CNN's Cooper said McCain opposes rolling back Bush tax cuts “which Democrats say favor the rich” - but McCain previously said the same thing

Written by Eric Hananoki

Published

CNN's Anderson Cooper stated: “On taxes, Senator McCain pledges not to roll back the Bush tax cuts, which Democrats say favor the rich.” In fact, it is not just Democrats who say that the Bush tax cuts favor the rich. McCain himself made the same claim in 2001, in explaining his opposition to the tax cuts, a fact that Cooper did not mention.

During the October 27 edition of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, Cooper stated: “On taxes, Senator [John] McCain pledges not to roll back the Bush tax cuts, which Democrats say favor the rich.” However, Cooper did not note that McCain himself, in explaining his then-opposition to the Bush tax cuts, also said they disproportionately benefitted the rich. While McCain now supports making the tax cuts permanent, in 2001 and 2003, he voted against them. As Media Matters for America has documented, in 2001, McCain explained his vote by stating: “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.” Furthermore, on the April 11, 2004, edition of NBC's Meet the Press, McCain reaffirmed his rationale for originally opposing the Bust tax cuts by stating, “I voted against the tax cuts because of the disproportionate amount that went to the wealthy Americans.”

From the October 27 edition of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360:

COOPER: John McCain today. He also distanced himself from President Bush's economic policies and Senator Obama's.

Take a look.

McCAIN [video clip]: This is the fundamental difference between Senator Obama and me. We both disagree with President Bush on economic policy. The difference is he thinks taxes have been too low and I think spending has been too high.

COOPER: On taxes, Senator McCain pledges not to roll back the Bush tax cuts, which Democrats say favor the rich.

As for Sarah Palin, she too was in a battleground state attacking Obama.