Watching McCain’s credibility go up in smoke

[one...two...tree 2,762]

John McCain's efforts in opposition to the tobacco industry have come up quite a bit lately. A McCain campaign ad unveiled last week noted that he "has taken on big tobacco." A few days later, the campaign released another ad, featuring Democratic praise for McCain's work against Big Tobacco. McCain even boasted of his efforts at Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Summit two weeks ago.

The media has bought this line completely. The AP praised McCain's work against the tobacco industry as evidence of his independence, and the WaPo's Jonathan Weisman offered the tobacco issue as the best example of McCain being "an independent maverick."

McCain's claims and the media's praise hasn't made sense for quite some time. McCain fought for years in support of legislation — that he co-sponsored — that would regulate the tobacco industry and impose a $1.10-per-pack tax on cigarettes to fund programs to cut underage smoking. Earlier this year, McCain quietly began moving away from the bill he'd championed.

Now the McCain campaign doesn't want to talk about the senator's bill at all.

The campaign of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) is declining to embrace McCain's own 1998 tobacco bill, legislation that would have raised taxes to the tune of $516 billion over 25 years. […]

The bill would have forced tobacco companies to pay for a host of anti-smoking initiatives and fork over huge sums to the states in return for settling a lawsuit by the states. Cigarette makers would have been required to raise prices by about $1.10 per pack to come up with the money, according to a Congressional Research Service report from the time.

Asked repeatedly last week whether McCain still backs the bill and if he thought it was a good idea, senior adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin declined to answer directly…. McCain today does not support raising taxes on cigarettes, his adviser said.

And given that the tax increase on cigarettes is a key feature of McCain's legislation, it means McCain now opposes his own bill.

When McCain first began championing this legislation, he vowed to "never" give up on the issue. Like most of McCain's promises, the vow had a shelf life.

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

[symbiosis 0]

heard of swift-boating, but never PT boating.

It is funny, though, how Rethugs backed the credibility of the SBVT in 2004 but now use the verb to swift boat with the rest of us.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

So, this is false? McCain still wants to raise taxes on tobacco? Do you have any evidence of that? If not, then this isn't swift-boating but pointing out that the person that the GOP presidential nominee McCain campaigns hardest against is, well, maverick Senator McCain. Seeing that his former maverick status is the quality that the McSame campaign likes to highlight, one has to be allowed to examine how many of his "maverick positions" the man still stands for. I don't think there are many, if any, left.

Edited September 19, 2008 by Mr. Big Dog

[Ban Hammer 13,352]

heard of swift-boating, but never PT boating.

It is funny, though, how Rethugs backed the credibility of the SBVT in 2004 but now use the verb to swift boat with the rest of us.

oh right, pt boats aren't very fast.