Hi alllen757-ga,
You are probably referring to the television commercial known as
"Wacky," which was released around March 30th of this year. It says:
"Some people have wacky ideas. Like taxing gasoline more so people
drive less. That?s John Kerry. He supported a 50 cent a gallon gas
tax. If Kerry?s tax increase were law, the average family would pay
$657 more a year."
Source:
http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=165
The apparent source of the gas tax statement is press quotations from
1994, when Kerry cited his support for a 50-cent gas tax increase as
evidence of his deficit-reducing zeal. According to the factcheck.org
web site:
"One Boston Globe news story from 1994 quotes Kerry as complaining
that the Concord Coalition's scorecard had not rated him highly enough
as a deficit-cutter: 'It doesn?t reflect my $43 billion package of
cuts or my support for a 50-cent increase in the gas tax,' the Globe
quoted Kerry as saying."
http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docid=163
In 1993, Sen. Charles Robb introduced a bill that would raise the gas
tax ten cents a year over five years; Kerry neither cosponsored nor
voted for the bill, and it did not pass.
So the statement that Kerry "supported" such a tax has some validity,
based on those quotations from 1994. I did not find any evidence that
Kerry currently proposes such a tax.
Additional Links
The Kerry campaign's statement on the topic does not mention the 1994
quotes and is mostly an attack on Bush.
http://blog.johnkerry.com/dbunker/archives/001502.html
The Bush campaign cites the 1994 Boston Globe quote in specific detail.
http://www.georgewbush.com/Economy/Read.aspx?ID=2386
Article on the ad and the facts by Matt Stearns of Knight-Ridder Newspapers
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/politics/8313284.htm
Associated Press Ad Watch description and analysis
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4648587/
The Washington Post says Kerry now opposes increasing the gas tax.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A36386-2004Mar30?language=printer
Search Strategy
bush kerry gas tax 50 cents gallon
If you need any further information, please ask for a clarification.
--efn |
