Debate Facts

[Skinzaholic]

Kerry's Claim: President Bush's Tax Cuts Shift The Tax Burden To The Middle Class.

The Facts:


Kerry's Campaign Promises Total At Least $2 Trillion And Would Increase The Deficit By As Much As $2.5 Trillion Over The Next Ten Years. "Even with that generous accounting, the Kerry spending promises add up to an extraordinary amount of money. Our best estimate is that Kerry's proposals will add up to between $2 trillion and $2.1 trillion over the next ten years. Since the revenue from his tax proposals relative to the current baseline is actually negative, this implies that the Kerry proposal would increase the deficit by perhaps as much as $2.5 trillion over the next ten years." (Kevin Hassett, "An Analysis of the Ten-Year Costs of Senator Kerry's Spending Proposals," AEI, 8/12/04)

Kerry Voted 98 Times For Tax Increases Totaling More Than $2.3 Trillion.

Kerry Voted At Least 126 Times Against Tax Cuts Totaling More Than $5.3 Trillion.

In 1995, Kerry Voted For A Resolution That Said Middle Class Tax Cuts Were Not Wise. "The sense of the Senate amendment, killed on a motion by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), said, 'Reducing the deficit should be one of the nation's highest priorities, and that a middle-class tax cut would undermine and be inconsistent with the goal of achieving a balanced budget.'" (H.J. Res. 1, CQ Vote #67: Motion Agreed To 66-32: R 49-3; D 17-29, 2/14/95, Kerry Voted Nay)

Kerry Voted For Higher Gas Taxes 10 Times.

All Income Taxpayers Are Getting Tax Relief – 111 Million Americans In All. (Treasury Department, 4/9/04, http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js1315.htm)

In 2004 The Total Tax Burden For The Middle Class Is Falling To Its Lowest Level On Record. ("CBO Report Shows Middle Income Tax Burden at Lowest Levels in Decades," Joint Economic Committee, 8/25/04, http://www.house.gov/jec/press/2004/08-25-04.htm)

Nearly Five Million Taxpayers – Including Four Million With Children – Will Pay No Income Taxes At All This Year Because Of The Tax Relief. (Treasury Department, 4/9/04, http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js1315.htm)

14 Million Low Income Families Will Receive Tax Refunds Under The Refundable Child Credit In 2004. This compares to only 1.6 million had the President's tax relief not been enacted.

Combined With The Earned Income Tax Credit, 24 Million Low-Income Families Will Receive Direct Assistance This Year Through The Tax Code.

High-Income Earners Are Paying A Greater Share Of All Income Taxes. The percentage of income taxes paid this year by the top 1 percent of earners will be higher at 32.3 percent with the tax relief than just 31.6 percent without the tax relief. ("Effective Federal Tax Rates under Current Law, 2001 to 2014," Congressional Budget Office, 8/04, http://www.cbo.gov/showdoc.cfm?index=5746&sequence=0)

A Family Of Four Making $40,000 Gets $1,900 In Tax Relief. (Treasury Department, 4/9/04, http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/js1315.htm)

[Skinzaholic]

Kerry's Claim: President Bush Has Not Done Enough To Stop Outsourcing.

The Facts:


Kerry Surrogate Robert Rubin Said Kerry's Plan Won't Stop Outsourcing. ABC'S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "One of the hottest issues in the presidential campaign this year is the issue of outsourcing. Senator Kerry has said that he would take away the tax break that allows companies to not pay taxes as they as long as they keep the income overseas. Will that stop the outsourcing problem?" KERRY ADVISOR ROBERT RUBIN: "No, I think that outsourcing is part of a much larger issue. It's part of trade liberalization, and trade liberation, as Senator Kerry has said and President Clinton used to say, is very much beneficial to our economic well being." (ABC's "This Week," 9/12/04)

Kerry's Plan Will Benefit Foreign Corporations at the Expense of U.S. Corporations and Workers. "Raising taxes on U.S. companies that do business abroad will only make these companies less competitive, less profitable, and less likely to create new jobs at home or abroad." (U.S. Chamber Of Commerce, "U.S. Chamber Warns Against Misguided Tax Reforms," Press Release, 3/26/04)

Forty Business Leaders Have Endorsed Kerry Who Work For Businesses On Lou Dobbs' "Exporting America" List. These leaders include Kerry National Finance Chairman Lou Susman of Citigroup and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin of Citigroup. ("Lou Dobbs Tonight," CNN.com, Available At http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/, Accessed 8/4/2004).

Kerry Now Claims "Benedict Arnold" Line Does Not Refer To Companies Outsourcing Jobs, Saying "I Support That." Kerry: "But the Benedict Arnold line applied, you know, I called a couple of times to overzealous speechwriters and said 'look that's not what I'm saying.' Benedict Arnold does not refer to somebody who in the normal course of business is going to go overseas and take jobs overseas. That happens. I support that. I understand that." (Jerry Seib, John Harwood And Jacob Schlesinger, "Excerpts From An Interview With John Kerry," The Wall Street Journal, 5/3/04)

[Skinzaholic]

Kerry's Claim: The Patriot Act Should Be Reformed.

The Facts:


Kerry Voted For Patriot Act And Has Defended His Vote. "Most of [The Patriot Act] has to do with improving the transfer of information between CIA and FBI, and it has to do with things that really were quite necessary in the wake of what happened on September 11th." (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At Town Hall Meeting, Manchester, NH, 8/6/03)

Now, Kerry Attacks The Patriot Act Claiming "We Are A Nation Of Laws And Liberties, Not Of A Knock In The Night." "So it is time to end the era of John Ashcroft. That starts with replacing the Patriot Act with a new law that protects our people and our liberties at the same time. I've been a District Attorney and I know that what law enforcement needs are real tools not restrictions on American's basic rights." (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At Iowa State University, 12/1/03)

Kerry Changes Would Make Law Enforcement Tools Weaker Than They Were Before September 11th. Before September 11th, delayed notification searches could be used to prevent witness tampering or to avoid jeopardizing an investigation – but Kerry would eliminate provisions allowing such searches. Similarly, Kerry would ban many roving wire taps -- not by rolling back the change that the PATRIOT Act made to the wiretap statute, but rather by eliminating provisions that have existed since 1978. (Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967); United States v. Villegas, 899 F.2d 1324 (2d Cir. 1990); 50 USCS § 1805(c)(1); PATRIOT Act § 206; http://www.johnkerry.com/pdf/pr_2004_0525b_a.pdf; SAFE Act, S. 1709)

The PATRIOT Act Is Putting Terrorists Behind Bars: Four Terrorist Cells Broken up in the United States, 176 Terrorists Imprisoned. Since the PATRIOT Act was passed, the Department of Justice has broken up four terrorist cells in the United States (Buffalo, Portland, Charlotte, and Northern Virginia), filed criminal charges related to terrorism against more than 300 individuals, and secured 176 convictions or guilty pleas. (Department Of Justice Website, http://www.lifeandliberty.gov/subs/a_terr.htm, Accessed 5/21/04)

[akhhorus]

Kevin, Im beginning to think You dont love Freedom.....

[Skinzaholic]

Kerry's Claim: President Bush Has Under-Funded No Child Left Behind.

The Facts:


President Bush Has Provided The Highest Education Funding Percentage Increase Since President Johnson And Increased Education Funding More In Four Years Than Bill Clinton Did In Eight Years. Elementary and Secondary education funding has increased $12.2 billion (49 percent) from $24.7 billion in 2001 to $36.9 billion in 2005. ("Not Since LBJ," Investor's Business Daily, 7/1/04; "2005 Budget Summary For Education," U.S. Department Of Education, 2/04)

"States Collectively Have $16.8 Billion In Unspent Federal Education Funds, All Of Which Has Been Available To Them For At Least A Year." (U.S. House Committee On Education And The Workforce, "New Government Data Confirms Federal Education Funding Is Increasing More Quickly Than States Can Spend It," Press Release, 6/29/2004)

In 1998, Kerry Said The Answer To "True Education Reform" Is Not Just New Spending. (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At Northeastern University, Boston, Ma, 6/16/98)

Washington Post Editorial: "Funding For Education Has Increased Under The Bush Administration, And In Any Case Money Isn't The Main Obstacle To The Law's Success." (Editorial, "The Choice of Schooling," The Washington Post, 9/23/04)

Elementary And Secondary Education Funding Has Increased 130 Percent Since 2000. "Contrary to the repeated falsehoods by the teachers unions and left-wing activists, spending on primary and secondary education is soaring. In 2005, it will be up 130% — not a misprint — from President Clinton's last year in office." ("School Daze," Investors Business Daily, 9/23/04)

Federal Funds Exceed The Costs Of No Child Left Behind. "If funding continues to increase at least at the conservative rate estimated in the study, cumulative increases through the 2007-08 school year will total $46.4 billion over the 2001-02 baseline funding school year. The net result shows a "surplus" for general school improvement in every fiscal year through 2008 after states have covered the costs of all specific mandates ('hard costs') of NCLB." ("NCLB Under A Microscope: A Cost Analysis of the Fiscal Impact of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 on States and Local Education Agencies," AccountabilityWorks, 1/04)

"States Collectively Have $16.8 Billion In Unspent Federal Education Funds, All Of Which Has Been Available To Them For At Least A Year." (U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, "New Government Data Confirms Federal Education Funding is Increasing More Quickly than States Can Spend It," Press Release, 6/29/04)

[Skinzaholic]

Kevin, Im beginning to think You dont love Freedom.....

I dont - MUWAAAAAAHHHHH! :devil2:

[Skinzaholic]

Kerry’s Claim: President Says I Have Changed My Mind (About NCLB), But I Haven’t.

The Facts:


Kerry Urged the Administration to “Vigorously Enforce” the Accountability Measures: “This bill puts in place a new accountability system, which is a vital first step to improving student achievement. … The Federal Government must follow through on its commitment to hold schools accountable for student achievement or the legislation that we are passing today will do little to change the status quo. I urge the administration to vigorously implement and enforce the provisions of this new law.” (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 12/18/01, p. S13392)

Then Kerry Proposed To Change The Accountability Standards: “Absolutely, I will lead the effort to amend the law. I will introduce amendments to change the adequate yearly progress standard. (Source: “Candidate for President: John Kerry on Public Schools,” NEA Today, 9/2003)

Minimum Group Size: “We have to change the adequate yearly progress standard so we don't drive whole schools into failure because a few kids miss the mark.” (Sen. Kerry, Campaign Event, Dover, NH, 1/8/04)
Subgroups: “We’re going to change the adequate yearly progress standard so that a whole school doesn't get penalized because you have some demographic change in one particular class group in a year.” (Source: John Kerry, remarks at UNITY 2004, 8/5/2004)

Consequences: “I will change No Child Left Behind so that it is not punitive, so that we don't have a one size fits all testing standard and turn schools into testing factories. We're going to implement it properly.” (John Kerry, Remarks At the Democratic Presidential Candidate's Debate, 2/15/04)

But Then Kerry Deleted These Proposed Changes From His Website:

“The Kerry campaign website offers little details, and its language about the law has changed. … Earlier in the campaign, the site said Mr. Kerry would “revise the accountability standards in [the law] to include ways of assessing student performance in addition to testing.” States would construct a set of “leading indicators,” it said, that would help judge schools. … That language is now gone. Instead, the web site says Mr. Kerry is “committed to making No Child Left Behind work for our children.” (Source: Erik Robelen, “Departing From Primary-Season Rhetoric, Kerry Softens Criticism of ‘No Child’ Law,” Education Week, 8/11/2004)

[Skinzaholic]

Kerry's Claim: I've Never Changed My Mind About Iraq.
(My personal favorite!)

The Facts:


Kerry Has Taken At Least 11 Positions On The Iraq War:

October 2002: Kerry Voted For Use Of Force Resolution Against Iraq. Kerry voted for the Congressional resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq. (H. J. Res. 114, CQ Vote #237: Passed 77-23: R 48-1; D 29-21; I 0-1, 10/11/02, Kerry Voted Yea)

April 2003: Kerry Promised Not To Attack President When War Began, But Weeks Later, With Troops Just Miles From Baghdad, Kerry Broke His Pledge And Called For "Regime Change In The United States." (Glen Johnson, "Democrats On The Stump Plot Their War Rhetoric," The Boston Globe, 3/11/03; Glen Johnson, "Kerry Says Us Needs Its Own 'Regime Change,'" The Boston Globe, 4/3/03)

May 2003: In First Dem Debate, Kerry Strongly Supported President's Action In Iraq. SEN. JOHN KERRY: "I said at the time I would have preferred if we had given diplomacy a greater opportunity, but I think it was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein, and when the President made the decision, I supported him, and I support the fact that we did disarm him." (ABC News, Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate, Columbia, SC, 5/3/03)

September 2003: Kerry Said Voting Against The $87 Billion Supplemental Would Be "Irresponsible." Doyle McManus (LA Times): "If that amendment does not pass, will you then vote against the $87 billion?" Kerry: "I don't think any United States senator is going to abandon our troops and recklessly leave Iraq to – to whatever follows as a result of simply cutting and running. That's irresponsible." (CBS's "Face the Nation," 9/14/03)

October 2003: Kerry Voted Against The $87 Billion Supplemental Supporting Our Troops. (S. 1689, CQ Vote #400: Passed 87-12: R 50-0; D 37-11; I 0-1, 10/17/03, Kerry Voted Nay)

January 2004: After Voting For War And Trailing Candidate Howard Dean In The Democrat Primaries, Kerry Says He Is Anti-War Candidate. CHRIS MATTHEWS: "Do you think you belong to that category of candidates who more or less are unhappy with this war, the way it's been fought, along with General Clark, along with Howard Dean and not necessarily in companionship politically on the issue of the war with people like Lieberman, Edwards and Gephardt? Are you one of the anti-war candidates?" KERRY: "I am -- Yes, in the sense that I don't believe the president took us to war as he should have, yes, absolutely." (MSNBC's "Hardball," 1/6/04)

August 2004: In Response To President's Question About How He Would Have Voted If He Knew Then What He Knows Now, Kerry Confirmed That He Would Still Have Voted For Use Of Force Resolution. SEN. JOHN KERRY: "Yes, I would have voted for the authority. I believe it's the right authority for a president to have. But I would have used that authority as I have said throughout this campaign, effectively. I would have done this very differently from the way President Bush has." (CNN's "Inside Politics," 8/9/04)

September 2004: Kerry: Iraq Is "The Wrong War In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time." "Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry on Monday called the invasion of Iraq 'the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time' and said his goal was to withdraw U.S. troops in his first White House term." (Patricia Wilson, " Kerry on Iraq: Wrong War, Wrong Place, Wrong Time", Reuters, 9/6/04)

September 2004: Kerry Says There Were No Circumstances Under Which We Should Have Gone To War, But He Was Still Right To Vote For It. IMUS: "Do you think there are any circumstances we should have gone to war in Iraq, any?" KERRY: "Not under the current circumstances, no. There are none that I see. I voted based on weapons of mass destruction. The President distorted that, and I've said that. I mean, look, I can't be clearer. But I think it was the right vote based on what Saddam Hussein had done, and I think it was the right thing to do to hold him accountable. I've said a hundred times, there was a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. The president chose the wrong way. Can't be more direct than that." (MSNBC's "Imus In The Morning," 9/15/04)

Kerry Said That The Removal Of Saddam Hussein Has Left America "Less Secure." KERRY: "Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who deserves his own special place in hell. But that was not, that was not in and of itself, a reason to go to war. The satisfaction – The satisfaction that we take in his downfall does not hide this fact: we have traded a dictator for a chaos that has left America less secure." (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks At New York University, New York, NY, 9/20/04)

Kerry On Whether The Iraq War Was Worth It: "It Depends On The Outcome." DIANE SAWYER: "Was the war in Iraq worth it?" KERRY: "We should not have gone to war knowing the information that we know today." SAWYER: "So it was not worth it?" KERRY: "We should not - it depends on the outcome ultimately, and that depends on the leadership." (ABC's "Good Morning America," 9/29/04)

[Skinzaholic]

On and on and on and on and on.....

[MrWiggles]

On and on and on and on and on.....

Was all that stuff of the top of your head?

[Spence]

:lol1: Was all that stuff of the top of your head?