Ohio Democratic Party Radio Ad

“More of the Same”

April 21, 2008

Script

Documentation

(V/O)

After months of ignoring Americans' worries about the economy, John McCain is trying to make up for his mistake by making lots of big promises.

December 2007: McCain Admitted He Had No Viable Solution For Subprime Mortgage Crisis. In a December meeting with the editorial board of New Hampshire's Keene Sentinel, McCain responded to a question regarding the sub-prime mortgage loan crisis saying, "Obviously, the worse it gets, the more there is a role for government.  But I can't come down yet and give ... a specific solution, because I don't claim to be smart enough." [Keene Sentinel Editorial Board Meeting, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTmIJ5Aag2Qm, 12/4/07; American Banker, 3/11/2008]

December 2007: Economy Top Issue In 2008 Presidential Election. In a December 2007 CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, the economy was the number one concern of voters. 29% of those surveyed said the economy was their top issue when it came to choosing the next president. [CNN/Opinion Research press release, http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2007/images/12/11/rel12e.pdf, Released 12/11/07]

January 2008: McCain Shrugged Off Economy As Unimportant To Voters. While campaigning in Florida, McCain continued to focus on national security, touching only sparingly on the nation’s economic jitters. According to the Associated Press, McCain told reporters “Even if the economy is the, quote, No. 1 issue, the real issue will remain America's security.” McCain continued, “And if they choose to say, ‘Look, I do not need this guy because he's not as good on home loan mortgages’ or whatever it is, I understand about that, I will accept that verdict.  I am running because of the transcendental challenge of the 21st century, which is radical Islamic extremism.” [New York Times, 1/28/08]

January 2008: Economy Top Issue In 2008 Presidential Election. In a January 2008 CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, the economy was the number one concern of voters. 35% of those surveyed said the economy was their top issue when it came to choosing the next president. [CNN/Opinion Research press release, http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2008/images/01/11/rel1a.pdf, Released 1/11/08]

March 2008: Top Banking Publication Said McCain Lacked Specific Plan To Solve Mortgage Crisis. According to the American Banker, a leading news source in the banking and financial services community, John McCain failed to offer a comprehensive plan to address the national mortgage crisis. “Both Democratic candidates have offered broad and detailed proposals to protect consumers strapped by mortgages … Sen. McCain has been more muted. Unlike either of his potential opponents, the Republican’s website shows no mention of the mortgage crisis among his economic proposals.” [American Banker, 3/11/08]

March 2008: McCain Offered No Specific Proposals To Help Homeowners In Major Address. In a major address on the national mortgage crisis, McCain said government’s role should be temporary and limited. “It is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers,” McCain said. McCain offered no specific federal proposals to aid homeowners facing foreclosure and placed blame on people who “bought homes they couldn’t afford.” [Seattle Times, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004306465_mccain26.html, 3/26/08; New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/us/politics/25cnd-mccain.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin, 3/25/08]

Finally, In April 2008, McCain Revealed Foreclosure Plan That Lacked Crucial Details.  After stating it was not the government’s duty to bail out homeowners less than a month before, John McCain announced a proposal to allow qualified homeowners with subprime mortgages refinance and get federally guaranteed 30-year mortgages. Still missing were details on exactly who would be eligible for help. “It has to be someone who at the time looked like they were a sensible borrower and now they can't handle it,” said Doug Holtz-Eakin, senior policy adviser to McCain. [New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/washington/10cnd-mccain.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin, 4/11/08; MSNBC, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24046525/, 4/10/08]

The Next Day, McCain Announced Economic Agenda That Favors Corporations And The Wealthy. On April 15, John McCain spoke at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh about the economy, “the broadest look yet at his economic policies … the clearest view to date,” according to the New York Times. The centerpiece of McCain’s economic agenda was tax cuts.  McCain wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, reduce corporate taxes to 25 percent from 35 percent, and eliminate the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Of the four million taxpayers that pay the AMT, 93 percent earn between $200,000 and $1 million, according to the Tax Policy Center. The Washington Post said McCain’s speech “offered sweeping rhetoric about the economic plight of working-class Americans” and was “billed as the most comprehensive summary of McCain’s economic vision to date.” [New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/us/politics/16mccain.html?_r=1&oref=slogin, 4/16/08; Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/15/ST2008041502958.html, 4/16/08]

(McCain Ad audio)

John McCain. Big Ideas for serious problems.

McCain Campaign Launched TV Ad In Ohio, Pennsylvania. On April 15, the McCain presidential campaign released a new television ad, entitled "Ignite.” The ad will air in select, targeted markets in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The ad closes with the tag line “Big ideas for serious problems.” [John McCain Campaign Press Release, 4/15/08]

(V/O)

But are McCain’s ideas really worth bragging about?

His “big idea” for struggling homeowners? Skip the family vacation – get a second job to pay the bank.

McCain Urged Homeowners Facing Foreclosure To Work A Second Job And Skip A Vacation. In his first major address on the national mortgage crisis, John McCain blamed the crisis on people who “bought homes they couldn’t afford.” McCain urged homeowners to do “what is necessary” to make their bank payments by “working a second job, skipping a vacation, and managing their budgets.” [“John McCain Addresses the Housing Crisis,” johnmccain.com, 3/25/08]

McCain’s “big idea” for workers? More unfair trade deals that send good jobs overseas.

McCain Would Expand Free Trade Agreements To “Almost Any Country.” Senator John McCain is an advocate of free trade deals. “If I were president, I would negotiate a free trade agreement with almost any country willing to negotiate fairly with us," he said. [CNN, http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/11/29/candidates.wto/index.html, 11/29/99]

McCain: 14 Years Later, NAFTA Still “A Good Idea.” In an interview with the Des Moines Register leading up to the Iowa caucuses, McCain said “I know NAFTA was a good idea. … There have been winners and losers. And that’s the problem. But free trade is something that I think is vital to America.”  In 1993, McCain voted for NAFTA and has been a supporter of the trade agreement ever since. [Des Moines Register and www.BigThink.com interview, November 2007; HR3450, Vote #395, 11/20/93]

Over One Million American Jobs Lost Due To NAFTA. From 1993 through 2004, the United States lost 1,015,290 jobs due to NAFTA.  Ohio was ranked fifth in states experiencing the most job losses. [Robert E. Scott and David Ratner, “NAFTA’s Cautionary Tale- Recent history suggests CAFTA could lead to further U.S. job displacement,” Economic Policy Institute, 7/20/05]

McCain Voted For Central American Free Trade Agreement. In 2005, McCain voted for the Central American Free Trade Agreement. CAFTA cut tariffs among the United States, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. [S1307, Vote #170, 6/30/05]

Ohio Manufacturers Said CAFTA Would Benefit Corporations, Gut U.S. Manufacturing Base. The United States Business and Industry Council sent a letter to President Bush urging him to withhold CAFTA from congressional consideration because it was “the latest in [a] series of outsourcing deals that are gutting our domestic manufacturing base.” Twenty four organizations signed the letter, including three Northeast Ohio groups. In the letter, the Council wrote, “The six other CAFTA signatories are manifestly too small, too poor, and often too indebted to become significant consumer markets for U.S. exports. Their only attraction is to multinational corporations, which see them as low-cost bases for supplying the U.S. market.” [United States Business and Industry Council, http://www.americaneconomicalert.org/USBIC_Manufacturers_Letter.pdf, 6/21/05]

And for taxpayers? McCain’s “big idea” is more big tax breaks for the very rich- all while McCain opposes overtime pay for workers.

McCain Supports Making Bush Tax Cuts Permanent. During the GOP presidential debate in Florida, Senator John McCain said, “I think it's very important that we make the Bush tax cuts permanent.  I voted to make them permanent twice already.” [MSNBC Presidential Debate, Boca Raton, Florida, 1/24/08]

McCain Voted To Extend Tax Cuts To Wealthiest Americans. In 2006, Senator John McCain voted for a tax reconciliation bill that included almost $70 billion in tax cuts, mostly for the nation's wealthiest taxpayers. People earning $1 million a year would save about $42,700, and reap about 22 percent of the total tax cut, according to the Tax Policy Center, a research group in Washington. People earning $40,000 to $50,000 a year would save about $47 and receive less than 1 percent of the benefits. The bill passed 54-44. [HR4297, Vote #118, 5/11/06; New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/washington/12spend.html?_r=1&oref=slogin, 5/12/06]

McCain Voted Against Protections For Workers’ Overtime Rights. McCain voted against protecting workers’ overtime pay from Bush administration rules that threatened the overtime rights of millions of workers.  The Senate voted 52-47 to ensure the Labor Department would not deny overtime to any category of worker qualified to receive it. The New York Times called it a “significant defeat” to the Bush administration. [S1637, Vote #79, 5/4/04; New York Times, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E0D7113DF936A35756C0A9629C8B63, 5/5/04]

After twenty-five years in Washington, these are John McCain’s Big Ideas: More homes foreclosed on; more American jobs shipped overseas; more tax giveaways to millionaires. Nothing for the middle class.

McCain Entered Congress Twenty-Five Years Ago. Senator John McCain was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona in 1982. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, after serving two terms in the U.S. House. [John McCain biography, johnmccain.com]

FORECLOSURES:

McCain: “Not The Duty Of Government To Bail Out” Homeowners. When addressing the national mortgage crisis, McCain said government’s role should be temporary and limited. “It is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers,” McCain said. “Government assistance to the banking system should be based solely on preventing systemic risk that would endanger the entire financial system and the economy.” [Seattle Times, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004306465_mccain26.html, 3/26/08; New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/us/politics/25cnd-mccain.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin, 3/25/08]

AMERICAN JOBS:

McCain Would Expand Free Trade Agreements To “Almost Any Country.” Senator John McCain is an advocate of free trade deals. “If I were president, I would negotiate a free trade agreement with almost any country willing to negotiate fairly with us," he said. [CNN, http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/11/29/candidates.wto/index.html, 11/29/99]

McCain: 14 Years Later, NAFTA Still “A Good Idea.” In an interview with the Des Moines Register leading up to the Iowa caucuses, McCain said “I know NAFTA was a good idea. … There have been winners and losers. And that’s the problem. But free trade is something that I think is vital to America.”  In 1993, McCain voted for NAFTA and has been a supporter of the trade agreement ever since. [Des Moines Register and www.BigThink.com interview, November 2007; HR3450, Vote #395, 11/20/93]

TAX GIVEAWAYS:

McCain Supports Making Bush Tax Cuts Permanent. During the GOP presidential debate in Florida, Senator John McCain said, “I think it's very important that we make the Bush tax cuts permanent. I voted to make them permanent twice already.” [MSNBC Presidential Debate, Boca Raton, Florida, 1/24/08]

McCain Voted To Extend Tax Cuts To Wealthiest Americans. In 2006, Senator John McCain voted for a tax reconciliation bill that included almost $70 billion in tax cuts, mostly for the nation's wealthiest taxpayers. People earning $1 million a year would save about $42,700, and reap about 22 percent of the total tax cut, according to the Tax Policy Center, a research group in Washington. People earning $40,000 to $50,000 a year would save about $47 and receive less than 1 percent of the benefits. The bill passed 54-44. [HR4297, Vote #118, 5/11/06; New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/12/washington/12spend.html?_r=1&oref=slogin, 5/12/06]

John McCain. The more you learn, the more you see he’s just more of the same.

(Disclaimer)

Paid for by the Ohio Democratic Party, Chairman Chris Redfern. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.