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TEAM CHANGE represents delegate candidates
from California's 73, 74, 75 & 76 Assembly Districts
Come help us CHANGE the NATION…TOGETHER “ YES WE CAN “
"I won't just ask for your vote as a candidate; I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am president of the United States. This will not be a call issued in one speech or program; this will be a cause of my presidency."
- Barack Obama, Speech in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, December 5, 2007
Team Change Logo concept Designed by Raad Ghantous 2008-2009 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Today I attended a rally at my neighborhood park. It was attended by at least 50 volunteers! The speakers included California State Controller John Chiang, 44th Congressional district candidate Bill Hedrick and 73rd California Assembly candidate Judy Jones. It was very inspirational!
Afterwards, the voluteers walked through San Clemente neighborhoods to help get out the vote. The majority of voters in this city are registered republican. There are many who vote by mail. I was encouraged by how many residents said they had already voted for Barack Obama. Others accepted the literature for Bill Hedrick and Judy Jones and indicated they would vote for them. This bodes well for the Democrats.
With only a few days left before election day, I will continue to get the word out in my neighborhood. It will be a close race, so anything I can do between now and November 4 will help. I urge those that read this blog to do the same. Together we can get the word out and bring positive change!
Mike
Since my wife and I put Obama stickers on our cars (several months ago), I've had a bunch of friendly chats with our main mail carrier, who's very much a kindred spirit. Today I told him about Camp Obama (was it only last weekend in Long Beach? so much has happened) and our phone bank group, and he told me he's going to Nevada with his union!
I get lots of very warm responses to my bumper sticker (even here in deepest south Orange County) and my "veterans for Obama" pin. The other day in the grocery checkout line, an assistant manager was running the register. He said to me, in a quiet voice:
"I like your pin. We're not allowed to say so, but I like your pin!"
Fired up? Ready to Go!
We’re Going All the Way…..
It’s been over 16 months since the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama encouraged me to get involved in the political process. ‘Encouraged’ may be too weak of a word. I felt ‘called’ to get involved with supporting the best candidate for President America has seen in a long time. I believed Obama when he repeated the motto “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
I started by signing up on this website and donating $10.00. There were only a few of us on the blogs back then, but as more people got to know our candidate the numbers swelled.
I’ve had quite a journey since getting involved with this campaign, including attending the DNC as a delegate and sitting close to the stage at Invesco. That night at Invesco was surely one of the highpoints of my life. When Senator Obama took the stage, all I could do was weep. I wept for what was and what wasn’t. But mostly I thanked God for ‘encouraging’ me to get involved! I also thanked God for Barack Obama—our country needs him.
So what now…..still much work to do. I’m not backing down and I know you won’t either……. We’re Going All the Way!
We’re Going All The Way by Jeffrey Osbourne: (youtube people please make video)
We’re just beginning And I know we’ve each been down this road a time or two And never could make it through But I’ve got this feelin’ That we’ve stumbled in to what we’ve both been waiting for And maybe even more It doesn’t matter where we’ve been cause this time I know for sure We’re goin all the way (All the way) Headed far forever and that’s where we’re gonna stay The more you’re near me, the more I know it We got it all here if we just don’t blow it We’re goin all the way (All the way) If the two of us both want it I’d lay my money on it Startin today (Starting today) We’re goin all the way I know for certain That there’s more than magic in these feelings that we found We’re standin on solid ground But now we’re both ready Ready for the real thing cause our dues have all been paid We’ve finally got it made Believe me when I tell you there’s no need to be afraid We’re goin all the way (All the way) We’’re headed far forever and thats where we’re gonna stay The more you’re near me, the more I know it We got it all here if we just don’t blow it We’re goin all the way (All the way) If the two of us both want it I’d lay my money on it Startin today (Starting today) We’re goin all the way We’re gonna weather all the showers And hold together through whatever comes I know we got the staying power We’re gonna make tomorrow ours If we just stick with it And give it all we’ve got to give it We’re goin all the way (All the way) If the two of us both want it I’d lay my money on it Startin today (Starting today) We’re goin all the way, mmm....hmm...
.. and Bush is so out of touch he is still pushing for drilling in Alaska daily !! Alaska Scandal: More to Come?
Alaska's Sole Congressman Also Reportedly Under InvestigationBy EMMA SCHWARTZ and JUSTIN ROODJuly 30, 2008 Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) isn't the only U.S. lawmaker whose fortunes are likely threatened by his ties to an obscure oil services company known as Veco.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5479544&page=1
Republican Don Young, Alaska's only congressman, has reportedly been under investigation for his ties to the company, as well.
According to "The Wall Street Journal", which broke the news of the Young investigation a year ago, prosecutors have reportedly been looking at whether Young took bribes, illegal gratuities or unreported gifts from Veco.
Young, who has met with Justice Department lawyers and has reported spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, has declined to comment on the investigation. Michael Anderson,
a spokesman for Young's re-election campaign, said Tuesday the congressman was not aware of any new developments in the investigations into him, "but it's not inherent on the Department of Justice to keep
us informed. . . about [its] progress or the lack of progress."
Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney declined to comment, noting that "we have not confirmed or denied any such investigation."
On Tuesday a federal grand jury charged Stevens with failing to report gifts from Veco, including cars and free labor for a home in Girdwood, Alaska the senator called "the chalet."
WATCH: Stevens Indicted for Alleged False Statements >>>> http://www.abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5473830
While prosecutors alleged that Stevens took actions to benefit Veco, he has not be charged with bribery. Federal investigators already have a number of cooperators.
Among them are, Veco's former chairman, Bill Allen, who pleaded guilty to bribing at least four Alaska legislators.
Another former company vice president, Rick Smith, who once fundraised for Young, is also cooperating with investigators, according to the Associated Press, and has reportedly allowed the FBI to tape conversations
he had with Young. Contacts with Veco, however, are not Young's only concern.
Federal investigators are also reportedly looking into Young's efforts to earmark $10 million to build an interchange on a Florida highway known as the Coconut Road, and campaign contributions from a developer
who stood to benefit from the interchange. Young's lawyer, John Dowd, has said he has advised Young not to discuss the matter.
Dowd could not be reached for comment. A former Young staffer, Mark Zachares, pled guilty last year in connection to his ties to now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
According to the terms of his plea agreement, Zachares and his wife are cooperating with investigators.
VECO CorporationFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VECO_Corporation
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!! YES . WE . CAN !!
Yesterday, at the Arlington Public Library in Riverside, California, 27 average Americans came together to do an uncommon thing. We gathered together, at the request of the Democratic National Committee, to discuss our values, priorities and recommendations for planks in the Democratic Party's 2008 national platform.
From discussion among these 27 average Americans emerged a range of priorities, from resurrecting the Constitution to ending the war on Iraq to finding ways to reduce the drop out rate. From six flip chart pages we narrowed the topics down to six for in depth discussion, then three of us went home and crafted the notes of that discussion into planks for the platform.
Tonight, we submitted those recommended planks for consideration by the DNC Platform Committee, and we share them below.
And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article4392846.ece
When people receive those hate-spewing, lie-filled, viral emails, does it ever occur to the intelligent, non-racist recipients to look for alternative information? How do you get people who think that Barack Obama is an elitist unpatriotic, tax-raising, sexist, ageist, named-himself-funny, un-American-Muslim whatever, want to take a few minutes out of their lives to find reality before worsening the world by clicking the forward buttons on their emails and spreading wretched untruths?
What would motivate people to get educated? How might Obama supporters influence those who are spreading lies to seek the facts? Like on the X-Files: the truth is out there! We must get people to seek it. The Obama campaign website has an entire TRUTH-FILLED Fact Check area at http://www.barackobama.com/ and http://www.fightthesmears.com/ as resourses. These are quick, factual and easy to read. They are up-to-date with the latest and lamest lies circling out of someone's nether regions into cyberspace.
We must continue to: Educate - know http://www.barackobama.com/ and http://www.fightthesmears.com/
Motivate - teach it is not OK to simply click a Forward email button -- LEARN FIRST
Obama supporters do not need to memorize facts, just know where to guide people to find themThe emails usually include phrases such as This Scares Me! and Forward This! Some of those who send them may be concerned, misinformed people who want a better country, a safer world, and who would want to make the best choice!We must work together to educate and motivate people to find out what is true and what is false. Let us fight to make the FACTS known about the best man to come into the public light in our lifetimes, so that goodness, truth, and the law of the land may prevail.--Nancy Lloyd 07/25/08
http://factcheck.barackobama.com/factcheck/2008/06/10/mccain_tax.php
Rhetoric and Reality on McCain Tax SpeechJune 10, 2008
MCCAIN RHETORIC: Obama Will Enact the Largest Tax Increase Since World War II. “No matter which of us wins in November, there will be change in Washington. The question is what kind of change? Will we enact the single largest tax increase since the Second World War as my opponent proposes, or will we keep taxes low for families and employers? This election offers Americans a very distinct choice about what kind of change we will have. This is especially true for the small business community.” [McCain speech to the NFIB, 6/10/08]
THE FACTS: BARACK OBAMA IS ACTUALLY PROPOSING A MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUT. JOHN MCCAIN WILL PROVIDE NEARLY $2 TRILLION IN CORPORATE TAX CUTS AND WILL MAKE PERMANENT THE BUSH TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY. ORDINARY AMERICANS WILL ONLY SEE A SMALL FRACTION OF THE TAX CUTS JOHN MCCAIN IN PROVIDING. Obama Will Provide Real Middle Class Tax Relief.
Barack Obama is the only candidate who has a real middle class relief plan – he will provide $1,000 in a refundable tax credit to working families, create a universal mortgage interest credit for homeowners who cant benefit from a mortgage tax incentive available to wealthier Americans, and create a $4,000 college tax credit for middle class families. [Barack Obama, 11/07/07]
McCain’s Tax Plan Will Double the Size of Bush’s Tax Cuts.
According to recent study from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, “McCain’s three major new tax cuts – cutting corporate tax rates, expensing for corporate investment, and repealing the AMT – would cost the federal government more than $2 trillion in tax revenue over 10 years... They will approximately double the cost of Bush tax cuts.” [Robert Gordon and James Kvaal, “Five Easy Pieces and Two Trillion Dollars,” Center for American Progress Action Fund, 3/08]
McCain’s Tax Plan is More Regressive than the Bush Tax Cuts; Nearly 60 Percent of the Benefits Go to the Top One Percent.
As a study from the Center for American Progress Action Fund recently noted, “The McCain plan to cut corporate taxes and eliminate the AMT is very regressive as well as very expensive. The plan delivers the vast majority of its benefits to high-income taxpayers and very little to tens of millions of middle-class families. … The McCain tax cuts together are even more regressive than the Bush tax cuts. … The bottom 60 percent of tax payers get only 4 percent of the benefit, while the bottom 80 percent get only 9 percent.” The study also noted that the top 1 percent of income earners will receive 58 percent of the benefits of the McCain tax plan. By contrast, 31 percent of the Bush tax cuts went to top 1 percent of income earners. [Robert Gordon and James Kvaal, “Five Easy Pieces and Two Trillion Dollars,” Center for American Progress Action Fund, 3/08]
McCain Supports the Bush Tax Cuts that He Once Said were “Too Tilted to the Wealthy,” and “Go to the Most Fortunate Among Us, At The Expense of Middle-Class.” In late 2007, McCain promised, “I will not let the Democrats roll back the Bush tax cuts.” During a January 2008 GOP debate, McCain said: “I think it’s very important that we make the Bush tax cuts permanent.” And on an episode of Fox News Sunday, McCain said, “We need to make Bush tax cuts permanent.” [Associated Press, 10/10/2007; McCain Press Release, 12/18/2007; MSNBC/FAU GOP Debate, 1/24/2008; Fox News Sunday transcript, 2/3/2008]
McCain Said The Bush Tax Cuts Were “Too Tilted To The Wealthy, And I Still Do.” “In May 2001, Mr. McCain was one of only two Republicans -- the other was Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island -- to vote against President Bush's $1.35 trillion 10-year tax cut. … Later, he said he also opposed the 2003 tax cut because it, too, disproportionately benefited the rich. ‘I just thought it was too tilted to the wealthy, and I still do,’ Mr. McCain told Stephen Moore, a member of The Wall Street Journal editorial board, in an interview published on Nov. 26, 2005. These days, Mr. McCain says at almost every campaign stop that he wants to make those tax cuts permanent rather than have them expire, as the law stipulates, because getting rid of them would have the effect of a tax hike.” [The New York Times, 3/3/08]
McCain Said He Could Not “In Good Conscience” Support the Bush Tax Cuts That “Go to the Most Fortunate Among Us, At The Expense of Middle-Class Americans Who Most Need Tax Relief.” “I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle class Americans who most need tax relief.” [Congressional Record, 5/26/01]
MCCAIN RHETORIC: “Senator Obama’s plans would add to the difficulties of small business in other ways, too. Currently, there are the 21.6 million sole proprietorships filing under the individual income tax. When Senator Obama talks about raising income tax rates on those making over 250,000 dollars — that includes these businesses as well. He also proposes increases in dividend and capital gains taxes. Under Senator Obama’s tax plan, Americans of every background would see their taxes rise – seniors, parents, small business owners, and just about everyone who has even a modest investment in the market. He proposes to eliminate the Social Security earnings cap, and thereby to increase the tax on employers. He proposes to eliminate the secret ballot for union votes, and to raise the minimum wage and then index it, which is a sure way to add to your costs and to slow the creation of new jobs. You work hard in small businesses to grow and to create new jobs and opportunities for others — and the federal government shouldn’t make your work any harder.” [McCain speech to the NFIB, 6/10/08]
THE FACTS: OBAMA’S TAX PLAN IS FOCUSED ON RELIEF FOR WORKING AMERICANS, SENIORS AND SUPPORTING INNOVATION Barack Obama Will Only Raise Taxes for Those Earning Over $250,000 Per Year: In an interview with CNBC, Barack Obama stated, “And I think that we have an economy that's been out of balance for too long, so the general principle of raising taxes on higher income Americans like myself, and providing relief to those who haven't benefited as much from this new global economy, I think is a sound one. And keep in mind on all of these proposals, what I've said is, let's make sure that we define the well-off so that we're not hitting the middle class, you know. I generally define well-off as people who are making 250,000 dollars a year or more. And that means, for example, if we raise the capital gains tax, I will exempt people who are essentially small investors, and really capture those who have done very, very well over the last two decades.” [CNBC, 06/09/08]
Less than 2 Percent of Small Businesses Would be Affected by Rolling Back the Bush Tax Cuts on the Wealthy: According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, less than 2 percent of individual tax filers who report small business income fall into the top two marginal tax rates. [Tax Policy Center, 4/27/07]
Barack Obama is the Only Candidate to Propose Cutting the Capital Gains Tax Rate to Zero for Start Ups and Small Businesses: Barack Obama has stated, “As we make these changes, we'll be sure to encourage growth and innovation. So we'll exempt start-up companies and small businesses from capital gains to give them an added boost. Because when more Americans tap that well of opportunity, all of us are better off.” [Barack Obama, 9/17/07] John McCain’s economic proposal lacks such a provision. [JohnMcCain.com]
Barack Obama is the Only Candidate to Propose Tax Relief for Low and Middle Income Seniors: Obama will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This will provide an immediate tax cut averaging $1,400 to 7 million seniors and relieve millions from the burden of filing tax returns. John McCain’s tax proposal lacks such a provision. [Barackobama.com; JohnMcCain.com]
Obama Will Provide Real Middle Class Tax Relief. Barack Obama is the only candidate who has a real middle class relief plan – he will provide $1,000 in a refundable tax credit to working families, create a universal mortgage interest credit for homeowners who can’t benefit from a mortgage tax incentive available to wealthier Americans, and create a $4,000 college tax credit for middle class families. [Barack Obama, 11/07/07]
MCCAIN RHETORIC: “As president, I intend to act quickly and decisively to promote growth and opportunity. I intend to keep the current low income and investment tax rates. And I will pursue tax reform that supports the wage-earners and job creators who make this economy run, and help them to succeed in a global economy. Serious reform is needed to help American companies compete in international markets. I have proposed a reduction in the corporate tax rate from the second highest in the world to one on par with our trading partners; to keep businesses and jobs in this country.” [McCain speech to the NFIB, 6/10/08]
THE FACTS: MCCAIN’S TAX PLAN CREATES MORE CORPORATE TAX HAVENS
John McCain’s Tax Plan Creates More Corporate Tax Havens: According to the Center for American Progress, “…McCain would create a potent new form of tax shelter through his pro¬posal to provide for immediate expens¬ing of investments in equipment and technology. As Avi-Yonah explains in his forthcoming paper, because McCain’s plan does not end the deductibility of interest paid by corporations, his expens¬ing proposal will let corporations obtain negative tax rates—making investments that are not only tax-free, but that can also reduce taxes owed on other income. Corporations need only borrow to pur¬chase equipment or technology, deduct the interest payments on that loan, and then immediately expense the entire cost of the equipment or technology. This tax shelter will allow corporations, and individuals using the corporate tax form, to avoid hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes. This tax shelter would also erode the individual income tax base by giving individuals strong incen¬tives to organize their affairs through corporations.” [ Center for American Progress Action Fund, March 2008]
MCCAIN RHETORIC: “And as we expand markets for Americans products, we must do more tax reform here at home. I will propose and sign into law a reform to permit the first-year expensing of new equipment and technology. We’re also going to keep the low rate on capital gains, so that businesses like yours can expand and create jobs instead of just sending more of your earnings to the government. And so parents can spend and save more for their own children, I will propose to double the size of the child tax exemption. I will also propose as well a middle-class tax cut – a phase-out of the Alternative Minimum Tax to save more than 25 million middle-class families as much as 2,000 dollars in a single year.” [McCain speech to the NFIB, 6/10/08]
THE FACTS: MCCAIN'S TAX PLAN IS REGRESSIVE John McCain’s Expensing Proposal Creates More Corporate Tax Havens: According to the Center for American Progress, “…McCain would create a potent new form of tax shelter through his pro¬posal to provide for immediate expens¬ing of investments in equipment and technology. As Avi-Yonah explains in his forthcoming paper, because McCain’s plan does not end the deductibility of interest paid by corporations, his expens¬ing proposal will let corporations obtain negative tax rates—making investments that are not only tax-free, but that can also reduce taxes owed on other income. Corporations need only borrow to pur¬chase equipment or technology, deduct the interest payments on that loan, and then immediately expense the entire cost of the equipment or technology. This tax shelter will allow corporations, and individuals using the corporate tax form, to avoid hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes. This tax shelter would also erode the individual income tax base by giving individuals strong incen¬tives to organize their affairs through corporations.” [Center for American Progress Action Fund, March 2008]
McCain’s Tax Plan is More Regressive than the Bush Tax Cuts; Nearly 60 Percent of the Benefits Go to the Top One Percent: As a study from the Center for American Progress Action Fund recently noted, “The McCain plan to cut corporate taxes and eliminate the AMT is very regressive as well as very expensive. The plan delivers the vast majority of its benefits to high-income taxpayers and very little to tens of millions of middle-class families. … The McCain tax cuts together are even more regressive than the Bush tax cuts. … The bottom 60 percent of tax payers get only 4 percent of the benefit, while the bottom 80 percent get only 9 percent.” The study also noted that the top 1 percent of income earners will receive 58 percent of the benefits of the McCain tax plan. By contrast, 31 percent of the Bush tax cuts went to top 1 percent of income earners. [Center for American Progress Action Fund]
MCCAIN RHETORIC: “Another of my disagreements with Senator Obama concerns the estate tax, which he proposes to increase to a top rate of 55 percent. The estate tax is one of the most unfair tax laws on the books, and the first step to reform is to keep it predictable and keep it low. After a lifetime building up a business, and paying taxes on every dollar that business earns, that asset should not be subjected to a confiscatory tax.” [McCain speech to the NFIB, 6/10/08]
THE FACTS: OBAMA HAS A RESPONSIBLE PLAN FOR THE ESTATE TAX; MCCAIN HAS FLIP FLOPPED ON THE ESTATE TAX Barack Obama Will Create a $7 Million Estate Tax Exemption for Couples and a 45 Percent Rate: According to Bloomberg News, “Both candidates [Obama and Clinton would allow President George W. Bush's tax cuts to expire for workers in the top two tax brackets and set the estate-tax rate at 45 percent with a $7 million exemption.” [Bloomberg.com, 03/13/08]
2006: McCain Voted to Move Forward with Legislation to Permanently Repeal The Estate Tax. McCain voted with all but one of his Republican colleagues for cloture on the Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act, which failed in the Senate, 57-41. [Vote #164, H.R. 8, 6/8/06, 57-41]
2006: Mccain: “I Remain Opposed To Full Repeal Of The Estate Tax.” In a speech on the Senate floor, McCain stated that he opposed the full repeal of the estate tax: “In his 1906 State of the Union Address, President Theodore Roosevelt proposed the creation of a Federal inheritance tax. Roosevelt explained: "The man of great wealth owes a peculiar obligation to the State because he derives special advantages from the mere existence of government." Additionally, in a 1907 speech he said: "Most great civilized countries have an income tax and an inheritance tax. In my judgement both should be part of our system of federal taxation." He noted, however, that such taxation should "be aimed merely at the inheritance or transmission in their entirety of those fortunes swollen beyond all healthy limits." I agree with President Roosevelt, and I remain opposed to full repeal of the estate tax.” [Congressional Record, 6/8/06]
2006: McCain Said Repealing Estate Tax Would Expand Deficit Too Much. McCain and other moderate Senators "argued that, given domestic spending demands and need to fund military operations in Iraq, the repeal [of the estate tax] sought by Frist and President Bush would expand the deficit by too much." [Roll Call, 6/5/06]
2003: McCain Voted Against Accelerating The Repeal Of The Estate Tax. In 2003, McCain voted against Senator Kyl's amendment to S.Con.Res. 23 that would have accelerated the repeal of the estate tax from 2010 to 2009. McCain was one of four Republicans to vote against the amendment, which passed 51-48. [Vote #62, S.Amdt 288 to S.Con.Res. 23, 3/20/03, 51-48]
2002: McCain Voted Against A Permanent Repeal Of The Estate Tax. In 2002, McCain was one of two Republicans to vote against a permanent extension of the estate tax repeal. The motion failed, with a vote of 54-44. [Vote #151, S. Amdt 3833 to H.R. 8, 6/12/02, 54-44
]2001: McCain Voted Against Phasing Out The Estate Tax. In 2001, McCain was one of two Republicans to vote against the tax cut package that included an elimination of the estate tax over 10 years. The bill passed, 58-33. [Vote #170, H.R. 1836, 5/26/01, 58-33]
MCCAIN RHETORIC: “It is not enough, however, to make little fixes here and there in the tax code – especially if you’re a small business owner filing under the individual tax. What we need is a simpler, a flatter, and a fair tax code. As president, I will propose an alternative tax system. When this reform is enacted, all who wish to file under the current system could still do so. And everyone else could choose a vastly less complicated system with two tax rates and a generous standard deduction.” [McCain speech to the NFIB, 6/10/08]
THE FACTS: MCCAIN HAS NOT SAID HOW HE WOULD PAY FOR THIS PLAN
McCain Has Not Outlined the Details or the Cost of this Proposal: John McCain has still not provided the details of this proposal nor how he would pay for it so it would either provide no meaningful relief to working families or add to the $5.7 trillion debt John McCain has already proposed to put our country in. [John McCain.com, http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/4dbd2cc7-890e-47f1-882f-b8fc4cfecc78.htm; “The Budget According to McCain: Part I,” FactCheck.org, 5/13/08; NY Times, 4/27/08]
MCCAIN RHETORIC: “As for health care policy, I believe that the best way to help small businesses and employers afford health care is not to increase government control of health care but to bring the rising cost of care under control and give people the option of having personal, portable health insurance...As it is, the traditional tax-subsidy that supports private insurance is concentrated on a subset of American workers and a portion of our businesses. My health care reform will end that unfair bias in the law, while helping to make health insurance more affordable for every American. We’re going to offer every individual and family in America a large tax credit to buy their health care, so that their health insurance is theirs to keep even when they move or change jobs. My plan would allow those who want to stick with employer provided health insurance to do so. But I want to give individuals greater choice, rather than give small business no choice at all.
”THE FACTS: MCCAIN’S HEALTH CARE PLAN WOULD BURDEN SMALL BUSINESS AND MAKE IT HARDER FOR AMERICANS TO GET HEALTH INSURANCE McCain’s Plan Will Create More Instability for Small Business Premium Costs: According to the Center for American Progress, “To help small businesses, the majority of states take steps to cap premium rates within a certain range (technically called a “rate band”), and many states will also cap the annual increase in premiums… The McCain plan could very well create a rush to the bottom among insurers in these rules. McCain’s idea to allow insurance companies to sell policies over state lines will weaken small business protections by enabling businesses to simply market insurance policies around the country from states with weak protections. There would be no reason for an insurance company to sell a policy anywhere other than from states with weak insurance rules… But one reason these state rules exist is to prevent wild swings in price. McCain will offer much less predictability for small businesses on insurance costs, which will weaken small businesses.” [“Small Business is in Trouble Under McCain Plan”, The Wonk Room, 4/25/08]
McCain’s Plan Could Increase Costs for Many Americans and Make it Harder for Many Individuals to Obtain Insurance: According to Len Burman of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, “Removing or reducing employers’ incentives to sponsor health insurance would have mixed effects on coverage. While some young, healthy people might be induced to acquire coverage in the individual nongroup market under a different set of incentives, the loss of [employer-sponsored insurance] ESI could be particularly devastating to old and unhealthy workers who would face prohibitively high health insurance premiums in the private nongroup market in the vast majority of states.” And according to the Des Moines Register, “The proposal should scare the heck out of the millions of Americans who rely on employer-based coverage. Iowans who have tried to buy affordable coverage on their own know they need more than a tax credit and good health. Sometimes they need a winning lottery ticket…” The McCain plan “forc[es] millions of Americans to shop for their own coverage in a profit-driven, private-insurance sector.” [Len Burman, Testimony to House Committee on the Budget, 10/18/07; Des Moines Register, 5/3/08]
Small Business Owners Opposes McCain Plan to Eliminate the Employer Tax Exclusion: According to NFIB, “NFIB members do NOT want the current tax exclusion eliminated nor capped, but think the tax position of those purchasing health insurance on the individual market should receive equivalent tax benefits to those in employer-based plans.” [Small-Business Owners and Health Care Policy: NFIB Health-Care Survey – Summary of Results]
McCain’s Health Care Plan Falls Short; Tax Credit is Less Than Half of the Cost of an Average Family Health Care Plan. As the Wall Street Journal noted, under the McCain health care plan “the existing tax break for employer-sponsored insurance would be eliminated, taking a step away from the work-based model in place for the last half century and toward an individual market.” Instead, he would provide tax credits – $2,500 per individual and $5,000 per family – to allow workers to purchase health insurance in the open market. However, these tax credits are far less than what an average health care plan currently costs. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average annual cost for heath care insurance coverage in 2007 was $4,479 for single coverage and $12,106 for family coverage. [“Employer Health Benefits 2007 Annual Survey,” Kaiser Family Foundation, 9/11/07; “‘Call To Action’ On Health Care Reform,” John McCain 2008 press release, 4/29/08; Wall Street Journal, 10/11/07]
MCCAIN RHETORIC: “In so many ways, we need to make a clean break from the worst excesses of both political parties. And for Republicans, it starts with reclaiming our good name as the party of spending restraint. Somewhere along the way, too many Republicans in Congress became indistinguishable from the big-spending Democrats they used to oppose. The only power of government that could stop them was the power of veto, and it was rarely used. If that authority is entrusted to me, I will use the veto as needed. I will veto every bill with earmarks. I will seek a constitutionally valid line-item veto to end pork-barrel spending once and for all. And I will lead broad reforms that remove the many corporate tax loopholes that are costly, unfair to smaller business competitors, and inconsistent with a free-market economy.” [McCain speech to the NFIB, 6/10/08]
THE FACTS: MCCAIN’S EARMARK PLAN IS “LARGELY FANTASY.” Center for American Progress Action Fund: At Most, Eliminating All Earmarks Will Yield $18.3 Billion in Annual Savings. According to the Center for American Progress, “The Office of Management and Budget analysis found earmarks totaling $16.9 billion, and the Taxpayers for Commonsense analysis found $18.3 billion. Both show that earmarks account for only about 0.6 percent of government spending. More importantly, neither earmark tally would put a dent in the massive spending cuts required to offset McCain’s tax proposals… In order to get a bigger number, McCain and his staff turned to a three-year-old analysis by the Congressional Research Service…” [Center for American Progress Action Fund, 4/17/08]
Washington Post Fact Checker: McCain Proposal to Eliminate S100 Billion a Year in Earmarks is “Largely Fantasy.” “John McCain boasts that he can save $100 billion a year ‘immediately’ by eliminating the so-called earmarks that legislators attach to spending bills to finance pet projects, usually in their home state. But he has refused to say exactly which projects he would cut, and his estimates of the amount of money that is being spent on earmarks have been challenged by independent experts. … … McCain's talk about eliminating $100 billion a year in earmarks is largely fantasy. His advisers are now promoting a more realistic plan of eliminating $100 billion in overall spending. But it is difficult to take even that promise very seriously given the fact that the senator refuses to identify exactly which projects he will be cut. To use a phrase coined by George H.W. Bush, this is ‘voodoo economics,’ based more on wishful thinking than on hard data or carefully considered policy proposals.” [Washington Post, 5/23/08]
Wall Street Journal: McCain’s Plans To Eliminate Earmarks Will Not Pay For Lost Revenue From His Tax Cuts. “When asked Wednesday, after a town-hall meeting in Exeter, N.H., how he would balance his proposed budget, Sen. McCain responded, ‘By eliminating wasteful and pork-barrel spending, to start with.’ How much would that get him? In fiscal 2008, there were 11,737 appropriation earmarks totaling $16.8 billion. That is down from a peak in 2005, when there were nearly 13,500 earmarks totaling almost $19 billion. Eliminating earmarks wouldn't restore revenue lost by Sen. McCain's other propositions, including a litany of tax cuts. He plans to not raise taxes, but he also plans to increase the size of the military and institute health-care overhauls.” [Wall Street Journal, 3/14/08]
McCain Revealed.COMhttp://www.aflcio.org/issues/politics/mccain_economy.cfm
ON THE ECONOMYJohn McCain said it in his own words: He just doesn’t understand the economy. His economic plan would give big tax breaks to corporations and tax workers’ health care benefits. We call on McCain to help turn around America, not choose corporations over working families.
McCAIN ATTACKED MEDICARE
McCain: I Never Really Understood Economics. McCain said, “The issue of economics is something that I’ve really never understood as well as I should.” (Boston Globe, 12/18/07)
McCain: Americans Have Seen Great Economic Progress Since Bush Took Office. Since President Bush took office, “I think if you look at the overall record and millions of jobs have been created… you can make an argument that there’s been great progress economically over that period of time,” McCain said. (“Money & Politics,” Bloomberg, 4/17/08)
HERE’S WHAT WORKING FAMILIES UNDERSTAND
McCain Says We’re NOT Headed Into a Recession. McCain said, “I don’t believe we’re headed into a recession. I believe the fundamentals of this economy are strong, and I believe they will remain strong.” (GOP Debate, Myrtle Beach, FNC, 1/10/08)
81 Percent of the Public Says We’re Already There. (NBC/WSJ Survey, 4/24-28/08)
McCain Dismissed Concerns on Mortgage Crisis and Economy. While campaigning in Florida, McCain dismissed concerns about the economy. “Even if the economy is the, quote, No. 1 issue, the real issue will remain America’s security,” McCain said. “And if they choose to say, ‘Look, I do not need this guy because he’s not as good on home loan mortgages or whatever it is, I understand about that, I will accept that verdict. I am running because of the transcendental challenge of the 21st century, which is radical Islamic extremism.” (The New York Times, 1/28/08)
But Economic Issues Top Working Family Concerns. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, the price of gasoline is the number one concern for the public. In second and third place are finding a good job and paying for health care and insurance. (Associated Press, 4/29/08)
McCAIN’S ECONOMIC PROPOSALS: HELP CORPORATIONS, NOT WORKING FAMILIES
McCain’s Economic Plan Helps Corporations, not Working Families. “McCain offered sweeping rhetoric about the economic plight of working-class Americans…even as he spelled out a tax and spending agenda whose benefits are aimed squarely at spurring corporate growth.” (The Washington Post, 4/16/08
)McCain Offers Massive Tax Cuts for Corporations and the Wealthy. McCain’s plan offers two massive tax cuts for corporations, slashing tax rates from 35 percent to 25 percent, with 58 percent of the benefits going to the top 1 percent of taxpayers. This is an even larger tax rate cut for the wealthiest taxpayers than Bush gave them. (Reuters, 3/10/08; “Five Easy Pieces and Two Trillion Dollars,” Center for American Progress Action Fund, 3/21/08)
But He Wants to Tax Our Health Benefits. McCain would make employer-paid health premiums part of taxable income, creating a new tax on working families. He would drive insurance costs up further by promoting high-deductible health savings account plans. (Health08.org Forum, 10/31/07; Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefits 2007 Annual Survey; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 9/20/06, 4/5/06)
McCain’s Tax Cuts Would Cut Social Programs Working Families Need. “McCain cannot pay for his tax cuts without massive reductions in Social Security, Medicare or other key programs that benefit the vast majority of Americans.” (“Five Easy Pieces and Two Trillion Dollars,” Center for American Progress Action Fund, 3/21/08)
McCain Skipped Vote on Economic Stimulus Package Despite Being in Washington. McCain missed a key vote on economic stimulus legislation to provide rebates to taxpayers—even though he was in Washington, D.C., at the time. “McCain returned to Washington but made an eleventh-hour decision to skip the vote, aides to his campaign said.” (H.R. 5140, Vote #8, 2/6/08; Associated Press, 2/6/08)
McCain Says He Wants Tough Lender Standards—But Votes Against Them. McCain has called for strict standards and greater transparency for lenders and for cracking down on predatory lenders. But he voted against a measure to discourage predatory lending practices and failed to vote on a bill that would overhaul the mortgage lending practices of the Federal Housing Administration. (McCain’s Remarks on Economic Woes, 3/25/08; St. Petersburg Times, 1/24/08; S. 256, Vote #22, 3/3/05; S. 2338, Vote #432, 12/14/07) Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estate_tax_in_the_United_Stateshttp://www.aflcio.org/issues/politics/mccain_economy.cfmhttp://factcheck.barackobama.com/factcheck/2008/06/10/mccain_tax.php
Free For All! to be released on July 4 exposes vote suppression tactics used in 2000 and 2004.
Be vigilant and take action this year! Take part in voter registration drives to counter the effects of election manipulation.
Check out the trailer and watch the movie on its release date of July 4 at www.freeforall.TV
Must watch!! > http://youtube.com/watch?v=GzPXer7946E
Why not have groups of 3 or more people at entrances to Gas Stations with signs:
"Had Enough? Vote Democratiic!";
"Obama for Change";
"Register to vote here"
THis is a perfect place to capitalize on the frustration of the people and to regiser unhappy voters.
To Whom It May Concern:
The information that I read on the blogosphere with regards to your campaign to vigorously campaign against the presumptive Democratic nominee is heartbreaking. No one is denying that Hillary Clinton is a significant party member, a formidable candidate and very shrewd woman. Whilst I understand your "true believer" status as a boomer-aged woman who is excited about the prospects of a female president you have allowed your evangelical belief in her candidacy to cloud your judgement and endanger the very nature of the General Election. This plays into all of the feminine stereotypes that have befallen the Senator through some aspects of the press - strident, shrill, unyielding, entitled and uncapable of seeing the big picture, driven by emotion and not by common sense. Is this really the note that you wish your candidate to leave the field of battle with?
By telegraphing your acquiesence to support McCain should Obama be the nominee you are empoweing the very punditocracy that you decry. Your acts do nothing to support the cause of women but are contrary to the very needs of women. Supporting McCain is supporting OVERTURNING Roe v. Wade. This ideological hiccup is unconscionable and should the General be lost to the Republican I hope that all young women across this nation who are forced to endure watching McCain's strict constructionist SCOTUS appointees take away their right to chose are given your names, addresses and telephone numbers so they can call and thank you and your compatriots personally.
I am a 42 year old woman and a single mother.I am an Obama supporter because I believe that he is the best candidate and I know that he supports the rights of all of us. Not just a small constituency but ALL of us. This is our year to take the reigns of government back from the selfish self interests of the Republican regime. This is our year to reinstate the dignity, standing and decency our nation has lost through 8 long years of Corporatocracy and demigogoury. Your threats and righteous indignation are antithetical to the very belief system that we as Democrats hold dear. You are being petty and that is somehting we as powerful, modern women can not afford to be accused of. It is hard enough for us to be taken seriously, isn't that your point?
Your selfish soap box pontification has served only to shine a light on our party and it's perceived disunity. Please take a moment, breathe and count to ten. The Devil you know is not necessarily the one you need. single mother. I admire Senator Clinton but my decision not support her has NOTHING to do with her gender. I do not vote identity politics. You should not encourage the young women of this nation to follow your pied piper, Rovian call to action - it is destructive to them, to the party and, if you succeed, to the nation.
With respect,
Heather C Sullivan
I must admit that months ago I could not fathom John Edwards as Obama's VP. He seemed too angry....too ready to 'champion his cause!' However, I never doubted his sincerity when he talked about the two Americas, and the haves and have-nots.
Well I think I've caught up to John Edwards way of thinking, now that gas and food are taking a major bite out of my budget. I'm angry too!
But, beyond that...the image of Obama and Edwards in Michigan today was too strong to ignore. I've got to say...this looks like 'the ticket' to me!
