Olbermann: Sarah Palin Is A Socialist

In a Special Campaign Comment, Keith Olbermann cites yet another example of the McCain campaign accusing Barack Obama of something of which they themselves are guilty. In this case, Sarah Palin is accusing Barack Obama of advocating socialism when she literally used that word to describe the collective wealth sharing in her home state of Alaska.

Watch:

Comments

[Hirnlego]

Had the republicans (or the more real McCain before he had to become mr republican) proposed Obama's taxplans they would have called it a taxRELIEF. No mention of socialism anywhere...

[eirrac]

Hirnlego, Good point!

[ibsteve2u]

How come nobody - not even Olbermann - talks about who REALLY paid for the $8400 Palin legislated into her pocket for her family and the $1200 apiece all other Alaska residents got?

Am I the only person in America who thinks the oil companies simply passed the cost of that tax of Palin's on down to everybody who uses their products at the pump or in their furnace or wherever?

Am I the only person who considers Palin's "taking on the oil companies" to actually be unilaterally taxing all Americans to benefit her wallet and her political popularity in Alaska?

Am I the only person who thus interprets Palin's brand of socialism as "taxation without representation"?

[KarateKid]

No, you're not. Just look at the polls, and watch the landslide as the American people terminate the Republicans.

[eirrac]

No, you're not alone. Those of us who have been paying attention agree with you.

[LITU]

I, too, got it from the get-go, but I hadn't thought of the taxation without representation reality. Thanks.

[notconfindtweenhatnboots]

No, and if you realize that a major expense for service companies with large trucks- like Plumbers- is the price of gas that is required to get the big truck to the jobsite- you will realize that this is a huge fixed tax that is passed on to every business- regardless of whether they are profitable in excess of 250K or not. This tax hits Plumbers, HVAC Service Companies and Truckers especially hard though.

[revue]

Yep Palin and the plumber guy are frauds.

[Hirnlego]

Its clear that the republican campaign are playing cheap politics to mobilize their base and are therefore anything but honest.. Obama socialist? Gimme a break.

Here are some McCain quotes before he won the republican nomination:

There's one big difference between me and the others "I won't take every last dime of the surplus and spend it on tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy." [McCain campaign commercial, January More..2000]

"I am disappointed that the Senate Finance Committee preferred instead to cut the top tax rate of 39.6% to 36%, thereby granting generous tax relief to the wealthiest individuals of our country at the expense of lower- and middle-income American taxpayers." [McCain Senate floor statement, May 21, 2001]

"But when you look at the percentage of the tax cuts that"as the previous tax cuts"that go to the wealthiest Americans, you will find that the bulk of it, again, goes to wealthiest Americans." [NBC's "Today," Jan. 7, 2003]

When campaigning in 2000, McCain told a crowd of supporters, "I don't think Bill Gates needs a tax cut. I think your parents do."

Google for more.

[eirrac]

Wouldn't these quotations make a great TV campaign ad?

[darlene91406]

McCain made a similar statement (almost exact) in 2000 to what Obama is proposing right now. McCain acknowledged in 2000 that it is fair for people who make more to get taxed more to give relief to those who make less.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2JPbQOHEkY

Smells like HYPOCRISY to me.

[DangitRuss]

As brilliant as that was, you know it all went over Sarah Palin's head.

[KarateKid]

Don't you just love the way KO drives home the truth, with a sledgehammer? LOL. You go, KO, keep it up.

[LordGrabAndFlee]

Why do we celebrate Robin Hood as a hero but decry socialism as a cataclysmic ideology? He was spreading a WHOLE LOTTA wealth around! Funny how a medieval story can still be relevant today. A pissant figurehead in power hellbent on marginalizing the working poor, and a hero who fights against corruption and greed. I wonder who's who?

On that same note, why do we celebrate pirates (Jack Sparrow, Talk Like A Pirate day, etc.) but condemn terrorists?

[indievoter76]

K.O. Will you marry me?

[silvertongue]

K.O., you beat me to the punch. Seriously, I just love Keith.

[botboy]

For everyone that has given time and money to the campaign, thank you. I am proud to have worked with people here in FL and know that there are many others around this great country who feel the same way. HOWEVER, this is the LAST weekend for those of you who have not been able to give that time and money. I am not asking you, I AM PLEADING WITH YOU. Saturday and Sunday are the two most important canvassing days left in this campaign. PLEASE GO VOLUNTEER. Walk into any Obama office. Here is a link to find your closest one: http://action.barackobama.com/page/s/volunteer/.

Do not call. Do not email the offices. They will not answer. They are too busy. JUST SHOW UP. We need you. Get out the vote. Educate your neighbors. This election will be a lot closer on November 4th than it is today. You do not want to wake up on the 5th and ask yourself if you did enough.

PLEASE. This is too important for you to sit on the sidelines. If you cannot donate any money, go get a case of water ($3-$4) and bring it to a local office. If you can, go to a voting booth on the 4th and encourage fellow voters to wait in line (they will be long). Get involved.

I thank you in advance.

[Soundofthunder]

Great Campaign Comment that perfectly illustrates the disconnect between the Republican message and reality.

SOT

[QB2626]

Look at STATE resources. This is a state issue for Alaska.

Now Olbermann is talking about FEDERALincome tax dollars. Currently the top 10% of tax payers is supporting the USA and is already paying more than their fair share. They should not have to give funds to the bottom 40% that don't pay income tax. This describes socialism.

The smart thing would be to make the corporate tax rate 20%. Check out Ireland's 12.5% tax rate. They are doing great in per capita income. Second highest in Europe from second lowest. US Treasury has already run the numbers on this.

[SanityNowPlease]

"They should not have to give funds to the bottom 40% that don't pay income tax"

like McCain's poster child Joe the Plumber?

face it, your party is hypocritical

[AbrakadaBarak]

What's your point, QB2626. After you got almost 1Trilllll$$$$$$ bailout, just guess where it's coming from. Stop whining!

[darlene91406]

Its funny because you, like many others, refuse to acknowledge that McCain made a similar statement (almost exact) in 2000 to what Obama is proposing right now. McCain acknowledged in 2000 that it is fair for people who make more to get taxed more to give relief to those who make less.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2JPbQOHEkY

Now all of a sudden, it is Socialism?? If McCain has changed his mind (like he has with sooo many other of his positions since running for President, then fine. Lets call him a flip-flopper and be done with it).

Smells more like HYPOCRISY to me.

[AmbivalentGuy]

Yeah - but under the best tax laws money can buy, if we set corp rates at 20%, all the loopholes they already have would force us to send corps earned income credits.

Get real - few large US corps come close to 12% let alone 20%. We allow creative bookkeeping - I never heard that phrase before trickle on economics.

Charge the corps an honest rate and we wouldn't have to raise anything.
Get rid of the loopholes, give incentives ONLY to those small business that the R's seem to love.

Do you really think 40% of the country is getting funds redirected to them?
I'm in the lower 40% and have only gotten checks from R administrations.

[KarateKid]

So, having done it the Republican way, why is this country so screwed up? Trickle down economics doesn't work, because it has one major flaw......greed.

[metalpipe]

brilliant, as always

[AbrakadaBarak]

Thyanks Keith, you're G.., the omnipotent. 4 yrs. make a real difference. YouTube, the Facebook, MSNBC/CNN?, no place to hide anymore. Not even at FOX, LOL!
Lies shouldn't pay. period.

[WorldGoneWild]

I love KO but I think his head is going to explode with all the hypocrisy before the election is over.