Palin supports 2 wars and bailout but says paying higher taxes ‘unpatriotic’

Articles — By forcechange on October 8, 2008 8:47 am

Tom Friedman had a scathing critique of Sarah Palin in the NYTimes today.

Friedman takes the following statement by Palin in the debate with Biden as a starting point:  “You said recently that higher taxes or asking for higher taxes or paying higher taxes is patriotic. In the middle class of America, which is where Todd [Palin] and I have been all of our lives, that’s not patriotic.”

From there, Friedman makes the following insights:

Do you think borrowing money from China is more patriotic than raising it in taxes from Americans?” That is not putting America first. That is selling America first.

I can understand someone saying that the government has no business bailing out the financial system, but I can’t understand someone arguing that we should do that but not pay for it with taxes. I can understand someone saying we have no business in Iraq, but I can’t understand someone who advocates staying in Iraq until “victory” declaring that paying taxes to fund that is not patriotic.

No one said it better than Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes: “I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.”

Friedman then hits on Palin’s claim to be an energy expert, by noting:

She is an energy expert exactly the same way the king of Saudi Arabia is an energy expert – by accident of residence. Palin happens to be governor of the Saudi Arabia of America – Alaska – and the only energy expertise she has is the same as the king of Saudi Arabia’s. It’s about how the windfall profits from the oil in their respective kingdoms should be divided between the oil companies and the people.

At least the king of Saudi Arabia, in advocating “drill baby drill,” is serving his country’s interests – by prolonging America’s dependence on oil. My problem with Palin is that she is also serving his country’s interests – by prolonging America’s dependence on oil. That’s not patriotic. Patriotic is offering a plan to build our economy – not by tax cuts or punching more holes in the ground, but by empowering more Americans to work in productive and innovative jobs. If Palin has that kind of a plan, I haven’t heard it.

Ouch.  Not much to argue with, though.

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