Cheney Knocks McCain's Gas Tax Holiday

WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday rejected a suspension of the federal gasoline tax as proposed by his party's presumptive presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain. Cheney said it would offer little help to consumers coping with gas prices around $4 a gallon.

The vice president's critique went further than President Bush's own comments on the idea, which appears dead anyway.

"I think it's a false notion, in the sense that you're not going to have much of an impact, given the size of the gasoline tax on the total cost of the gallon of gas," Cheney said when asked about the matter during a luncheon appearance. "You might buy a little bit of relief there, but it's minimal."

The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline on Monday was $3.98, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Of that total, the federal tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon.

Both McCain, R-Ariz., and a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, have proposed suspending the tax.

Bush has said he would consider any idea from Congress, but he was not enthusiastic about it.

Democratic leaders in Congress have shown little interest, too, and no votes are anticipated on the matter in the House or the Senate.

The gas tax is the main source of revenue for the Highway Trust Fund that provides grants for highway and bridge construction and repair.

Cheney said the broader solution is to expand the exploration of energy sources in the United States. Bush has long called for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil development, which is strongly opposed by environmentalists, most Democrats and a few moderate Republicans.

The vice president spoke in a Q&A session at the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize luncheon.

When asked about the scathing tell-all book by Bush's former press secretary Scott McClellan, Cheney said he hadn't read it and had no plans to do so. But he did pointedly comment when asked generally about former administration officials who write such books, saying, "I thought Bob Dole got it about right."

Dole said, among other things, that "there are miserable creatures" like McClellan in every administration who are spurred on by greed. Cheney's comment comes after White House press secretary Dana Perino has said the White House harbors "no ill feelings" toward McClellan.

Comments

[Midnightrain]

I'm not surprised that Cheney doesn't agree with McCain. Look closely at the photo of the two ... it speaks to the akwardness they obviously feel toward each other.

[TrevorAlan]

Wow, a tax cut even Dick Cheney doesn't like.

Of course, its a regressive tax, one that hurts poor and middle income far more than the rich, so he still wants to gut inheritance taxes so we can keep taxes on gas.

But if McCain wants to keep proposing that gas tax cut, he needs to suggest repacing it by taxing rich buddies and the actual oil companies themselves more. We need those tax dollars to fix the roads, but mayb eif the people MOST able to pay contributed a bit more we could afford to cut them.

[JackLivigni]

I get a sense that even Republicans believe having a Republican president will spell trouble for the economy. There is no doubt that these people don't criticize their own unless it goes to their interests. They know its time to switch guard if we are to have prosperity return to this Country.

Now we need to see how much we can get done during the Obama presidency.

[landmine]

Then I expect to hear "miserable little creature" comments from Cheney, when Rumsfelds book comes out.

[Zhonni]

McCain is toast on arrival!

[AMJordan]

When your VP candidate says you're being an idiot, you're in trouble. Oh, yeah, I mean every word of that.

[WilliePilgrim]

Disgusting...you'd think Chaney would know the difference between the words "joke" and "scheme" or "ruse". Precision in language is in a state of decline.

[FirstShirt]

Right. It's Cheney, not Chaney.

[Sumocat]

So?

[JudgeCrater]

"Bush has long called for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil development, which is strongly opposed by environmentalists, most Democrats and a few moderate Republicans."

Which means that, unsurprisingly, opening up ANWR is stupid (because it'll last us about 15 minutes) and opposing opening up ANWR is smart.

[Goldie9]

As Bob Dole stated, there are "miserable creatures" in every administration, and Dick Cheney is certainly one of them!

[obamanation31]

Even Hillary stopped talking about it.

[cnobody]

sure, she had to change her pander focus from gas tax holiday to learning a few Spanish phrases.

[awcbuddy8]

At least McCain is trying.

I would love for people to start reporting that Obama's entire economic policy is flawed, that you absolutely never raise taxes during an economic down-turn, but you never get what you want.

People should stop complaining about media coverage.

[landmine]

There you go again......

In 1913 the tax rate was 1% on taxable net income above $3,000 ($4,000 for married couples), less deductions and exemptions. It rose to a rate of 7% on incomes above $500,000.
During World War I the top rate rose to 77%; after the war, the top rate was scaled down to a low of 25%.
During the Great Depression and World War II, the top income tax rate rose again. In the Internal Revenue Code of 1939, the top rate was 75%. The top rate reached 94% during the war and remained at 91% until 1964.

[TrevorAlan]

"Never cut taxes during economic downturn."

Except that our refusal to collect meaningful taxes on the richest who've done the best even during the downturn means we are running deficits that may undercut the value of our money and bring a level of downturn not seen in 70 years. So we have to start asking some of the richest to pay more and we have to get rid of tax breaks that encourage stupid behavior (like moving Amreican jobs overseas).

No, we shouldn't raise taxes on average people, but you really think allowing billionaire children to inherit without paying a cent of taxes so they can invest in more foreign businesses is helping the economy?

[Daly]

McCain is trying what? Trying to lead us to hell; he ran for office last round and his economic plan seems to be throw something at the wall and see what sticks.

8 years and no plan. Obama's plan is not for Jan 2009; it will have to be adjusted as he fights his way out of this mess things will be challenging because we will really support our troups, providing them an infastructure so that they have options that might work for them.

We show these kids commercials and say that the military will help wiwth education; turns out that is not at this moment true and McCain has said that he does not want to honor that because; the soldiers might leave the military.

We have extended their duties and they are being slammed with the housing mess again something that Mc's finger prints are on; Mission Accomplished.

WTF

[Nolawi]

how is it flawed.

[Viper]

Taxes were raised under BUSH 1 and Clinton during a recession. Not by Choice but by necessity. Pay me no or pay me later.

Reason... Massive debts under Reagan had rendered a huge devalution in the dollar( not as bad as now) and if you did not get the house's financies back in order, the devaluation causes massive inflation which will kill your economy. You risk stag inflation. And you end up pay taxes on paper inflation gains only (like now, which is a hidden tax increase )

There are no good choices especially when in the last 30 years we have changed from a creditor nation to the worlds largest debtor nation and from a producer economy to a consumer economy whose credit card is being cut in half and who makes very little of what we consume. A DISASTER.

Regards

[LesserFool]

Lest we forget, it is the McCain/Clinton "tax holiday plan." Hillary, reaching out to economic illiterates, thought she could get away with bad economics masquerading as help to those "hard working, white Americans." Not a single economist stepped up to defend this asinine plan. It had no basis in reality and revealed it for what it was - pandering. I have yet to see McCain or Clinton propose a bill in the Senate to advance this stupidity.

[MarkyM]

Isn't that the devil calling his son red?

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[Damon]

Even Cheney, a Bush-McCain republican rejects McBush-Cheney proposal, that's incredible !!!
A member of his own party finds the idea stupid, and that's the guy Clinton supporters want to vote for, just because their candidate failed to be the nominee... I know they're just kidding, they won't do that, they can't do that...