Augusta, Maine -- “Republicans consider the cost of health insurance and the number of uninsured people in Maine and the country a top priority,” said Maine GOP Chairman Mark Ellis.  “The biggest problem with universal health care insurance is how to pay for it.  Maine's own journey to universal health care – Dirigo Health -- has failed miserably.  It has resulted in higher taxes and Mainers still pay close to the highest health insurance costs in the nation. Mainers and Americans are already struggling to pay their mortgages, this month’s rent, and rising fuel costs.  Despite these tough economic times for all families, Barack Obama voted to raise taxes on American families making as little as $32,000 a year.  Increasing our tax burden will not solve our problems.” 

On government health insurance mandates, Ellis said, “Government health insurance mandates like Barack Obama proposes will be passed on to employees in the form of a wage cut or lay-offs.  This is not what hard-working Mainers and Americans need in these particularly tough economic times.  John McCain proposes reducing our taxes and giving significant tax credits for health insurance costs, among other proposals that help small businesses, families, and our economy.” 

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BACKGROUND: 

OBAMA'S ECONOMIC MIXED SIGNALS  On The Campaign Trail, Obama's Economic Policies And Rhetoric Consist Of Saying One Thing And Then Doing Another______________________________________________________________________

SAY ONE THING DO ANOTHER ON TAXES

Obama Pledged Not To Raise Taxes On Middle Class Americans, But Voted In Favor Of The Democrats' FY 2009 Budget, Which Would Raise Tax Rates For Americans Earning $31,850 Or More: Obama Pledged To Not Raise Taxes On The Middle Class. ABC's George Stephanopoulos: "Would you take the same pledge [that there will be no middle class tax increases of any kind]?"  Obama: "Well, I not only have pledged not to raise their taxes, I've been the first candidate in this race to specifically say I would cut their taxes." (ABC Democrat Candidates Presidential Debate, Philadelphia, PA, 4/16/08)

• Obama: "I'll Give A Tax Cut To Working People..." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Rally, Denver, CO, 1/30/08)

 Obama Voted Twice In Favor Of The Democrats' FY 2009 Budget Resolution. (S. Con. Res. 70, CQ Vote #85, Adopted 51-44: R 2-43; D 47-1; I 2-0, 3/14/08, Obama Voted Yea; S. Con. Res. 70, CQ Vote #142: Adopted 48- 45: R 2- 44; D 44- 1; I 2-0, 6/4/08, Obama Voted Yea)

• The Democrats' Budget Would Raise Taxes On Individuals Earning $31,850 Or More. "Under both Democratic plans, tax rates would increase by 3 percentage points for each of the 25 percent, 28 percent and 33 percent brackets. At present, the 25 percent bracket begins at $31,850 for individuals and $63,700 for married couples. The 35 percent bracket on incomes over $349,700 would jump to 39.6 percent." (Andrew Taylor, "Presidential Hopefuls To Vote On Budget," The Associated Press, 3/13/08)

 Obama Claims He Wants To "Keep Taxes As Low As Possible," But Repeatedly Voted For Higher Taxes In The U.S. Senate And The Illinois State Senate: Obama: "First of all, I don't want higher taxes, I have to pay taxes, and it's no fun.  You know I think sometimes there's this presumption that Democrats, we just love taxing people. No, I would prefer to keep taxes as low as possible." (ABC's "The View," 3/28/08)Obama Voted At Least 94 Times For Higher Taxes In The U.S. Senate. (RNC Research)

• To Date, Obama Has Voted For A Tax Increase Approximately Once Every Five Days Congress Has Been In Session. (RNC Research; The Library Of Congress Website, thomas.loc.gov, Accessed 6/8/08)

In The State Senate, Obama Supported "Hundreds Of Tax Increases." ABC's Terry Moran: "[O]bama was considered a reliable liberal Democratic vote in Illinois. For instance, voting for most gun control measures, opposing efforts to ban so-called partial birth abortions and supporting hundreds of tax increases." (ABC's "Nightline," 2/25/08) SAY ONE THING DO ANOTHER ON TRADE Now That The Primary Is Over, Obama Claims He Believes In Free Trade, And Has Backed Off His Pledge To Reopen NAFTA: Obama: "And on trade deals, I believe in free trade. And as somebody who lived overseas, who has family overseas, I've seen what's happened in terms of rising living standards around the globe. And that's a good thing for America, it's good for our national security." (CNBC's "Your Money, Your Vote: McCain Vs. Obama," 6/10/08) In The General Election, Obama Has Backed Off His Pledge To Unilaterally Reopen NAFTA. "In an interview with Fortune to be featured in the magazine's upcoming issue, the presumptive democratic nominee backed off his harshest attacks on the free trade agreement and indicated he didn't want to unilaterally reopen negotiations on NAFTA." (Nina Easton, "Obama: NAFTA Not So Bad After All," Fortune, 6/18/08)

• Obama Admitted His Primary Rhetoric Was "Overheated And Amplified." "'Sometimes during campaigns the rhetoric gets overheated and amplified,' he conceded, after I reminded him that he had called NAFTA 'devastating' and 'a big mistake,' despite nonpartisan studies concluding that the trade zone has had a mild, positive effect on the U.S. economy." (Nina Easton, "Obama: NAFTA Not So Bad After All," Fortune, 6/18/08)

 FLASHBACK: Obama's Primary Rhetoric Cast Him As "The Most Protectionist U.S. Presidential Candidate In Decades": "On The Record So Far, Mr. Obama Is The Most Protectionist U.S. Presidential Candidate In Decades." (Editorial, "Change You'll Have To Pay For," Wall Street Journal Asia, 5/28/08) Obama Told Members Of The AFL-CIO That He Opposed NAFTA, CAFTA, The South Korea And Colombia Free Trade Agreements, And Permanent Normal Trade Relations With China. Obama: "But what I refuse to accept is that we have to sign trade deals like the South Korea Agreement that are bad for American workers. What I oppose - and what I have always opposed - are trade deals that put the interests of multinational corporations ahead of the interests of Americans workers - like NAFTA, and CAFTA, and permanent normal trade relations with China. And I'll also oppose the Colombia Free Trade Agreement if President Bush insists on sending it to Congress..." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks To The AFL-CIO, Philadelphia, PA, 4/2/08) Obama Pledged To Renegotiate NAFTA With The Threat Of A "Potential Opt-Out." NBC's Tim Russert: "A simple question. Will you as president say to Canada and Mexico, this [NAFTA] has not worked for us, we are out?" Obama: "I will make sure that we renegotiate in the same way that Senator Clinton talked about, and I think actually Senator Clinton's answer on this one is right. I think we should use the hammer of a potential opt-out as leverage to ensure that we actually get labor and environmental standards that are enforced." (Sen. Barack Obama, MSNBC Democrat Presidential Debate, Cleveland, OH, 2/26/08)

• Obama: "Well, I Don't Think NAFTA Has Been Good For America - And I Never Have." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Loraine, OH, 2/24/08)

 SAY ONE THING DO ANOTHER ON ENERGY POLICY Obama Claims His Energy Policy Will Significantly Reduce Oil Consumption, But He's Backing A Tax Proposal That Has Historically Increased Our Reliance On Foreign Oil: "Obama's Plan Will Reduce Oil Consumption By At Least 35 Percent, Or 10 Million Barrels Per Day, By 2030." (Obama For America Website, www.barackobama.com, Accessed 7/7/08) Obama Is Proposing A $15 Billion A Year Windfall Profits Tax On Oil Companies. "Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal for a windfall profits tax on oil companies could cost $15 billion a year at last year's profit levels, a campaign adviser said." (Daniel Whitten, "Obama May Levy $15 Billion Tax On Oil Company Profit," Bloomberg News, 5/1/08)

• The Non-Partisan Congressional Research Service Found That From 1980 - 1988, The Windfall Profits Tax Reduced Domestic Oil Production And Increased Our Dependence On Foreign Oil By As Much As 13 Percent. "From 1980 to 1988, the WPT may have reduced domestic oil production anywhere from 1.2% to 8.0% (320 to 1,269 million barrels). Dependence on imported oil grew from between 3% and 13%." (Salvatore Lazzari, "The Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Of The 1980s: Implications For Current Energy Policy," Congressional Research Service, 3/9/06)

SAY ONE THING DO ANOTHER ON SPENDING Obama Claims He Pays For Everything He Proposes: Obama: "We Account For Every Single Dollar That We Propose." (Sen. Barack Obama, CNN Democrat Presidential Candidates Debate, Myrtle Beach, SC, 1/21/08) But The Media And His Own Advisers Question His Fiscal Responsibility: PolitiFact Debunks Obama's Claim That His Proposals Are Paid For; Says His Rhetoric Is "Disingenuous." "Until he fleshes out his economic plan considerably more, it's disingenuous to go around claiming his proposals are 'paid for.' And that claim is even more suspect considering that his proposals would leave a larger deficit than would the tax laws currently on the books. We find his claim to be Barely True." ("'Paid For' Without Real Money," St. Petersburg Times' "PolitiFact.com," www.politifact.com, 6/16/08) National Journal's John Maggs Said Obama Does "Not Come Close To Meeting" His Pay-As-You-Go Standard. "[Obama] has rhetorically committed to a 'pay-as-you-go' approach by offsetting new spending and tax cuts with new taxes or spending cuts, but his proposals do not come close to meeting this standard." (John Maggs, "Obama On The Economy," The National Journal, 5/31/08) The New York Times' David Brooks Said For Obama To Fund His Domestic Programs, He Will Have To Break His Pledge Not To Tax The Middle Class. "Both [Obama and Clinton] promised to not raise taxes on those making less than $200,000 or $250,000 a year. They both just emasculated their domestic programs. Returning the rich to their Clinton-era tax rates will yield, at best, $40 billion a year in revenue. It's impossible to fund a health care plan, let alone anything else, with that kind of money. The consequences are clear: if elected they will have to break their pledge, and thus destroy their credibility, or run a minimalist administration." (David Brooks, Op-Ed, "No Whining About The Media," The New York Times, 4/16/08) Obama's New Economic Policy Director, Jason Furman, Said Obama Hadn't Been Specific About Funding Certain Proposals. "Obama 'hasn't been very specific about how he'd pay for a pretty ambitious tax plan,' Furman said." (Sarah Liebowitz, "Democrats' Plans Have Sizable Costs," Concord [NH] Monitor, 12/9/07)

• Furman Said Edwards And Clinton Had Been More Specific. "In terms of tax plans, Edwards and Clinton have 'more clearly specified where the money's coming from and going to.'" (Sarah Liebowitz, "Democrats' Plans Have Sizable Costs," Concord [NH] Monitor, 12/9/07) Former Clinton Adviser, Now-Obama Adviser Gene Sperling Criticized Obama's Funding Mechanisms For His Proposals. "For example, Clinton economic adviser Gene Sperling, in a conversation with CNNMoney.com earlier this year, took the Obama campaign to task for proposing that money saved by drawing down troops in Iraq could be used to pay for some of Obama's proposals. That's money that should be considered emergency spending, Sperling said. 'When Iraq spending goes away, it goes away. You don't use it as a pay-for,' he said. 'We're assum ing that will bring the budget down.'" (Jeanne Sahadi, "Fuzzy Math On The Campaign Trail," CNNMoney.com, 5/6/08)
  • Sperling Said There Was A "Significant Gap" Between Clinton And Obama On Fiscal Responsibility, Noting That Clinton Had Actually Provided "Realistic Ways" To Pay For Her Proposals. "[Sperling] says the key difference between the two candidates' proposals is that Clinton has been more conscientious and rigorous about finding specific, realistic ways to pay for her plans. 'There is a significant gap between Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama on the fiscal responsibility of their proposals,' says Sperling. 'She felt very much that when you're talking to people you need to be able to look them in the eye and tell them very specifically where's the beef.'" (Elizabeth Auster, "Clinton, Obama Plans Are Similar," [Cleveland] Plain Dealer, 2/24/08)  SAY ONE THING DO ANOTHER ON BUSINESS TAX RATES Obama Is Now Considering Reducing Corporate Taxes After Criticizing John McCain's Plan To Do So: The Wall Street Journal Reported That Obama Would Consider Lowering Corporate Taxes. "Sen. Obama's nod to lowering corporate taxes comes as Republicans have been attacking him for proposals that would raise the cost of doing business, such as his pledge to raise the tax rate on capital gains, and his vow to increase the top income-tax rates, which are often used by small, unincorporated enterprises. He didn't say how deeply he would cut the rate, but said it could be trimmed in return for reducing corporate tax breaks, simplifying the tax system." (Bob Davis and Amy Chozick, "Obama Plans Spending Boost, Possible Cut In Business Tax," The Wall Street Journal, 6/17/08)  
    • Obama: "If we could eliminate loopholes in taxes, create a level playing field, then I think there's the possibility to reducing corporate rates." (Bob Davis and Amy Chozick, "Barack Obama On Economics: 'We're Going Through A Big Shift,'" The Wall Street Journal, 6/16/08)

     FLASHBACK: In May 2008, Obama Called Corporate Tax Cuts "The Exact Wrong Prescription For America." Obama: "And his proposals, which are essentially $300 billion worth of corporate tax cuts ... I think is the exact wrong prescription for America." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 5/4/08)