GOP Senate Candidate in Mass Defends Bankster Bonuses

[Joanne98]

By Jonathan Weisman

Democrats believe President Barack Obama’s proposed, $90 billion tax on big banks will box in Republicans, giving them the choice between siding with the bankers or breaking with the GOP’s antitax base.

If so, Republican Massachusetts Senate candidate Scott Brown has taken the bait. His Democratic opponent, Martha Coakley, embraced the bank tax and spent the day goading Brown to take a stand.

“Now is the time for Scott Brown to tell us what side he’s on, and who he wants to fight for. Despite his tea party rhetoric about never supporting a tax hike, the truth is that he has supported more than $300 million in new taxes and fees on middle class families. We’ll find out if his “no tax” pledge only applies to the privileged,” she said in a statement.

Responding to The Wall Street Journal, the Brown campaign said this evening, “Scott Brown is opposed to higher taxes, especially in the midst of a severe recession. Raising taxes will kill jobs. Martha Coakley’s tax-raising policies will make it harder to get our economy back on the right track.”

The Massachusetts race has been closely watched because it is far closer than expected. The special election will be held Tuesday to fill the Senate seat that had been held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2010/01/14/gop-senate-candidate-in-mass-rejects-obamas-bank-tax/

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