Fri, Sep 5, 2008 5:45pm ET

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CBS' Rodriguez allowed McCain adviser to claim unchallenged that Obama "has a plan to raise" taxes

Summary: On CBS' The Early Show, Maggie Rodriguez did not challenge McCain campaign adviser Steve Schmidt's claim that "Senator [Barack] Obama has a plan to raise" taxes, even though McCain's own chief economic adviser has reportedly said it is inaccurate to say "Barack Obama raises taxes." Rodriguez did not point out that, in fact, Obama has proposed cutting taxes for low- and middle-income families and raising them only on households earning more than $250,000 per year.
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Posted by foghornleghorn

She's the most popular governor of any governor in the country

She just the bestest, cutest, most hard working, talented, smart, moral governor that has ever governed!

(See what they are doing with a blank slate.  If it wasn't so disgusting, it would be kind of fun to watch the spin meisters mold this woman into someone people would actually think about voting for)

 

Posted by nerzog

If my governor sent me a $3000 Oil Royalty check, I'd love him, too.

Posted by eweston8542983

Mary E Peters, Federal Transportation Secretary stated todat that the Federal Highwat Trust Fund will be running out of money this month. Mostly cause voluntarily or not, we're driving less and their not getting sufficient funds to maintain the Fund due to this. 

Gas tax holiday anyone? 

Posted by nerzog

"Senator Obama's campaign raised $10 million. What do you think that says about Sarah Palin?"

It says that thinking people realize how dangerous it would be to have an Evangelical Troglodyte Nutbag one heart attack away from the Nuclear Button.

She scares the hell out of me.

Posted by DAWUSS in reply to nerzog

Well there could be worse options to have at the helm, right?

Posted by nerzog in reply to DAWUSS

Yes, but I can't think of many.

Do you want someone that close to a nuclear arsenal who considers the end of the world a positive development? Thanks, but no thanks.

Posted by worrierking in reply to DAWUSS

There can be no one more dangerous in the White House than someone who claims to know the mind of God.

NO ONE!

Posted by Max Dharma

More MMFA misinformation:

Summary: On CBS' The Early Show, Maggie Rodriguez did not challenge McCain campaign adviser Steve Schmidt's claim that "Senator [Barack] Obama has a plan to raise" taxes,

Nothing untrue here, Steve Schmidt did say that, and Obama has said he will raise the taxes on the rich and corporations.

even though McCain's own chief economic adviser has reportedly said it is inaccurate to say "Barack Obama raises taxes."

More nonsense. If McCain's chief economic adviser contradicts Steve Schmidt, it does not mean that:

1. Steve Schmidt didn’t say what he said

2. Obama didn’t say he would raise taxes.

Also worth noting: Look at the phrasing here "Barack Obama raises taxes" that seems out of context wouldn’t you think? In context would be "Barack Obama would raise taxes".

Classic MMFA misrepresenting what was said.

And finally:

Rodriguez did not point out that, in fact, Obama has proposed cutting taxes for low- and middle-income families and raising them only on households earning more than $250,000 per year.

How wonderful of Obama, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s said he will raise taxes on the rich and corporations.

There was no reason for Maggie Rodriguez to challenge anything. Steve Schmidt said Obama was going to raise taxes, and that is all true.

Don’t be fooled by MMFA’s conniving presentations.

Posted by loonz in reply to Max Dharma

and Obama has said he will raise the taxes on the rich and corporations.

You've summed up Obama's position very succinctly.  Why didn't Schmidt do it? Why didn't the "reporter" expound on it.

Posted by oscar the grouch in reply to loonz

Max's details would have taken longer than the 10 sec attention span of the average media viewer these days.  Schmidt told the truth but didn't go into the details.

Posted by loonz in reply to oscar the grouch

That's what the "reporter" is for (or use to be).  It would have taken her two seconds to issue a point of clarification.

Posted by open_mind in reply to oscar the grouch

Schmidt told half of the truth.  The half that benefits his side.  Half of the truth should not be mistaken for the truth iself.

Posted by open_mind in reply to Max Dharma

"There was no reason for Maggie Rodriguez to challenge anything. Steve Schmidt said Obama was going to raise taxes, and that is all true."--max

No. It is only half-true as MMFA pointed out.  If you only mention what is going to happen to 5% of the population, but fail to make that 5% distinction, people can be misinformed as to whether it is likely to affect them.  Of course, you and the McCain campaign do not mind that at all apparently.  Why am I not surprised.  Your criticism of MMFA here is pure self-serving nonsense.

Posted by Max Dharma

PS. Don’t be a goldfish; eagerly snapping up whatever crumbs are sprinkled on the surface.

Posted by worrierking in reply to Max Dharma

Better to be a bottom feeder like you Max.

Posted by Max Dharma in reply to worrierking

Come on, rebut my argument.

Isn’t it time you demanded truth and honesty from MMFA?

I have no problem with MMFA’s charter:

systematically monitor a cross section of print, broadcast, cable, radio, and Internet media outlets for conservative misinformation — news or commentary that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda

But this isn’t what they are doing.. you see that right?

Posted by loonz in reply to Max Dharma

Isn’t it time you demanded truth and honesty from MMFA?

MM can do whatever they want.  I want truth and honesty from the republican party.  Your party is filled with a bunch of liars and hypocrites.

Posted by BottleBlonde in reply to Max Dharma

Actually, that's exactly what they're doing with this report.

Conservative misinformation furthers the conservative agenda to make conservatives look better than they deserve to look and liberals look worse than they actually are.

This posting is a clear example of conservative misinformation that furthers that agenda.

Posted by Max Dharma in reply to BottleBlonde

Obama is as liberal as democrats come.

You understand that don't you BottleBrush?

Liberal Democrats (and Bush) grow government, they grow entitlements (for folks like you), and they will tax ALL OF US to get it.

if you think for one minute that Obama is going to make your tax burden go down, then that hydrogen peroxide your are using must have pickled that brain of yours.

Posted by tman418 in reply to Max Dharma

Max Dharma,

When the McCain campaign says that Obama will "raise taxes", they are overtly implying, meaning it literally translates to something along the lines, "that most of middle America working hard will have their money needlessly taken from them." McCain's own economic advisor disputed this idea. I think with the debt we are in, that we will have to pay off some day, it really wouldn't hurt to raise taxes on the rich. Oh, poor rich people, everytime I think of tax day, just, trapped in their board rooms, huddling for wealth.

Posted by tman418 in reply to tman418

Now, if this person from the McCain campaign had actually said on WHOM Obama plans to raise (and cut) taxes for, then you would have a point, although MMFA wouldn't have any misinformation (or lack thereof) to post concerning this TV segment.

Posted by mrhebert74

Go away Max Dharma. You haven't added anything useful here. MMFA's job is to point it out when journalists fail to challenge misinformation. The fact that it is literally true that Obama's plan would raise some taxes does not mean the journalist should fail to challenge the partisan's statement that Obama "would raise taxes." The journalist's role, in the eyes of those who prefer the press to serve teh public interest, should be to clarify the relevant facts for viewers, i.e., that Obama's plan would lower most people's taxes.

Max Dharma, this is what MMFA does. They say that they do this. Then they do it. There's no conniving. So, to summarize: Go away.

 

Posted by Max Dharma in reply to mrhebert74

The fact that it is literally true that Obama's plan would raise some taxes

Exactly, and this is the problem I have with MMFA and why I call their articles conniving.

They are NOT reporting misinformation, they are pressing a liberal agenda under the guise of a public service.

If MMFA wants to be a liberal blog, then great .. but don’t tell me they are correcting misinformation, because that’s simply not true.

And yes, I am contributing something of value here .. I’m challenging all of you that simply come here to slurp up whatever MMFA dishes out to question it and debate me (and others) on content.

Posted by loonz in reply to Max Dharma

Exactly, and this is the problem I have with MMFA and why I call their articles conniving.

No.  The "reporter" should have said what you said in your first post.

Posted by skeptical in reply to Max Dharma

So Max,

Please explain somehting to me.  When someone says something like ""X" will raise taxes" What does that phrase mean to you?

Posted by skeptical in reply to skeptical

Also Max,

You really aren't contributing anything.  You are parsing a statement into segments that don't take into account the context or the meaning.

So you are just trying to get into an argument over foolish things and not discuss anything substantive!

Posted by MidnightWriter in reply to Max Dharma

Max, Max, Max--is it Hannity you're working for? Or maybe O'Reilly?

Either way, here's the problem. CBS hosted a McCain spokesperson who, not suprisingly, spoke in blurs. For weeks the McCain folks have been running ads that have suggested Obama would raise taxes on everyone (I live in Ohio--I'm seeing them daily), not just the folks who take in a yearly salary that's slightly less than a Cindy McCain outfit.

If there's any conniving going on it's NeoCon conniving. They are doing everything they can to distort Obama's record and platform because they know they have a weak candidate following a terrible President. All signs are pointing to disaster.

MMFA does what your buddies Sean and Bill are afraid to do--offer up information in context. The good folks who read and post here are given the complete story, not just a skillfully edited sample. You might notice that a few of us take things a step further and do some research beyond what we find here and share it when appropriate. Some even take the time to point out MMFA's mistakes when they occur, and, you know what? They make the corrections.

I think you're a smart guy who has been listening to the wrong people. Turn off the talk radio for a week. Watch news produced by someone other than Fox. Then come back and see us. You might be ever so glad that you did.

Posted by Max Dharma in reply to MidnightWriter

Hey Midnight, thank you for the intelligent and thoughtful reply!

I know there are some informed posters here and I always appreciate reading their posts. In fact, I actually enjoy and appreciate all sides of these debates. I’m one of those guys that watched the complete DNC and RNC, and I didn’t spend the whole time bashing the DNC. As a matter of fact, I thought Hillary Clinton’s speech was great, just Great. Bill’s was quite good too.

I’m currently disappointed in my party, quite disappointed actually. Until recently I considered dropping from the republican party to become an Independent. I’m the first to admit there is corruption in the republican party, and Bush was a spending mad man!

I believe in small government, not the fat bloated pig it’s turned into. Heh.

I’m not a Hannity or O'Reilly lackey; Hannity is starting to annoy me a bit but I do like O'Reilly. (And I love Colbert)

I do my best to look at all sides of an issue, but something about MMFA rubs me the wrong way, especially given their “public servicer” façade.

Anywho, isn’t it Miller Time yet?

Posted by BottleBlonde in reply to Max Dharma

No, we believe you already started. In fact, based upon your contributions, you are in a perpetual haze.

Media Matters covers items that forward the conservative agenda. Painting a portrait of Obama as someone who will 'raise your taxes' does exactly that - it makes him look worse than he deserves to look, because reality is that he won't be raising taxes on most people.

In fact, the reason the righties say that he'll 'raise taxes' is because they are talking about him repealing the Bush tax cuts.

However, that's not all that Obama will do. He will repeal those tax cuts and implement other tax cuts, and the combined effect of those proposals will cut taxes for most people, including almost everyone who makes under a quarter of a million dollars!

It's the distortion of reality, a distortion that makes Obama look worse than what would be fair, that makes Media Matters cover this.

Posted by Max Dharma in reply to BottleBlonde

Truth be told, I wouldn’t drink a Miller beer if you paid me. I’m more of a Gin Martini with an onion kind of guy.

Anyway, I know what you’re saying, but I’m worried about the $65 billion a year to fund Obama’s health plan.

I’m also one that doesn’t think the ‘rich’ should be penalized for being ‘go getters’.

The wealthy are quite often the hardest working in our society and provide the jobs to others. Why do we think its okay to “tax the wealthy” disproportionally?

Why are we ‘okay’ when a politician says “Health Care for all!! And we’ll make the wealthy pay for it!!” *everyone claps*

I think that’s broken.

Posted by BottleBlonde in reply to Max Dharma

What a jackass you are.

Your argument gets torn to shreds by me, and so you try to distract from that fact by bringing up another couple of strawman arguments.

Universal Healthcare would cost less, in the long run and in the short run, than what we're doing now. That's the facts.

And the rich can best afford to pay taxes, so they should pay much more than those people who are barely scraping by. The effect of someone making $30,000 a year paying 10% more is incredibly hurtful. The effect on someone making $300,000 paying 10% more is innocuous, and allows 10 people making $30,000 to not be hurt. The benefits to the community greatly outweigh the costs to the rich person.

Top that off with the fact that the rich people keep getting richer, and the disparity between rich and middle and lower class workers keeps getting greater and greater - we need to have no more sympathy for rich people, and we need to have much greater empathy for poor people.

Posted by skeptical in reply to BottleBlonde

BB,

Don't bother arguing with Max.  I think he is histybuff and sciencguy back in a new identity.

Posted by Max Dharma in reply to BottleBlonde

"Your argument gets torn to shreds by me,"

lol, good one bottlebrush. You couldn't tear up an argument if it were inscribed on a post-it note.

"and so you try to distract from that fact by bringing up another couple of strawman arguments."

I'm pretty sure you're parroting someone else's wisdom here. Please tell me, what strawman madam; hmm?

Posted by loonz in reply to Max Dharma


The wealthy are quite often the hardest working in our society

No they're not.

and provide the jobs to others.

Some do, some don't.

Why do we think its okay to “tax the wealthy” disproportionally?

They're are things to be done in our society and they have the money to spare.

Posted by Max Dharma in reply to loonz

They're are things to be done in our society and they have the money to spare.

haha! truly the values this country was founded on ..

Let the hard worked pay and let the low layers lay.

I'm sorry, but no. You and BB need to pick your sorry selves up and pay your own way.

Posted by loonz in reply to Max Dharma

I'm sorry, but no. You and BB need to pick your sorry selves up and pay your own way.

What makes you think we don't?

Posted by Col. Harlan Sanders in reply to loonz

Loonz, you've been around here enough to know the answer to that. Every conservative still living at home, having his old man throw the want ads on his bed every morning, likes to take it out on the "Damn Libruls" before going back to sleep.

Cuz daddy always tells him that anybody that wants some sort of civilization must be a freeloading commie. Daddy's impression of liberals is based on his no-account boy, the Republican.

Posted by Max Dharma in reply to Col. Harlan Sanders

Sounds to me - COL. SANDERS that you're speaking from experience; firsthand experience.

Posted by BottleBlonde in reply to Max Dharma

Our nation is not run on a 'pay your own way' mentality.

That is what many rich Republicans want and they have brainwashed many middle class conservatives into believing that it's good for them too.

It's not. It would be more cost effective to insure everyone rather than the current situation.

There are things that our country does that have costs, and those costs should be mostly borne by the people best able to bear them.

Posted by Max Dharma in reply to BottleBlonde

"and those costs should be mostly borne by the people best able to bear them."

Here you go BB:

How would a communist USA pay for "free" health care and education?

http://www.cpusa.org/article/view/936/

Posted by mrhebert74 in reply to Max Dharma

Max, I have a link to a Reuters article here that provides an example of the exact sort of public service journalists are supposed to provide. The article prints McCain's sound bite about Obama's tax policy, but also points out the relevant context (that Obama's plan would cut taxes for most). It's in the sixth paragraph. MMFA's argument in this type of item is always that the press should provide the relevant context when allowing a misleading quote to be aired or printed. Are you against that?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080905/pl_nm/usa_politics_dc

Posted by Max Dharma in reply to mrhebert74

thank you HEBERT, that was an excellent article.

I only all wish all articles were equally well constructed.

PS. I especially liked this part:

A record 38.9 million U.S. TV viewers -- more than one in 10 people -- watched McCain's acceptance speech to the convention, topping the 38.3 million people who watched Obama's the week before, Nielsen Media Research reported. Palin drew 37.2 million viewers.

:D

Posted by skeptical in reply to Max Dharma

Max,

Did you ever stop to consider why?  It's because very few republicans watched Obama (it was mainly Democrats and Independants) and it was an even split Repubs/democrats/independants that watched McCain.

You see, Democrats actually want to see the other person speak and hear what they have to say.  Repubs can't stand to hear the other person speak, mainly because they can't understand what that person is saying, but also because they can't comprehend facts and truth.

Posted by Max Dharma in reply to skeptical

Well, I can not speak for all conservatives, but I watched the DNC and thought Hillary's speech was great. (I was also impressed with Bill's.)

I would have FAR preferred Hillary to Obama, but that's a topic for another day.

Posted by open_mind in reply to Max Dharma

"And yes, I am contributing something of value here .. I’m challenging all of you that simply come here to slurp up whatever MMFA dishes out to question it and debate me (and others) on content."--Max

Point of clarity: That is what you "think" you are doing.  I am still waiting for anything "challenging" to come from you.  It appears you are just another typical partisan who thinks that half-truths are just as good as the real thing.

Posted by Max Dharma in reply to open_mind

Keep an open mind ;)

Posted by rrastro

Considering the Obama ad, that starts with his approval (with an LPN for god sake!!) saying mccain will make abortion illegal, who cares? were electing president not autocrat

Posted by skeptical in reply to rrastro

Huh?

Posted by BillJ-MN in reply to rrastro

Got a link to that ad?  Most political ads are available for free somewhere on the internet.  I'm afraid I'm not going to accept your version at face value.

Posted by catfish1968

If Obama is the most liberal democrat, then you haven't met me, sucka!

Posted by catfish1968

Max Dharma sees commies everywhere!

Posted by catfish1968

Retroactive abortion for Max