The Ballad of Tim Kaine; Or, How Not to Talk About Tax Rates B

[Ichingcarpenter]

In 2012, Democrats have a pretty cheap and simple tax message. Let the Bush tax cuts on top rates expire. Tax reform? Sure, eventually. But trust us, we only want to tax the rich -- as, according to polls, all of you voters do.

For some weird reason, in today's debate with George Allen, U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine repeated this line then got tripped up by a softball question about Mitt Romney's "47 percent" tape. His tax plan: "Let the Bush tax cuts expire, as planned, for people making more than $250,000." (Almost right, close enough.) But Gregory saw an opening on the philosophy of the "47 percent."

GREGORY: Do you believe that everyone in Virginia should pay something in federal income tax?

KAINE: Well, everyone pays taxes! I mean, the statistics that have come out..

GREGORY: I'm asking about federal income taxes.

KAINE: I would be open to a proposal that would have some minimum tax level for everyone, but I do insist, many of the 47 percent that Gov. Romney was going after pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than he does.



This is one of the dumbest ways a politician can get tripped up. No one -- literally no one -- has a serious proposal that would make "everyone" pay a minimum income tax. This was obvious in 2011,......SNIP...

http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/09/20/the_ballad_of_tim_kaine_or_how_not_to_talk_about_tax_rates.html

[RBInMaine]

1. He REPEATEDLY condemned Romney's comments as shown in the full context here. You're over-reacting.

Listen to the whole debate. He REPEATEDLY slammed Romney's comments as divisive. He said he would be willing to look at such a proposal but made no actual proposal. He's trying to deal with the large and longterm deficit and saying he'd simply be open to exploring all options. Christ, this was taken out of context and blown out of proportion. It is not a huge deal and no game changer. OVER-REACTION LAND bigtime here. Chill down.

[MotherPetrie]

2. The problem is the part Kaine said before the "BUT" - when he opened mouth and inserted foot

The GOP ain't gonna care about what he said AFTER the "but." That's why Kaine was a fucking idiot to give any ground at all! Kaine's running against George Allen, the huge GOP tool who failed in his reelection bid six years ago because of the "macaca" incident. He of all people is going to seize on this.