Pat Dollard

Tweet

DEBATE FACT #6: BARACK OBAMA HAS NO INTEREST IN REDUCING THE DEFICIT

Summary:.

Barack Obama talks about priorities but he has proposed billions in new spending with no way to pay for it.

The Facts About Barack Obama’s Record:

If Barack Obama Could Enact All Of His Campaign Proposals, Taxpayers Would Be Faced With Financing Over $1 Trillion In New Spending Over One White House Term. (Barack Obama’s Spending Proposals: http://www.barackobama.com/index.php, Accessed 8/19/08)

PolitiFact Discredits Obama’s Claim That20His Proposals Are Paid For; Says His Rhetoric Is “Disingenuous.” “Until he fleshes out his economic plan considerably more, it’s disingenuous to go around claiming his proposals are ‘paid for.’ And that claim is even more suspect considering that his proposals would leave a larger deficit than would the tax laws currently on the books. We find his claim to be Barely True.” (“‘Paid For’ Without Real Money,” St. Petersburg Times’ “PolitiFact.com,” www.politifact.com, 6/16/08)

The New York Times’ David Brooks Said For Barack Obama To Fund His Domestic Programs, He Will Have To Break His Pledge Not To Tax The Middle Class. “Both [Obama and Clinton] promised to not raise taxes on those making less than $200,000 or $250,000 a year. They both just emasculated their domestic programs. Returning the rich to their Clinton-era tax rates will yield, at best, $40 billion a year in revenue. It’s impossible to fund a health care plan, let alone anything else, with that kind of money. The consequences are clear: if elected they will have to break their pledge, and thus destroy their credibility, or run a minimalist administration.” (David Brooks, Op-Ed, “No Whining About The Media,” The New York Times, 4/16/08)

Chicago Tribune: Barack Obama Hasn ‘t Been Talking About Balancing The Budget And “Has A Full Plate Of Spending Initiatives.” “Obama’s campaign on Monday scoffed at the McCain proposals. But Obama hasn’t been talking boldly about the certain path to a balanced budget. He promises to cut taxes for most Americans . . . and he has a full plate of spending initiatives.” (Editorial, “Failure Of Nerve,” Chicago Tribune, 7/8/08)

Los Angeles Times: Barack Obama “Has Not Identified New Revenue Sources Or Spending Cuts To Pay For Some Of” His Proposals. “The Obama campaign responds that tax cuts, once enacted, are usually renewed and do not expire. Therefore, they say, Obama can legitimately claim to be recouping money for other purposes by scaling back the tax cuts. Obama has not identified new revenue sources or spending cuts to pay for some of what he wants to do.” (Peter Nicholas, “Adding Up The Cost Of Obama’s Agenda,” Los Angeles Times, 7/8/08)

ABC News: Barack Obama Can Not “Pay For Every Dime” Of New Spending He Has Proposed. “Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said during Friday’s presidential debate that he would ‘pay for every dime’ of his spending. But according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, ‘without substantial cuts in government spending’ Obama’s plan – and M cCain’s, too –’would substantially increase the national debt over the next ten years.’ The Tax Policy Center has estimated that Obama’s proposed tax policies would increase the debt by $3.5 trillion over ten years.” (“Fact Check: ‘Pay for Every Dime’? Not Quite,” ABC News’ “Political Radar” Blog, http://blogs.abcnews.com, Posted 9/26/08)

Barack Obama Has No Interest In Eliminating Deficit Spending

Barack Obama: “I Do Not Make A Promise That We Can Reduce [The Budget Deficit] By 2013.” “‘I do not make a promise that we can reduce it by 2013 because I think it is important for us to make some critical investments right now in America’s families,’ Obama told reporters this week when asked if he’d match McCain’s pledge.” (Nedra Pickler, “Analysis: Obama Won’t Try For McCain’s Budget Goal,” The Associated Press, 7/8/08)

Chicago Tribune: Barack Obama Has “No Interest In Eliminating Deficit Spending.” “Since winning the nomination, Obama reportedly has been moving toward the middle of the political spectrum. But on the budget, he still sounds left of center, with no interest in eliminating deficit spending.” (Editorial, “Failure Of Nerve,” Chicago Tribune, 7/8/08)

DEBATE FACT #7: BARACK OBAMA VOTED WITH BUSH “FOR THE MOST PART”

Summary:.

Why is it that Barack Obama says he voted with President Bush “for the most part”?

The Facts:

“Factually Inaccurate” To Say McCain Is Like President Bush

· The New York Times’ David Brooks: Democrats Saying McCain Represents The Third Bush Term Are “Just Factually Inaccurate.” “Finally, the Obama people are too convinced that they can define McCain as Bush III. The case is just factually inaccurate. McCain will be able to pull out dozens of instances, from torture to global warming to spending, in which he broke with his party, as Rush Limbaugh will tell you.” (David Brooks, Op-Ed, “Calling Dr. Doom,” The New York Times, 6/3/08)

· Seattle Times’ Danny Westneat: “This Guy Ain’t Bush, Folks.” “I have been feeling out of step lately with my fellow Seattle liberals. The reason is that when politics comes up, the knee-jerk gist of the conversation is that John McCain equals George W. Bush. This guy ain’t Bush, folks. No matter how many times you say it. (And it is said incessantly by Democratic groups.)” (Danny Westneat, Op-Ed, “Beyond The Bush Formula,” The Seattle Times, 5/14/08)

Barack Obama Says He Voted With President Bush “For The Most Part”

· Barack Obama Says He Voted With President Bush “For The Most Part.” REPORTER: “For a cou ple of days, they’ve been saying you voted to raise taxes something like 94 times. That seems to be the drumbeat that’s going to happen during this campaign. Are you going to raise taxes in a big way for average Americans?” OBAMA: “I mean this is the standard fare of politics. And the truth of the matter is that the only bills that I voted for, for the most part, since I’ve been in the Senate were introduced by Republicans with George Bush. You know, they were the majority for a big chunk of the time I was there.” (KMOV [St. Louis, MO], 6/10/08)

· Watch Barack Obama’s KMOV Interview

In 2004, Barack Obama Said There Wasn’t Much Difference Between His Iraq Position And President Bush’s

· In 2004, Barack Obama Said There Was Not Much Of A Difference Between His Position And The President’s Position On Iraq. “‘On Iraq, on paper, there’s not as much difference, I think, between the Bush administration and a Kerry administration as there would have been a year ago,’ Obama said. ‘There’s not much of a difference between my position and George Bush’s position at this stage.’” (John Kass, “Obama’s A Star Who Doesn’t Stick To The Script,” Chicago Tribune, 7/27/04)

In 2005, Barack Obama Joined With President Bush To Pass The Bush-Cheney Energy Bill Giving The Oil Companies $2.8 Billion In Taxpayer Money:

· Barack Obama Voted For The 2005 Bush-Cheney Energy Bill. (H.R. 6, CQ Vote #152: Motion Agreed To 92-4: R 53-1; D 38-3; I 1-0, 6/23/05, Obama Voted Yea; H.R. 6, CQ Vote #158: Passed 85-12: R 49-5; D 35-7; I 1-0, 6/28/05, Obama Voted Yea; H.R. 6, CQ Vote #213: Adopted 74-26: R 49-6; D 25-19; I 0-1, 7/29/05, Obama Voted Yea)

· The 2005 Energy Bill Included $2.8 Billion In Subsidies For Oil And Natural Gas Production. “The conference agreement provides for $14.6 billion in tax breaks and credits between 2005 and 2015, including: — $2.8 billion for fossil fuel production…” (Toni Johnson, “CQ Bill Analysis: HR 6,” Congressional Quarterly’s “CQ Bill Analysis,” www.cq.com, Accessed 7/14/08)

DEBATE FACT #8: A FALSE CLAIM OF BIPARTISANSHIP FROM OBAMA

Summary:.

Barack Obama talks about reaching across the aisle but he hasn’t done so in the Senate.

The Facts About Barack Obama’s Record:

The Associated Press: “None” Of Barack Obama’s Touted Bipartisan Efforts Paced Him “At Odds With The Leaders Of His Own Party Or Gave Significant Offense To Outside Interest Groups With Democrats.” (David Espo, “Bipartisanship Marks McCain’s Senate Tenure,” Associated Press, 7/2/08)
0A

NPR’s Juan Williams: Barack Obama “Doesn’t Have The Record” Of Bipartisanship That John McCain Has. NPR’S JUAN WILLIAMS: “You think about everything from campaign finance to immigration and on, and there’s John McCain working across party lines. Senator Obama doesn’t have a record. Now, he can make the claim and he can hold himself up as pure and trying to reach to a new generation of post partisan politics, but he has to do so largely based on rhetoric and wishful thinking because he doesn’t have the record.” (Fox News’ “Special Report With Brit Hume,” 5/7/08)

The Washington Post’s Richard Cohen: “There Is Scant Evidence The Illinois Senator Takes Positions That Challenge His Base Or Otherwise Threaten Him Politically.” (Richard Cohen, Op-Ed, “McCain’s Core Advantage,” The Washington Post, 6/24/08)

Politico’s Jonathan Martin: “He’s Pretty Much A Conventional Liberal On The Issues And Has Few Examples Of Breaking With His Own Party, So How Does Obama Try To Pull Off Being ‘Post-Partisan?’” (Jonathan Martin, “Obama’s Third Way: It’s All In The Tone,” Politico, 6/30/08)

Rep. Dan Boren (D -OK): “His Record Does Not Reflect Working In A Bipartisan Fashion.” “Boren, the lone Democrat in Oklahoma’s congressional delegate, said that while Obama has talked about working with Republicans, ‘unfortunately, his record does not reflect working in a bipartisan fashion.’” (Tim Talley, “Okla. Dem Calls Obama Liberal, Declines To Endorse,” The Associated Press, 6/10/08)

The Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes: “Despite Polarization, The Senate Is An Opportunity-Rich Environment For Bipartisan Compromise. But Obama Has Never Been A Leader In Crossing The Aisle.” (Fred Barnes, “To Tell The Truth,” The Weekly Standard, 4/26/08)

“The Record Shows Obama To Be A Fairly Doctrinaire Liberal Democrat…” (Editorial, “Obama’s Rhetoric Soars, But What Does His Record Suggest?” USA Today, 1/28/08)

· In 2007, Obama Voted With The Democrat Party 97 Percent Of The Time. (Congressional Quarterly Website, www.cq.com, Accessed 3/3/08)