A Tax On Our Patience

It appears Bill Luther is really getting desperate. In a ploy only the most clueless will fall for, his latest TV ads are attempting to portray his 2nd District Congressional opponent John Kline as a tax raiser. (I saw the ad this morning, running during the Sunday political talk shows). If you've not seen it, the ad?s claim apparently is based on Kline?s previous support of a national sales tax - which the ad says will raise taxes on items like groceries and perscription drugs up to 23%. Kline has spoken on this issue in the past, but only in the context of reducing the overall tax burden by permanently ending the income tax. In fact, even Luther?s own Web site unintentionally refutes these assertions by providing some Kline quotes (in an attempt to portray him as a radical tax cutter):

"Kline favors scrapping the current tax code. If he could replace the current code with a flat tax or a national sales tax, he would vote for either one of those in an instant." (Apple Valley ThisWeek, 8/12/00)

"It's not enough to just cut taxes - I believe in scrapping the entire tax code. There is no shortage of proposals to replace it - some bipartisan - we could have a 'flat tax,' a 'fair tax.' All of them have merit - as long as whatever we do gets the IRS off the backs of the American family." (Kline Campaign Press Release, 5/6/00)

Hardly the words of someone interested in increasing taxes. Yet, the TV ads unflinchingly attempt to create this impression. Given the Luther campaign?s admitted complicity in the Sam Garst sham candidacy under the ?No New Taxes? party banner, this latest tactic is beyond the pale of reasonable political discourse. The Lutherans have admitted the Garst candidacy was an attempt to drain fiscally conservative voters away from Kline, they?ve admitted the ploy was ?unfortunate? and have apologized for it, yet they?re now using a last minute, misleading ad campaign, targeting those very voters who might be fooled into voting for Garst. Appalling.


Posted by Saint Paul--Link