McCain: Voters won’t accept tax increases in debt-ceiling deal



The American people won’t accept tax increases as part of a debt-ceiling increase compromise, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sunday.



In an interview on CNN's “State of the Union” with Candy Crowley, McCain said even proposed increases on specific taxes was not something Republicans could agree to.

"Well, I think that if we did those small things you're talking about it would have a very small impact, but the principle of not raising taxes is something that we campaigned on last November and the results of the election was that the American people don't want their taxes raised and they want to cut spending," McCain said. 

McCain said the American people did not want to see a compromise that was partially what Republicans want and partially what Democrats want.

"They don't want compromise. They want us to balance the budget. They want us to stop mortgaging our children and our grandchildren's futures and they don't think that they need their taxes raised. And I don't either," McCain continued.

McCain did, however, suggest he was open to some "revenue raisers" as part of a debt-ceiling compromise, but not tax increases.

"[Sen.] Jon Kyl [(R-Ariz.)] was in negotiations, as you know with the Vice President, and he said there were certain revenue raisers and other areas that perhaps we could work on, but to somehow say that we weren't going to raise Americans' taxes — anybody's taxes, I think, is a principal we promised the American people last November and that we're going to stick to," McCain added.

McCain would not say specifically what revenue raisers he was referring to.

McCain's comments came the weekend after President Obama delivered an impassioned critique of Republicans' stances on tax increases and their participation in debt-ceiling negotiations. Obama called on Republicans to stop insisting on a compromise that did not include any tax increases, and also urged them to join him in seeking to close tax subsidies for oil-and-gas companies. Democrats praised Obama's remarks, while Republicans strongly criticized them.

The negotiations over increasing the debt ceiling seemed to have reached an impasse as Republicans continue to refuse to any kind of tax increases while Democrats insist that a compromise must include additional revenues.

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