McAce is a total nincompoop. I think anyone in this day and age that hasn't figured out that the lies are somewhere on a video somewhere "does not get it". Obama is right: "John McCain just doesn't get it."

Man, if that jerk somehow pills this off we are in deep, deep, shit...

Dukakis only sat in one tank. Mondale only promised to raise taxes once.

And of course the stupidest thing of all about his campaign is that there are more of us than there are of them. The top 1% is just that--the top 1%. If 95% understand that their taxes will go down under an Obama administration, then they may well vote for him.

McCain's strategy is the timeworn GOP strategy of inciting middle class resentment of those below them, not those above them. Tax cuts for people aho don't even pay taxes! (If you ignore payroll and sales taxes.) But the economic downturn following on the excesses of the rich in the Bush years has dulled this message. Finally the middle class is waking up to how they've been screwed. Socialism? You betcha! Bring it on!

When John McCain talks about the evils of socialism, people should listen. He suffered years as a POW of a socialist regime.

And Sarah Palin is well aware of the dangers of socialism too, given Alaska's proximity to Russia.

Progressive taxation is not only as American as apple Pie, it was designed by God. "Placing a heavier burden on the wealthy" is clearly seen all throughout the Hebrew Scriptures as God commands people to give to the upkeep of the Temple. However the 'Christian' Right does not care to point that out and sees low taxes as a moral or spiritual virtue.

This line of attack is not even working.

Downtrodden working class folks would love to get any piece of the pie -- whether its from socialism or not.

98 percent of small business owners will get tax cut from Obama.

djbwiththinkforfood.blogspot.com

sometimes the stoopid does more than burn...

despair at the infantile society, media, politics, culture, weltanschauung can even attack mid-week.

jeezus-gawd, what a nightmare obama inherits (not even looking at the dow, this country's dao)

socialism? socialism? i'll give you some fuckin' socialism, you stupid heartless shitheads!

ah, better...

sometimes the stoopid does more than burn...

despair at the infantile society, media, politics, culture, weltanschauung can even attack mid-week.

jeezus-gawd, what a nightmare obama inherits (not even looking at the dow, this country's dao)

socialism? socialism? i'll give you some fuckin' socialism, you stupid heartless shitheads!

ah, better...

Obama spoke about McCain's change of position at a presser this morning and asked was John McCain a socialist back in 2000? Of course not.

The idiot press is still talking about Biden's "tested" comments. Stupid. What happened 8 months after W took office? Of course the next president will be tested. Actually both are being tested now - to explain how they will handle the enormous problems we are already facing. It doesn't start on Jan. 21.

Not to mention we partially nationalized the banks a few weeks ago. We are WAY past progressive taxation. Comrade Paulson shows the way!

Actually, the conservative movement yearns to repeal both the New Deal and the Fair Deal and return to the late 19th century, so calling it socialism is probably an honest argument for them.

Somebody should remind conservatives (so-called) that, decades before Karl Marx was born, Adam Smith advocated for progressive taxes in the Wealth of Nations?

Steve Benen quotes AP's Charles Babbington: "Placing a heavier burden on the wealthy has been a cornerstone of the federal income tax since its inception in 1913."

And McClatchy's David Lightman and William Douglas: "Favoring higher tax rates for the wealthy than for the less fortunate isn't socialism, and if it is, then the U.S. has been a socialist country for nearly a century, under both Democrats and Republicans."

Of course if you talk to the folks I call "tax cut libertarians" (people who describe themselves as "libertarians" but whose so-called "libertarianism" has no real content except a monomaniacal hatred of paying taxes), they will tell you that yes, indeed, the US has been a socialist country under both Democrats and Republicans since the Federal income tax was established in 1913.

WE'RE ALL SOCIALISTS NOW

It's about time.

Jon Stewart showed this clip of McCain endorsing progressive taxation last night, proving once again that his show is miles ahead of other journalists in telling the truth.

Somebody should remind conservatives (so-called) that, decades before Karl Marx was born, Adam Smith advocated for progressive taxes in the Wealth of Nations? Posted by: CJ

Ya. But he was a foreigner.

"Here's what I really believe, that when you are -- reach a certain level of comfort, there's nothing wrong with paying somewhat more."

Hopefully, reporters will pin him down on a number.

20 million? 50 million? 100 million?

What I don't really get is Palin's concerns about socialism. She was governor of the most socialist state in the country. And she increased the government's role in the means of production in her state. By any objective measure, Palin is the most socialist politician in the US right now. More so than Bernie Sanders. And he's a socialist.

Okay, maybe describing Alaska as a socialist state isn't quite right. It's really an Emirate. Alaska's like Dubai, but without the business acumen.

I don't know why we accept the premise that the wealthy have earned their fortunes in the first place. No individual can create a billion dollar's worth of wealth on his own. You might say, well what about a great basketball player. But where would he be without the fans, the infrastructure to support the sport in the first place? What if basketball had never caught on?

We have a winner take all mentality in our society, where the top make exponentially more than the next level, and so on down to the peons like most of us. But who says these people are exponentially better than we are? They do. Money is not just money, but power. They make all the rules. Money rules in a capitalistic society. Those without have no power. But it doesn't mean that those with the money have that much more economic value than the rest of us. It's just that we accept their rules, and cringe and quiver when they shout "Socialist! Marxist!" if we dare raise an objection.

We have to get over the idea that these people are monumentally better than we are. They're not. Money begets money. It's a defect in unfettered capitalism that allows some individuals to amass obscene fortunes, because it subtracts from the aggregate wealth of a society, and puts too much power in the hands of the few, to decide what to do with all that capital.

"Socialist", "terrorist", "Muslim" : these are all power words thrown by the McPalins to their rabid followers to facilitate hate attacks, as exemplified by the noxious voicemail and email assaults on ACORN and the Obama campaign. For that reason, they do not need to have any basis in fact or logic -- though, of course, it helps us to have their vacuity exposed.

"I don't know why we accept the premise that the wealthy have earned their fortunes in the first place."

Exactly. If I hear a radio talk show host complaining about how progressive taxes punish "high achievers" one more time, I'm gonna barf.

(Great post by hark at 1:22.)

"Here's what I really believe, that when you are -- reach a certain level of comfort, there's nothing wrong with paying somewhat more."

I was pleased the first year I had to pay taxes. It meant I was actually making better money. I'd be really please to move up a tax bracket.

McClatchy's David Lightman and William Douglas had a similar item last night, noting, "Favoring higher tax rates for the wealthy than for the less fortunate isn't socialism, and if it is, then the U.S. has been a socialist country for nearly a century, under both Democrats and Republicans."

Any of y'all remember the troll "conspiracy nut," who went further than that, claiming that, since Marx discussed progressive taxation, the system -- accepted by both Democrats and Republicans -- was out-and-out Communist?

Good times...

Can we possibly shift the reason for heavier taxes on the wealthy from "because they can afford it" to the real reason, "the wealthy prosper more from the use of the federal government".

For example, the Walton family prospers a hell of a lot more then Joe the Plumber when we build an embassy in China and send delegates to broker trades deals with them.

That is an extreme example, but roads, and airports, and national defense are all taxpayer funded items that favor the wealthy disproportionately then the middle class. I might drive to a business to work, but the person running that business uses the same roads in order to get customers, suppliers, and employees to his place of business, therefore he should shoulder more of the burden of expense. Almost all taxpayer funded infrastructure is used far more by the wealthy then the middle and poor classes.

So please stop acting like we should raise taxes on the wealthy because they can afford it, it is socialism (which I am not against), but it is a hard sell, start selling the disproportionate amount of taxpayer services the wealthy use and people will agree.

Found the quote I was looking for:

"The man of great wealth owes a peculiar obligation to the State, because he derives special advantages from the mere existence of government" - Teddy Roosevelt

The idea of a heavier tax burden for the wealthy in this country goes at least as far back to Hamilton's approval and encouragement of the idea in Federalist 35.

Last night a reporter on National Amusement's nightly network news labled Obama's tax plan Robin Hood economics.

Here's a list of last year's 400 US billionaires. Probably some will be cut from the list by 2009. So boohoos may be in order. A person could click on a name and see which K Street strings that particular billionaire may be pulling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_billionaires

I work with a lot of seniors (in the South) and it amazes me how many are pro-McCain and anti-Obama. I think everyone should be free to make their own decisions, but it is frustrating to see how many just absorb and regurgitate the Rush-like talking points (or emails) about Obama. Very few view their monthly social security checks or medicare payments as exactly the type of "spreading the wealth" that's implicit in Obama's statement. From their perspective, they are only getting back what they paid in, not realizing if they had a typical retirement savings program, it would have been emptied years ago.

I thought we were "all Georgians now". Today I find out we are "all socialists now". Wish they would make up their minds. I want to be able to share in something. I certainly don't require as much expensive clothing. Is Georgia socialist too??