“The budget process is a political consultant’s dream,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who spent much of the day at the side of his close ally, McCain. “A lot of these votes are designed to create 30-second commercials rather than make public policy, and that’s true on both sides.”
Graham offered an amendment that would extend part of Bush’s tax cuts by raising the estate tax exemption to $5 million and extend lower tax rates on dividends and capital gains. McCain supported the amendment, which failed by a 47-52 vote, while both Clinton and Obama voted against it.
Finance panel Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) offered an amendment that would extend part of Bush’s tax cuts for middle-class families and small businesses, as well as provide property tax relief to homeowners and for those whose homes were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. All three voted for the measure, which was approved by a 99-1 tally.
Later, Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) offered an amendment to pay for a repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which threatens to hit more than 20 million Americans, with an increase in other taxes. Democrats say the amendment, which was adopted by a 53-46 vote and supported by Obama and Clinton, is a fiscally responsible way to pay for a repeal of the AMT. But Republicans, including McCain, oppose that idea, calling the offsets unnecessary tax increases.
Republicans narrowly failed in an effort to repeal the AMT without offsets, with McCain voting for it and the Democrats opposing it.
“It’s a clear delineation between the candidates and the parties,” Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), a close adviser to McCain, said of the tax votes. “It’ll be back.”
Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), an uncommitted superdelegate, sought to pre-empt the perennial GOP issue of repealing the estate tax by instead limiting its scope. Obama and Clinton each voted for the amendment, which failed by a 38-62 vote, while McCain voted against it. A more aggressive Republican approach on the estate tax failed on a 50-50 tie, with McCain supporting it and the two Democrats opposing it.
Senate Republicans also went directly after Obama. Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) offered an amendment that would raise taxes by an “unprecedented” $1.4 trillion and fully fund 111 new or expanded federal programs, saying it reflected Obama’s proposed budget along the campaign trail. Conrad called the amendment a “farce,” and Obama appeared to mock Allard’s amendment before he too voted against it. It was defeated by a 97-0 vote, with Clinton also voting against it and McCain not voting.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) offered an amendment to promote offshore drilling, an issue that McCain has opposed in the past. But McCain missed that vote, and Obama and Clinton voted against the amendment, which failed by a 47-51 vote.
McCain also missed a vote on another controversial Alexander amendment that would have put money into teaching English rather than penalizing employers who require their workers to speak the language. Obama and Clinton voted against the amendment, which was adopted by a 54-44 vote.
Despite the political potency of some of these votes, some Democrats did not think either Obama or Clinton would be hurt by their positions on Thursday.
“It might make a nice 30-second ad, but they’re nonsense and they’re not responsible,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), an Obama supporter.
J. Taylor Rushing contributed to this article.
|
