MO Democratic Senate Candidate Robin Carnahan: Extend Bush Tax Cuts For Wealthy

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Robin Carnahan, Missouri Senate Candidate, Wants Bush Tax Cuts Extended For Wealthy

First Posted: 08-19-10 10:44 AM | Updated: 08-19-10 10:44 AM



Breaking from the president and the majority of her party, Robin Carnahan, the Democratic Senate candidate in Missouri, announced on Thursday that she supports extending the Bush tax cuts for all recipients, including the wealthy.

In an appearance before the state fair in Sedalia, Missouri, Carnahan stressed that "now not the time to raise taxes" for members of any income class. Tony Messenger, a reporter with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was at the fair and tweeted the news. A Carnahan campaign aide confirmed the Secretary of State's position to the Huffington Post.

In announcing her support for a full extension of the Bush tax cuts -- which are set to expire this year -- Carnahan creates conspicuous distance between herself and many of the national Democrats she's hoping to join. President Obama, for one, has pushed for an extension of the cuts for those making below $200,000. Individuals earning more than that or families in an income bracket above $250,000 would see their tax rates revert to previous levels under the president's plan. With some exceptions, this position has been echoed by Democrats on the Hill, who argue that the budget would take a major blow if the tax cuts for the wealthy are extended.

On the campaign trail, it appears, the argument is a bit harder to make. Carnahan isn't the first Democratic Senate candidate to call for an extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway has said that he favors keeping the current rates for "five, eight, maybe ten" additional years. Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.), who is running for Sen. Evan Bayh's soon to be vacated seat, also has said he would support extending the entire package of Bush tax cuts.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/19/robin-carnahan-missouri-s_1_n_687527.html

[activa8tr]

1. Say anything to get elected. Who is she up against?

She won't have that much power as a freshman Senator.

[cbdo2007]

11. She's up against Roy Blunt, currently a Repube congressman from MO.

[activa8tr]

17. Thanks, so she probably has a low chance, right? n/t

[cbdo2007]

18. Well....yes and no. We have McCaskill in there who is a Dem and currently have a Dem governor.

This is for the seat being vacated by a Repube - Kit Bond.

MO is definitely winable for the right candidate. Unfortunately, Carnahan is....um....what's that expression about a pussycat fighting a tiger or something? Blunt is not afraid to lie and cheat and steal his way to the top - He's been in Washington for like 20 years now so he knows how it works.

Carnahan is your typical midwestern Mom type. She really isn't putting up much of a fight because she doesn't seem tough and this just proves it. She's really lagging in the polls BUT the right candidate definitely could have bean Blunt here.

[BootinUp]

2. Short on campaign cash? Or just stupid? eom.

[WI_DEM]

3. Too bad. But she also just started a media buy slamming Blunt as a tool of Wall Street

I don't see how this makes her a populist though?

[kentuck]

4. Weak...

No backbone. Harmful to the Party. Will say anything to get a vote.

[neverforget]

5. Another Democrat made of jello

[MadHound]

6. And it is positions like this that makes me really reluctant to vote for Dems this fall

Carnahan has taken increasingly conservative stances over the months leading up to this election. She is certainly not like her father who would take the right position on an issue and defend it to the end. Sadly, I think she is going to be more like her mother, who was easily swayed and voted for any number of outrageous Bush era legislation.

Her only saving grace is her opponent, Roy Blunt. However if she continues to swing to the right, pretty soon there won't be a difference between the two.

Missouri politics are becoming nothing more than various shades of conservatism.

[zipplewrath]

7. Wrong way to say this

One should merely say they are in favor of all tax cuts, as long as we can match them with spending reductions.

[RaleighNCDUer]

8. So we can reduce the government's income while simultaneously

reducing the income of people dependent on entitlement programs.

That's an improvement.

Seriously, what spending is going to be cut? Food stamps, or the Pentagon?

[zipplewrath]

12. That's the million dollar question

Every once and a while an interviewer will ask a congress critter who is hollaring for "more spending cuts" which federal spending in their district should be cut. The sputtering answers usually aren't pretty.

David Stockman has a story of his days as director of OMB for Reagan. He put together a huge stack of card on the federal budget. They were divided into "no cuts, some cuts, deep cuts". He gave the stack to Reagan and his immediate staff and suggested they go through and organize them so that the budget would balance. They never could. They could never choose enough cuts, deep or otherwise, to balance the budget.

People want tax cuts, but they don't want the spending cuts that would be necessary to achieve them. Bush II never even tried.

[hayu_lol]

9. When her mother took her father's seat in the senate...

she was clearly a Blue Dog. Looks like Robin is a Blue Dog as well.

We need to get rid of all the Blue Dogs.

[Arkana]

10. Ugh.

I know why she's saying it, but it doesn't make it any more attractive or palatable.

[Cleita]

13. I wonder why.

:eyes:

Look who was the DLC's new Democrat of the week back in April 2005.

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253302&kaid=104&subid=116

[laughingliberal]

19. Well, there you have it. A true believer in protecting the rulers and owners.

:puke:

[cbdo2007]

14. Sorry Carnahan - it's over. You were one of the few things getting us to the polls in Nov.

I guess there really is no reason to support her if she's going to be a puppet for the wealthy just like Roy Blunt is.

[EOTE]

15. Missouri? Indiana? These are not wealthy states.

Why is it that these politicians from relatively poor states always come out so strongly for tax cuts which favor the wealthy? I don't know the demographic break down of those two states, but I can't imagine either have very large portions of the population who make over $200K annually. Why are some people so easily duped?

[HughBeaumont]

16. Jesus Christ.

Goddamnit, DLC . . . can you just please SHUT THE FUCK UP?!? Switch parties. Seriously. Switch parties right NOW. No one needs this. Tax cuts didn't create jobs. Stop believing the myths. Stop fondling Dick Armey. These people piss me off by the minute. Unrelenting CRAP.

[Name removed]

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[TheKentuckian]

21. Arrrg...I can't tolerate these people, voting for them seems insane.

and then here comes Randroid and his ilk.

Seems like a false choice. Both options are societal suicide and the choice seems like pills vs a shotgun.