Brokaw did not challenge GOP senator's false claim about Obama and taxes
SUMMARY: During an interview with Sen. Richard Burr, Tom Brokaw did not challenge Burr's false claim that Sen. Barack Obama has proposed "increased taxes -- and that's taxes across the board on the American people without exception." Obama has in fact proposed raising taxes only on households earning more than $250,000, while also calling for tax cuts for low- and middle-income families.
During the September 2 edition of MSNBC Live, NBC News host Tom Brokaw failed to challenge Sen. Richard Burr's (R-NC) false assertion that Sen. Barack Obama has proposed "increased taxes -- and that's taxes across the board on the American people without exception." Brokaw did not note that Obama has proposed raising taxes only on households earning more than $250,000, while also calling for tax cuts for low- and middle-income families. Nor did he note that McCain's own chief economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, has reportedly said it is inaccurate to say that "Barack Obama raises taxes."
Attacks on Obama's tax plan by the McCain campaign have been criticized when scrutinized for accuracy. For example, PolitiFact.com found that an ad released in early August claiming that Obama "promises more taxes on small business, seniors, your life savings, your family" was "a distortion of Obama's proposals" because "Obama does not promise those things; in fact, he promises more taxes for taxpayers with the highest incomes." Additionally, FactCheck.org found a pattern of deceptive and misleading ads about Obama's tax plan by the McCain campaign. In an August 31 editorial headlined "Continuing Deception: Mr. McCain's ads on taxes are just plain false," The Washington Post wrote:
THERE IS a serious debate to be had in this presidential campaign about the fundamentally different tax policies of Barack Obama and John McCain. Then there is the phony, misleading and at times outright dishonest debate that the McCain campaign has been waging -- most recently with a television ad.
The two candidates have very different positions on taxes. Mr. Obama wants to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans and cut them substantially for low- and middle-income taxpayers. He would cut taxes for more households, and by a larger amount, than Mr. McCain, who would give the greatest benefits to wealthy households and corporations.
These are disagreements rooted in divergent views about the role of tax policy: the importance of reducing inequality versus the importance of encouraging investment. Mr. Obama has the wiser and more fiscally responsible of the plans, on balance, but this is by no means a one-sided debate between evil, tycoon-hugging Republicans and good-hearted Democrats. Higher taxes do have consequences for the behavior of both individuals and corporations. Listening to the candidates debate and defend their actual plans would be a useful exercise.
Instead, the McCain campaign insists on completely misrepresenting Mr. Obama's plan.
From the 4 p.m. ET hour of the September 2 edition of MSNBC Live:
BROKAW: Senator, in North Carolina, George Bush won by 12 percentage points over John Kerry four years ago. The Obama campaign is determined to run a 50-state campaign. You've got about 22 percent of the voters in North Carolina are African-American. We're going to share with you now an ad that your candidate, John McCain, is already running in North Carolina. Let's take a look at that and then talk about the strategy.
ANNOUNCER [video clip]: Take away the crowds, the chants -- all that's left are costly words. Barack Obama and out-of-touch congressional leaders have expensive plans, billions in new government spending, years of deficits, no balanced budgets, and painful tax increases on working American families. They're ready to tax, ready to spend -- but not ready to lead.
BROKAW: Senator McCain already spending money in a state like North Carolina, the day after Labor Day. You must anticipate a very close race there.
BURR: Well, I think it's going to be closer than historically we've seen, but Barack Obama's been spending money in North Carolina for two months now. And I think that if you look at that ad, it's indicative of exactly the plan that Barack Obama has called for, and that's increased taxes -- and that's taxes across the board on the American people without exception.
BROKAW: There is a great deal of discussion at this convention and just outside of it, and not just among the media, about the selection of Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, as John McCain's running mate. A number of people are saying they were stunned by it, they see this as what one of them called a "Hail Sarah" pass, not a "Hail Mary" pass. Are you going to be able to persuade the American people that she is ready on day one to step into the Oval Office, given her very limited experience objectively?
I mean really, why bother
Brokaw, show up or give up kid, you're embarassing yourself
Everybody knows that working families earn more than 5 mill a year.
And don't know how many houses they own.....
Well... If he went to an islamic terrorist training school as a child and is a secret muslim who hangs out with terrorists and racist american hating pastors with his wife who hates America most of all and who knows the truth about his fake birth cirtificate... well then no one should be surprised that he is out to get ALL YOUR MONEY, especially if you are a white christian patriot. Of course he will tax us to death before he gives the keys of the empire to the midwestern branch of the Al Queye ayda located somewhere in Illinois...
Oh and he had horns removed from his forhead in a secrete operation in 1973....
Did I miss anything?
Brokaw = the Peter Principle in action
BTW, just now, Orrin Hatch defended Palin on MSNBC by saying, "we've all had teenagers in trouble."
Yikes--
BTW, just now, Orrin Hatch defended Palin on MSNBC by saying, "we've all had teenagers in trouble."
In parts of Orrin Hatch's home state of Utah, pregnant 17-year-olds are generally on their second or third pregnancy....
Maybe Brokaw hasn't mastered the internets quite yet.
Also, I'm still waiting for the parade of left-wing commentators opining on the RNC.
OMFG!!!!
Did a sitting President just use the phrase Angry Left on a televised speech just now?
Dead Presidents are rolling in their graves right now
I'll back you up, Edenscape. If I may paraphrase the Chimp in Chief;
" If a few years at the Hanoi Hilton couldn't break John McCain, then the ANGRY LEFT sure can't."
I may have missed it, but were there any references at the DNC of the ANGRY RIGHT trying to "break" Obama?
Un-credible.Now I'm listening to the old guy from Law & Order explaining what a bunch of "rebels" the McC family is.
I didn't hear Fred Thompson's speech but unfortunately caught the tail end of sleezy joe lieberman. What a yawner, makes Thompson appear almost animated.
Joe sez he wants to appeal to all those democrats out there who are deranged enough to consider McSame with his new side kick, crazy eyes Palin. Please, give these cartoon people their own planet somewhere else!!!
I posted this on another forum. They said Lieberman's speech was "raw meat" for the right-wingnuts.
That's where he screwed up. Lieberman is Orthodox, and they don't allow mixing red meat with milquetoast.
This convention is so subdued and boring so far. The highlight was watching stuffy rich people dance to a christian music superstar. That's all they got folks. Thompson put people to sleep and then Lieberman made them roll over and reach for the remote to turn off the television. At least that's what happenned at my house.
Obama had 40 million watch his speech. What's the guess on the ratings McCains' speech will bring?
Dead Presidents are rolling in their graves right now
Dead presidents have been spinning in their graves since January 20, 2001, when this sorry excuse for a human being took the oath of office the first time.....
QUICK
Somebody check Fred Thompson's pulse...I think he just passed on mid speech...oh, wait, no, he's coughing again
and again
wow, does this guy smoke?
I fon't think so, but he probably played a Military man in one of his many acting roles. (That counts, doesn't it?)
Fred Thompson wasn't in the military, but he was in The Hunt for Red October.
Why should I vote Republican? They endorse Hollywood values ;) (kidding).
Did Thompson ever serve in the military?
He did not, according to his Wikipedia page.
oh, puke. I'm watching ol fred trying to stay awake as he describes songbirds' POW life. Oh, they ain't politicizing it at all. OMG! The offensive line of the green bay packers statement! Now a statement that being a POW doesn't qualify you to be president, but it does give you character. Seeing how much songbird lies about everything must either mean he has no character or he broke like a cheap chinese toy. Matches that cheap piano dirge they play in the background...
THIS F-nut is the GOP headline speaker?
Sheesh, I almost feel bad for him
Looks like someone else isn't getting good press...
The offensive line of the green bay packers statement!
Which John W. McCain changed to the Pittsburgh Steelers last time he was pandering for the Stupid Vote (his base) in Pennsylvania. He forgets that there's this new-fangled thing called a printing press, popularized by his schoolmate Gutenberg, and it allows people to go back and actually read words you've already written about a subject.
Folks, if he'll lie about that, he'll lie about anything. And he does, with every word that comes through his lips.
Bush equates ‘angry Left’ with North Vietnamese torturers.
Tonight in his address via satellite to the Republican National Convention, President Bush blasted Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) critics. Invoking McCain’s time as a POW in a North Vietnamese prison, Bush compared these torturers to members of the “angry Left”:
Except songbird set the guiness book of world records for fastest break under pressure.
In the same speech, bush repeated the lie about songbird turning down early release. Debunked too, songbird never had a say. We already proved the offer was made to Kissinger and it was he who refused. In songbird's book he wrote how he thanked Kissinger for making that decision and saving his dignity. That statement says alot, like if it were up to songbird he woulda said yes...
Maybe this is why?
Let's see: She pulled 22% of the funding for a facility that helps unwed mothers, she says "abstinence only" sex education is effective while she has a pregnant teenaged daughter, she's the subject of a bipartisan ethics investigation. there's a recall petition being circulated in Alaska, she said she was "Miss Congeniality" at a beauty pageant, but the real Miss Congenality says she wasn't, and in her firstpress conference, she lied through her teeth about being against the "bridge to nowhere," saying she sent the money back to Congress. Actually, Alaska accepted the money, and used it for a different project, it was never"sent back to Congress."
For a Republican, I'd say she's amazingly successful.
THIS convention is soooo boring!
I thought it was just me.
The atmosphere was more like that of closing night at the Clark County Fair while the "cleaning up instructions" were being recited to the vendors.
New drinking game?
Every time an "urban american" appears on tv at the RNC, take a drink.
Perfect game for your Mormon friends.
I heard this morning that there are only 36 black delegates at the GOP convention out of about 6,000 total. I'll bet the Fox News cameras know exactly where each one is at every moment, so they can get some out-of-proportion-to-their-actual-numbers face time.
In 2004, the percentage of black GOP convention delegates was 6.9%
Chris Rock said of a Democratic Convention (I don't know if it was last week's or not), "The last time the Republicans had this many black people on stage, they were for sale."
OMG! Loserman just said we don't need bipartisan unity, we need national unity! National unity as in nazi party kind of nationalism! And that drew the loudest sound yet! I can hear them now, deutchland, deutchland, uber alles...
And ANOTHER POW plug...
Lieberman is for national unity?
Well, Joe, my friend - get those republicans to start voting with the democrats. Sheesh, the concept is so simple, and yet it seems to escape him...
Oscar, you obviously weren't paying attention to Old Fred's careful analysis of Obama's tax plan.See, he's not going to raise your taxes, just taxes on business, so you won't be affected unless you buy gas or milk.
I think some of the conservative posters here have explained that businesses don't pay taxes because they pass on the cost. Unlike individuals, who absorb all expenses, not figuring taxes into their purchases or pay demands. Huh?
For the non-economics professors in the crowd, Thompson went into the folksy zone-- "Obama's not gonna take it from yer side a the bucket, he's gonna take it from the other side of the bucket." (hearty laughter from the crowd. They like the bucket story)
Reminds me of a story that happened earlier today.
So me and Dusty was travelling through the desert on our way to Furnace Creek, when Dusty says to me "Daisy" (our burro) "seems a might thirsty", and he commenced ta reachin' fer the canteen hangin' from Daisy's pack.
I stopped him right there, sayin' "Hold on there, pard."
"Half o' that water in that there canteen's for Daisy, an' half's fer me"
Dusty turned to face me, and with a concerned look says. "I don't reckon I kin be shore that Daisy ain't a-drinking some a' yer half".
"Well," I sez, "then I guess you best just wait 'til I done drink my half first." Dusty agreed, and we continued west under the broilin' sun.
After walkin' 'bout 3 mile, I reached fer the canteen. Dusty stopped, "Hold on there, ya sidewinder." he sez. "How kin I be shore you ain't drinkin' some a' Daisy's half?" he sez.
"Well", I sez, "I reckon that's gonna take some ponderin' on, Dusty".
I put the canteen back on Daisy's pack, and we continued across the desert, We walked about another couple miles, when quicker'n a miner pullin' his foot outta a boot with a scorpion in it, Daisy dropped ta th' ground, plumb dead a thirst.
"This is yer own fault" I sez. "I reckon if you'd just a let me drink my half first, Daisy woulda been able to drink her half and she wouldn'ta died."
Dusty thought different. He sez it were my fault. "You was so worried 'bout whose half o' th' water was a-bein' used that none of it got used at all, an' now we ain't got no way of gettin' our goods ta Furnace Creek."
So I shot him. Varmint.
Right winger rejoice!!
They are showing your convention on BBC Parliament right now. That old bloke from "Baby's Day Out" is on talking about Jonh McCain's time as a POW (McCain doesn't like to talk about it). Doesn't seem to be too many entthusiastic people there!!
The Angry Right broke McCain. They did not want Lieberman as vp.
McCain did. McCain was broken. Country First my *ss. This was election first.