McCain, Lies and More Lies

His aversion to the Bush tax cuts is just another reason McCain gives heartburn to

many in the conservative GOP base. Besides taxes, there is also his more forgiving

attitude toward illegal immigration, his effort to limit money in politics and his

long-running feuds with leaders of the Christian right.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican John McCain says he opposed President Bush's tax cuts

because they didn't come with spending cuts. That is not what he said at the time.

In a presidential debate on Wednesday, McCain said he voted against the Bush tax cuts

because he wanted to rein in spending.

"I disagreed when we had tax cuts without spending restraint," the Arizona senator

said.

The explanation fits with his history of railing against wasteful federal spending.

But it does not fit with McCain's comments when he opposed the Bush tax cuts in 2001

and 2003.

In 2001, McCain said the tax cuts favored the wealthy at the expense of the middle

class. In 2003, he said there should be no tax cuts until the Iraq war costs were

known.

His aversion to the Bush tax cuts is just another reason McCain gives heartburn to

many in the conservative GOP base. Besides taxes, there is also his more forgiving

attitude toward illegal immigration, his effort to limit money in politics and his

long-running feuds with leaders of the Christian right.

The debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., came on

the heels of Tuesday's Florida primary, when McCain defeated former Massachusetts

Gov. Mitt Romney, gaining an advantage going into next week's Super Tuesday primary.

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THE SPIN:

In Wednesday's debate, McCain suggested he opposed tax cuts because they were not

accompanied by cuts in spending.

Challenged on his changing story, McCain said he does think lower and middle income

people need help. But then he said he opposed tax cuts that were not accompanied by

spending restraints. He meant the Bush tax cuts.

"I made it very clear when I ran in 2000 that I had a package of tax cuts which were

very important and very impactful, but I also had restraints in spending," he said.

"And I disagreed when spending got out of control. And I disagreed when we had tax

cuts without spending restraint," McCain said.

He added: "And guess what? Spending got out of control. Republicans lost the 2006

election not over the war in Iraq, (but) over spending. Our base became disenchanted.

"If we had done what I wanted to do, we would not only have had the spending

restraint, but we'd be talking about additional tax cuts today."

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THE FACTS:

Spending was not why McCain said he opposed President Bush's tax cuts in 2001 and

2003.

In 2001, McCain said the $1.35 trillion tax cut benefited the wealthy at the expense

of the middle class.

"I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to

the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle-class Americans who most need

tax relief," McCain said then.

McCain tried but failed to amend the bill to reduce income tax cuts for the

wealthiest and give greater benefits to those earning less. He and Sen. Lincoln

Chafee of Rhode Island were the only Republicans to oppose the 2001 tax cuts.

At the time, McCain was still at odds with Bush, who had dealt McCain a stinging

defeat in the race for the GOP presidential nomination just one year before.

In 2003, McCain opposed a $350 billion tax cut sought by Bush, this time arguing

there should be no tax relief while the cost of the Iraq war and its aftermath were

still unknown.

"The tax cut is not appropriate until we find out the cost of the war and the cost of

reconstruction," McCain said then.

One more Republican senator, Olympia Snowe of Maine, teamed with McCain and Chafee to

oppose the 2003 tax cuts. They and Republican Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio teamed to

limit the size of the tax cut to $350 billion, half the size of what Bush originally

wanted.

Incidentally, public opinion surveys do not back up McCain's claim that Republicans

lost control of Congress in 2006 over the issue of spending.

Associated Press-Ipsos polling that tracks what people consider the most important

issues facing the country picked up hardly anyone citing government spending or the

federal deficit as an important problem in 2006. Rather, polling said the economy,

Iraq, terrorism and scandals and corruption in government rated highly in 2006.

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By Libby Quaid