• Font Size    
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Attack Ad Picks On Udall's Record On Taxes

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +    Comments
Aug 9, 2008 2:12 pm US/Mountain

Attack Ad Picks On Udall's Record On Taxes

Reporting
Raj Chohan
DENVER (CBS4) ― There's an attack ad in heavy rotation that targets Democratic candidate for senate Mark Udall. The commercial comes from Coloradans for Economic Growth.

 

Ad: Udall voted for higher taxes at least 50 times.

 

This claim appears to be false. Of the 50 votes cited in the ad, at least half were procedural votes. The majority of the remaining votes were votes against tax cuts. It may seem like semantic hair-splitting, but voting against a tax cut is not the same as voting for a tax hike. Instead, it's a vote for the status quo.

 

But it's not the whole story. The two most significant tax relief measures of the decade happened in 2001 and 2003, commonly referred to as the Bush tax cuts. As a congressman, Udall voted against both packages. His campaign said he disagreed with the regressive structure of the tax cuts which gave larger breaks to the wealthy.  Udall correctly points out that he has voted for individual measures which have provided some tax relief to middle class families.

 

Ad: Udall is fighting for the biggest tax increase in history.

 

Not exactly. Udall opposes an extension of the Bush tax cuts which expire in 2011.  He is not "fighting" for legislation that would raise taxes in this particular case. However, if you currently have a tax break and it goes away, it has the same practical effect as a tax hike.

 

Udall does support extending some elements of the Bush tax cuts that impact low and middle income families, but he opposes extending the tax cuts to those in the highest income brackets. Still, unless a new package is put together to address a number of sun-setting tax provisions, the subsequent tax hit will reach well into the middle-class.

 

Ad: Udall stood with extremist groups and voted to block bipartisan energy reforms that could lower gas prices.

 

Not exactly. The "bipartisan energy reforms" Udall voted against had to do with drilling in ANWR. The oil industry estimates it could get oil out of the ground in 5 to 7 years if the U.S government opens ANWR to drilling. If that's true, there would be a slight increase to the world oil supply, and thus some impact on gas prices. But many experts say the price impact would be minimal because the increased domestic production would account for just a small fraction of the world market.  Nevertheless, critics of Udall's position say any potential increase in domestic production would have a psychological impact on futures traders and thus some impact on oil prices.

 

Bottom line: this ad makes some misleading stretches in order to drive home the underlying point that Udall's record is not that of a tax-cutter relative to his Republican opponent. It's a fair point to make, but this ad exaggerates Udall's voting record in the process.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Curious & Controversial News

Add Comment

here. here. Need a log in? Register here
  •  * Will not be displayed with comment
  •  * e.g. (http://www.mywebsite.com)
  •  
  • Click here to refresh with new letters

Show Comments (0)

Close Window Login


Close Window Flag Comment


loading...
You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Reality Check

Top News Stories

© MMIX, CBS Television Stations Inc. All Rights Reserved.