I just got an e-mail forwarded from the McSame-Pain campaign. In it my ignoramus friend - whose name is at the top and bottom of the e-mail in place of whatetever Repugly-can't flack actually crapped it out of his PC at campaign HQ - tried shake my faith in Obama. How? What was the subject line of his forward - the thing he hoped would turn me away from my belief in progressive government (needless to say, this fellow has received dozens of my e-mails over the years) and to the dark side?
Go below the fold, my friends, for the subject line the Rovian masters believe will whip their base into a frenzy this November 4th.
The latest attack meme from the would-be Prisoner-in-Chief and the Super-Duper-Power-Abuser Moose Slaying Mama is....
.-- ----- drumroll please --------
"Obama tells the truth...please read..."
OMFG.
This is what they fear. The one thing that can undo them utterly, forever.
The Truth
The campaign e-mail tells the well-publicized story of the plumber in Ohio who asked Obama if his taxes would go up because he is buying a business with income of over $250K. It then descends into the doublethink that has been the hallmark of Republican politics since Reagan. Example (emphasis mine):
Obama dropped the mask long enough to tell the truth to Toledo plumber Joe Wurzelbacher - who had asked the Democratic nominee why he wanted to jack up his taxes just for "fulfilling the American dream."
"I'm getting ready to buy a company that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year," Wurzelbacher had told Obama. "Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?"
"It's not that I want to punish your success," Obama replied. "I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success, too . . . When you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."
At last! The truth outs!
Hells bells, that's some powerful f'ing truth! I'm against that!!!
Obama's plan isn't about sinking hooks into Wall Street CEOs and other fat cats, as he usually says.
Yep, Obama's tax plan doesn't hit up "Wall Street CEOs and other fat cats" because Joe "Six-Pack" Wurzelback - who is must already be wealthy enough to buy a business with a six-figure income, cause he sure as shootin' ain't getting a bank loan today, you betcha' - may see his marginal tax rate increased by a few percent.
What freaking bloody ignorance. "Look at the birdie..."
So I answered my dear friend's e-mail with one of my own. And since the ignoramus cc'd his entire list, they were fair game and shared the pleasure of my reply:
Dear (ignoramus),
Thank you for forwarding the McCain-Palin's e-mail to me. I've read it, and it is 100% true that Obama's tax policy will increase the marginal tax rates for anyone with income over $250,000 per year while reducing taxes for everyone else and transferring wealth to the poor and middle class from the rich. It is a policy that I wholeheartedly support.
Under 28 years of nearly uninterrupted Republican rule, the rich have gotten richer at an astonishing rate while their tax rates have plummeted. Not by coincidence, government debt and the annual interest it incurs has exploded. The national debt is up more than 1000% since 1980 to over 10 TRILLION dollars today. The interest we pay on that debt is over 450 BILLION dollars per year.
You and I have to pay that interest, and our children and grandchildren will eventually have to pay back the debt. But you and John McCain want to continue the accumulation of wealth by the wealthiest at the expense of our nation. You and John McCain want to see the United States become a Banana Republic
A continuation of the Reagan-Bush tax policies will push our economy towards compete collapse. We are already on the brink - did you notice the stock market is down 30% this year? Reagan/Bush's "supply-side economics" have drained our national treasury at the same time that spending, especially on military armaments and war, have increased dramatically. The result? Deficits as far as the eye can see.
For the sake of my children and grandchildren, I think it is time for a change.
Vote Obama.
Here is a responses I got from his mailing list:
Hello Barrett,
This is (ignoramus's) close childhood friend. Thank you for writing your comprehensive, thoughtful and thorough response to (ignoramus's) forward. I appreciate you taking the time to put information into a larger context -- it is surely time to look at the bigger picture.
That being said, of course I am an Obama supporter come Nov 4.
Have a great day,
and another:
Great...just what we need, another 4 years of fiscal madness added to the
last 8. While you've misrepresented Obama's tax policy, (he gives more
than twice the amount of tax breaks to people who make less than 250K),
that's not my only concern. Without an overall healthy economy, EVERYONE
suffers, from the poorest to the richest - the poorest (and middle class)
just feel the pain a helluva lot more than the top earners. Check-out the
Tax Policy Center for an unbiased look at both plans.
It feels good to tell the truth! Republicans, don't be afraid!!