Kerry Launches Ad in Iowa to Highlight Middle Class Tax Cut

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/releases/pr_2004_0107d.html

Iowan says “We Can’t Be Taxed Any More”

For Immediate Release
Des Moines, IA–

Highlighting the position of Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt, who support raising taxes on the middle class, John Kerry will hit the airwaves tomorrow with a new television ad featuring Elizabeth Hendrix, an Iowan trying to make ends meet and who opposes a tax increase on the middle class. The ad will run statewide in Iowa.

Elizabeth Hendrix of Des Moines is a single mother of four children who makes $28,000.  Under the Dean/Gephardt tax increase, Elizabeth would lose $1,800 in tax relief.

Text of Ad:

Elizabeth Hendrix: My husband died of cancer a few years ago. I’m working full time, raising 4 boys, and earn $28,000. I think it makes sense to roll back the tax cuts on the wealthiest people in this country. But some candidates want to raise taxes on the middle class. We can’t be taxed any more. John Kerry’s not going to raise taxes on the middle class.

John Kerry: I don’t think we should be asking the middle class to be the people who are going to pick up for George Bush’s mistakes. 

Elizabeth Hendrix: John Kerry understands what’s going on in my life.

John Kerry: I’m John Kerry and I approved this message.

The ads can be viewed by going to www.johnkerry.com

[David Dunham]

1. Very Effective Ad, Wow!

This ad, which is implicitly against Dean and Gephardt, is going to get Iowa voters to go for Kerry. The Iowa woman in the ad is totally sympathetic and appealing. I bet that this ad is the most effective of all the ads this year.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

21. I agree. It's a real body blow

and underscores Kerry's Democratic bonafides.

[mopinko]

34. yea, knifing the front runner in the back

the middle class is gonna pay for *s mees, and rightly so. who do you think voted for him? will anyone say this to the sheeple? hell no! this is the worst sort of pandering to the selfishness that is destroying this greedy country.
btw, i do not think a family of 5 making 28k is really middle class. i'm not lookin' at a bar graph of american income, and i know there are too many people in her part of it. but i think middle class is when you make enough to pay the bills.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

37. The bottom fucking line is Kerry won't inflict more pain on those

who can least afford it. Apparently Dean is finally waking up to the fact that he is wrong to repeal the tax cuts on these people.

Geez, and people have the gall to claim that Kerry is an out of touch Washington insider.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

2. It's the home stretch when everything starts to really count.

The undecided and less-political voters are finally starting to pay attention and not tune out. I know in the calls I am making for the Kerry campaign, two months ago, folks just did not want to hear about politics. Now, they are all ears.

Organize, organize, organize, then get hot at the end. And Kerry so hot right now it's a good thing he's travelling around with a bunch of firefighters.

[saltpoint]

3. Not bad at all --

-- I think Kerry's got a hit on his hands with this one.

[molly]

4. OMG - that woman is supporting 5 people on 28,000!

I can't even imagine.

[flpoljunkie]

5. She is a very credible, spokesperson. Most effective ad so far re MCTC.

MCTC short for "middle class tax cut".

:kick:

[Hep]

6. What's this WE stuff, Kerry?

The worst form of pandering is when you, a millionaire, try to pass yourself off as one of the common people.

You'd better not say "WE" Kerry, because under your own plan, your taxes WILL go up. You didn't know that?

[molly]

7. Common people?

http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110004522

"There is a disjunction between Dean's ethnic background and his personal style. His background is eastern WASP--Park Avenue, the Hamptons, boarding school, Yale. But he doesn't seem like a WASP. I know it's not nice to deal in stereotypes, but there seems very little Thurston Howell III, or George Bush the elder for that matter, in Mr. Dean. He seems unpolished, doesn't hide his aggression, is proudly pugnacious. He doesn't look or act the part of the WASP. This may be partly because of his generation. Boomer WASPs didn't really learn How It's Done the way their forebears did. (Boomers of every ethnicity are less ethnic than their forebears.) George W. Bush is a little like this too--less polished, more awkward, than one might expect. At any rate there is some political meaning to this. It will be harder for Republicans to tag Mr. Dean as Son of the Maidstone Club than it was for Democrats to tag Bush One as Heir to Greenwich Country Day. He just doesn't act the part."

[Hep]

10. Not going to lower myself

eom

[Buffler]

23. I have seen

your posts over and over and over again on many threads, yet not a single one of them has ever really provided any information, insight into your thoughts, nor any supportive evidence for your position or candidate.

On Edit: I have a good idea of what you and other Dean supporters would be saying if Bush's mother made that comment, or the mother of one of the democratic candidates.

On Second Edit: Your posts on this thread total a whopping nothing. A couple never minds, not going to lower myself, etc... A whole bunch of bupkiss. How about posting some actual information, opinion, and supportive stuff about your candidate and your positions? Or will you not lower yourself to such?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

27. I have suffered through much of the same here

I agree with everything you wrote! ... and, welcome to DU!

[SahaleArm]

8. We - As in the people of the United States n/t

[Hep]

11. never mind

pointless

[flpoljunkie]

9. Lame, hep. The "we" refers to Congress and the President-our government.

[Hep]

12. never mind

not even worth it

[blm]

19. Kerry WANTS his personal taxes to go up.

That's called tax fairness and a progressive, societal consciousness.

[Buffler]

22. common people

common people, like Howard Dean and his family who "didn't treat the servants like servants"?

[cindyw]

30. We, as in the American people as a whole or or as in the Government.

Standard language.

Since when can Kerry not call himself an American. His comment had nothing to do with common people. I don't even see how the sentence would make sense with that as the meaning of WE.

[Insurance_Analyst]

13. Prediction

I think this issue may save Kerry's booty! I think Dean is going to lose both Iowa and NH. Kerry wins Iowa, Clark ekes out a victory in NH and those two, unexpectedly, will be the two duking it out as the convention gets closer. Dean begs for a cabinet post. Probably Secretary of HHS, which I believe would be an excellent position for him!!!

Just my opinion.

[molly]

14. I would be very happy with that!

[Feanorcurufinwe]

17. Nice scenario

however, pleasant as that sounds, I think it will be a 3-way race for awhile.

[sandnsea]

15. That is a great ad!!

That is really going to help alot. I hope he runs it in New Hampshire too.

[JI7]

16. me too

although with clark running in new hampshire and a pretty good tax plan it might not be as effective. but it certainly can't hurt. especially if he releases his ad on taxes first.

[adadem]

18. Absolutely

Very well done.

[oasis]

20. "Send them a president" kick

[depakid]

24. Sounds like co-opting the Republican message to me

In fact, it sounds EXACTLY like an ad the Rove & co. would run- repeating the meme that repealing a tax cut that has proven ill advised and has in actuality cost the middle class- sometimes much more on several fronts- is somehow equivalent to a tax increase. Kerry may scoop up a little support from this, though I suspect mostly at the expense of Dick Gephardt & John Edwards.

Even so, it's better that an ad like that run now so that the criticisms can be dealt with & the explanations polished early on in the campaign, before middle class taxpayers get sold a REAL bill of goods in the fall (as they were with Arny during the recall).

[paulk]

28. since this ad is aimed at Gephardt and Dean

I don't understand how you arrive at the conclusion that it could hurt Edwards. Could you explain your reasoning?

I also don't grasp where the "co-opting Republican message" thing comes in. Kerry is highlighting a very real difference between his position and Gephardt / Deans'. These candidates are all Democrats.

[JI7]

29. edwards is on kerry's side on this issue

it certainly can't hurt edwards.

[cindyw]

32. Do people not get it yet.

This is exactly the ad that Bush would run against Dean, minus the section about raising taxes on the rich.

And guess what, Bush is a fucking liar. This is what he does. He makes the argument of a democrat to fool the American people. This is the bait and switch that Bush has perfected and we are all stark racing mad about. So don't blame Kerry for using this rhetoric in an honest way. The similarities should serve to point out to you the deception of Bush, not the non-existent similarity of Kerry to Bush.

Fictional scenario and is in no way intended to be a comparison to any reality of your life, and if it is, it was unintentional:
If your 1st wife said"I will be faithful" and then cheats on you. Then one day your 2nd wife says "I will be faithful", do you dump your 2nd wife for being like your 1st wife? No, it should remind you of how much of a liar your 1st wife was.

Kerry's remarks should remind you of how much of a fucking liar Bush is.

When Kerry says, "I will protect the middle class, by not raising their taxes".
He means, " I will not raise taxes on the middle class, while I raise taxes on the rich to fix Bush's mess".

When Bush said, "I will give the middle class a tax to give you more of your money back"
He means"I will give you a small amount of money that will only serve to pay the bills for the expenses that will go up, when I give the rich gobs of money with the other half of the tax cut. Sorry your an idiot and could not see this coming (again, not addressed to author of previous post)."

[NewYorkerfromMass]

33. Good analysis

I resist being so blunt but you certainly nailed it.

[hedda_foil]

25. I have a problem with this ad ...

I doubt it will be noticed by many who watch it but a head of household with 4 children earning $28,000:

1) probably doesn't pay much if anything in taxes tax cut or no.

2) probably didn't get anything back from the Booosh tax cut.

3) probably won't gain anything from Kerry's plan vis-a-vis just getting rid of the whole tax cut.

That's a wonky reaction, I realize, but it does seem essentially dishonest of Kerry's campaign to use an example that doesn't fit his argument.

[sandnsea]

26. refundable child tax credits

Yes, she absolutely is helped with that portion of the tax cuts and she would lose it under Dean.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

31. Kerry used real numbers

nothing was dishonest here.

[curse10]

35. Great message!

I think Kerry is really starting to shine :-)

[cindyw]

36. Kick for the Real Deal

:kick:

[NewYorkerfromMass]

38. kick for those who need to "see religion" on taxes.