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August 18, 2008
Bullshit repellant.
Bereft of ideas, the McCain campaign is falling back on the tired old Republican scare tactic that the Democratic candidate Will Raise Your Taxes.
In Obama's case, if you make over $200,000 a year ($250,000 as a couple, if you're married), that's true.
And if that's you, congratulations: you're in the highest-earning 3% of the U.S. population.
Unfortunately, the McCain campaign needs to scare people in the remaining 97%. So they make shit up:
A snarky Web ad from Sen. John McCain calls Sen. Barack Obama "The One" and shows his supporters saying things like "Hot chicks dig Obama"...Text flashes by briefly, then spins around 360 degrees as it fades away, saying, "Obama voted to raise taxes on everyone making more than $42,000."
McCain has made similar statements before, saying Obama voted to raise taxes on people making more than $42,000 a year. We rated that statement Barely True...
That seems designed to make the average viewer think that Obama wants to raise taxes on people making that amount, which isn't true. Obama wants to increase taxes by rolling back the Bush tax cuts on people making more than $200,000 if single or $250,000 if married filing jointly...
But the new Web ad pushes the envelope too far when the narrator says "a tax increase for everyone earning more than $42,000 a year." It's a gross distortion of Obama's proposals to say they would raise taxes on "everyone" who earns that much, and we rate McCain's claim False.
Obama's tax plan hits $200,000 and up (PolitiFact.com)
