 percent. That could have affected an individual with no children making as little as $42,000. But a couple would have had to earn $83,000 to be affected and a family of four at least $90,000. The resolution would not have raised taxes on its own, without additional legislation, and, as we've noted before, there is no such tax increase in Obama's tax plan. (The vote took place on March 14 of this year, not last year as Palin said.)

Palin also repeated the exaggeration that Obama voted 94 times to increase taxes. That number includes seven votes that would have lowered taxes for many, while raising them on corporations or affluent individuals; 23 votes that were against tax cuts; and 17 that came on just 7 different bills. She also claimed that Biden and Obama voted for "the largest tax increase in history." Palin is referring here to the Democrats' 2008 budget proposal, which would indeed have resulted in about $217 billion in higher taxes over two years. That's a significant increase. But measured as a percentage of the nation's economic output, or gross domestic product, the yardstick that most economists prefer, the 2008 budget proposal would have been the third-largest since 1968, and it's not even in the top 10 since 1940.

[seabeyond]

12. thanks. gonna keep this handy in case i need it. appreciate. n/t

[kid a]

13. just saw the same ad on cable (TLC) - bad ad - it sucks

[csziggy]

14. FactCheck.org called it Tax Tally Trickery back in July

Summary
The McCain campaign and the Republican National Committee both claim that Obama has voted 94 times “for higher taxes.” We find that their count is padded.

After looking at every one of the 94 votes that the RNC includes in its tally, we find:

* Twenty-three were for measures that would have produced no tax increase at all; they were against proposed tax cuts.

* Seven of the votes were in favor of measures that would have lowered taxes for many, while raising them on a relative few, either corporations or affluent individuals.

* Eleven votes the GOP is counting would have increased taxes on those making more than $1 million a year – in order to fund programs such as Head Start and school nutrition programs, or veterans’ health care.

* The GOP sometimes counted two, three and even four votes on the same measure. We found their tally included a total of 17 votes on seven measures, effectively padding their total by 10.

* The majority of the 94 votes – 53 of them, including some mentioned above – were on budget measures, not tax bills, and would not have resulted in any tax change. Four other votes were non-binding motions related to conference report negotiations.

http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/tax_tally_trickery.html

[mokawanis]

15. I saw that ad 3 times in Wisconsin tonight

during SNL. As political ads go it's second-rate crap, the tired old Repug strategy of trying to scare people with "the Dems. will tax you to death" line.

[quakerboy]

16. A lie, misleading, and misdirection all in one.

From Factcheck.org, on the vp debate section:

Palin also repeated the exaggeration that Obama voted 94 times to increase taxes. That number includes seven votes that would have lowered taxes for many, while raising them on corporations or affluent individuals; 23 votes that were against tax cuts; and 17 that came on just 7 different bills. She also claimed that Biden and Obama voted for "the largest tax increase in history." Palin is referring here to the Democrats' 2008 budget proposal, which would indeed have resulted in about $217 billion in higher taxes over two years. That's a significant increase. But measured as a percentage of the nation's economic output, or gross domestic product, the yardstick that most economists prefer, the 2008 budget proposal would have been the third-largest since 1968, and it's not even in the top 10 since 1940.


By their Reckoning, I get 94-7-23-10=54 which still seems like enough they shouldn't have had to lie about it at all. I would imagine most of those were in packages, are trivial, or are commonsense things. Anyway, the factcheck thing is a start.

[scarface2004]

18. actually he s voted to raise taxes 3 times a day since he

was 8 years old and starting running around with the weather underground!!!!

[seabeyond]

19. lol lol lol while being a muslim and praying with wright. lol. i hear ya. n/t

[Bucky]

20. Biden smacked that one down Thursday. Using that standard, McCain voted for taxes 100s of times

It's a bogus standard.

[TheDonkey]

26. Yes, I liked when Biden smacked that down very clearly. Using the same standard McCain has raised

taxes hundreds of times.

[Buck Rabbit]

23. Why is McCain wasting money on ads in Texas?

While they are pulling out of Michigan. I don't get it.

[rainbow4321]

24. See post #22. n/t

[iceman66]

25. Repugs like to generalize about taxes.

As if voting to raise one tax is voting to raise them all.

Obama has been very, very clear that he will not raise taxes on the middle class when president.

McCain, on the other hand, has proposed a 'health care plan' that involves a massive middle class tax increase.

[TexasObserver]

27. CNN completely debunked that one on a segment I saw today.

[AbbeyRoad]

28. Obama has a counter ad (link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpIWbYs8sec

I think it may be web only though.