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DEL.ICIO.USIn Georgia, the Fair Tax unveils its role in the GOP presidential race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As promised, U.S. Rep. John Linder put out a statement this morning, becoming the first member of the Republican congressional delegation in Georgia to throw his weight behind presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
He cited Huckabee’s support of the Fair Tax — a proposed shift in taxation from the federal income tax to a consumption tax.
What Linder didn’t say was that he had withdrawn his previous support from Mitt Romney. For the same reason.
Linder said that happened in June or July, when Romney — the Georgia congressman remembered — said that “the only tax reform we needed is to reduce the tax burden on savings for middle America.
“And he said, on Social Security, the only thing we need to do is reduce the benefit for wealthier people,” Linder recounted in an interview. “I began to wonder what party he was running in.”
So Linder said he quietly had his name removed from Romney’s list of supporters, and then began waiting for someone to catch fire.
The Fair Tax, as plugged by Linder and radio talk show host Neal Boortz, has been endorsed by Ron Paul, Tom Tancredo and Duncan Hunter, Linder said. (Fred Thompson had said kind things about the Fair Tax this summer when he made his first trip to Georgia, but has since backed away from the idea.}
“But Huckabee was campaigning on it. It was a secondary issue for the other three,” he said.
Over the weekend, as Huckabee surged, Linder said he concluded that “this was the best opportunity to get the fair tax on the front page.”
“I think he’ll win Georgia. I think, in Georgia, the Fair Tax will help him a lot. I think it’ll help in Florida and South Carolina. We’ve got a huge team in Michigan,” Linder said.
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Comments
By JustMe
December 12, 2007 12:14 PM | Link to this
There is nothing ‘fair’ about fair tax. It is a horrible idea. Anyone with an ounce of sense can clearly see how ‘unfair’ it is.
By MoMittum
December 12, 2007 12:18 PM | Link to this
That’s a shame. Linder is my congressman and I’m all for the Fair Tax, even though I think it will never come to be. For him to endorse based on one issue is disappointing.
By flip wilson
December 12, 2007 12:58 PM | Link to this
The Fair Tax will never happen, and the reason is simple: it would threaten the livelihood of the lobbyists and lawyers who have highjacked our government. These are people who don’t believe in anything except their own bank accounts, and our “public servants” are their willing accomplices.
By Debbie
December 12, 2007 1:13 PM | Link to this
Huckabee: The Biggest Big-Government Conservative
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316496,00.html
Huckabee picks up New Hampshire NEA (Teachers Union) Endorsement
From John Fund-
What’s Next? Trial Lawyers for Huckabee?
For New Hampshire conservatives it was a surreal moment. Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor who is vying for first place in the GOP primary polls there, was endorsed yesterday by the New Hampshire affiliate of the National Education Association.
The union’s President Rhonda Wesolowski called a news conference to praise Mr. Huckabee for opposing school vouchers — the only Republican candidate to do so — and for his backing of a national mandate for arts and music education. Ms. Wesolowski acknowledged some differences with Mr. Huckabee on charter schools, but that was outweighed by his record in supporting higher taxes to improve public education. Along with the union’s endorsement of Mr. Huckabee in the GOP race, she announced her group would be endorsing Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary. In 2004, New Hampshire’s NEA affiliate declined to endorse a GOP primary candidate and endorsed Howard Dean for the Democratic nomination.
Mr. Huckabee’s wife yesterday accepted the endorsement with evident pleasure. “You always remember your first: You remember your first car, you remember your first home, you remember the birth of your first child,” Janet Huckabee said. “And if this is a first for you, it’s a first for us. And we gladly, gladly will remember this first and accept your recommendation.”
Not everyone believes the NEA endorsement will be a plus in low-tax New Hampshire. “No doubt the NEA’s endorsement has something to do with Huckabee’s opposition to private school choice and his support for a federally mandated and funded arts and music curriculum,” says Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “Like Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee puts the interests of a labor union ahead of children’s education.”
Watch for Mr. Huckabee’s endorsement by the NEA to be a bone of contention when the GOP candidates debate today at a forum in Iowa sponsored by the Des Moines Register.
By Anonymous
December 12, 2007 1:18 PM | Link to this
The tax system needs reforming; the Fair Tax “solution” isn’t it.
And the nuts who keep screaming about it every day get tiresome. Does John Linder REALLY want his entire career to hinge on this single, lousy idea?
By Lily Toad
December 12, 2007 1:30 PM | Link to this
If this tax is so “neutral” why is there this fanatic support for it? The only reason folks favor it so strenuously is because they believe it will benefit them.
By tonyjones
December 12, 2007 2:13 PM | Link to this
Jeez….What an endorsement! I waited for someone to catch fire to get the Fair Tax on the Front Page. Ringing indeed.
I guess he’ll withdraw the endorsement once the Hucaboom is over.
By Craig
December 12, 2007 5:13 PM | Link to this
“Huckaboom” - love it.
Yah Congressman Linder - the certifiable Alan Keyes also supports the consumption tax. Shouldn’t you and Neal be talking him up also?
By Debbie
December 12, 2007 8:05 PM | Link to this
Real Minutemen Do Not Endorse Huckabee
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps Real Minutemen Do Not Endorse Huckabee ============================================= No National Minuteman Group has endorsed Mike Huckabee. One individual Minuteman has personally endorsed him. For the sake of clarity, it is important to note that the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC), the nation’s largest Minuteman organization, is a 501(C)4 non-profit organization and cannot and does not endorse any candidate for public office. MCDC is not associated with Mr. Jim Gilchrist, who today endorsed Mike Huckabee for president. Jim Gilchrist’s erstwhile Minuteman Project is itself an organization which by its own representations as a non-profit civic group cannot legally endorse candidates. It does not have any volunteers who observe illegal border activity. It has no border fence building projects. Jim Gilchrist here speaks only for Jim Gilchrist, he does not speak for the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, nor is he nationally representative of most patriots in the “Minuteman movement” and who under no circumstances could ignore the failed record nor endorse the duplicitous plan recently rolled out by candidate Mike Huckabee. The national media needs to recognize that Jim Gilchrist’s endorsement is his own personal statement, nothing more. The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps emphasizes policy dealing with national border security. The only “plan” to ensure border security that is acceptable to our constituency would be a candidate policy statement declaring that his first act as President will be to hold a press conference and announce to the American people an executive order to immediately deploy and fund 30,000 National Guard personnel to the U.S. Borders (25,000 to the southern border and 5,000 to the northern border) to complement a massive increase in U.S. Border Patrol Agent field personnel, and a bilateral effort to secure our frontiers, smash the drug cartels, shut down the human smugglers and protect the public safety of the citizens who reside along the borders on both sides of our national boundaries. Unlike this last-minute opportunism attempted by Huckabee, many of the other GOP presidential candidates have actually helped push the issue of national border security forward for some time.
By Dennis
December 12, 2007 8:31 PM | Link to this
GREAT ARTICLE! Gotta love these people who have no clue what they are talking about, but still seem to want to sound like some kind of expert who has inside information why the Fair Tax won’t work or why it’s a bad idea.
To JustMe…show me who it’s unfair to?
To MoMittum & Flip Wilson, … The current Tax System is Killing the American Economy …that’s not my opinion it is a FACT stated by non-partisan experts and gov. officials. So it’s an EXTEMELY important “single” issue. If we stay on the same path we’re on the United States will become the United Chinese States or some variant thereof in fairly short order. So, even though you like the plan, you don’t think it will pass, so you think we should do nothing…or support some “minor” tweaking of the tax system that others propose. We’ve had “minor” tweaking for 40 years, and now we face a MAJOR economic crisis if something Radical isn’t done soon!
To Lily Toad…who do you think the supporters of the Fair Tax are? I can tell you who’s against it! The elites in both parties who wish to continue to use the tax code to control the American People, the big Businesses who wish to use their money and power to control the politicians and “inspire” them to put in favorable tax exemptions, and code manipulations to favor their businesses, The politicians who wish to continue to use the tax code as a powerful weapon and tool. Those who are for the Fair Tax are very well educated on how the IRS and the Tax Code are hindering the success of both the American Worker and the overall health and prosperity of the entire United States.
To Debbie…. More mis-information and spin from the Republican Elites, etc. who are scared to death that their “chosen one” may not get the nomination.
By Craig
December 12, 2007 9:05 PM | Link to this
Dennis - don’t you also want to tell us we just have to read Boortz’s book so we will understand?
By Bitter EX democrackkk
December 13, 2007 8:16 AM | Link to this
There’s several smart asses on here about the FAIRTAX. Personally, I think workers WOULD like to KEEP 100% of their paycheck, and see the IRS abolished. I’d LIKE to see foreign invaders/visitors pay THEIR FAIR SHARE while in our midst! I’d like to see employers NOT have to endure grueling payroll deductions and free up the bookeeping! Not to mention the exponential economic growth America would see!!!
Support www.Fairtax.org
www.FairTaxGroups.com
Oh, and STRIVE to be SMARTER than a democrackkk!
By Nancy
December 13, 2007 6:44 PM | Link to this
I have been listening to Neal and read The FairTax book. The explanations are so promising if we can stand together and get this through. Common Sense.
By FairTaxFraud
December 14, 2007 7:53 AM | Link to this
The FairTax should be renamed the Paris Hilton tax because it favors billionaires who inherit everything they have without working for it and taxes only consumption. Since the poor live paycheck to paycheck and spend all they have they are taxed on 100 percent of their income. Since the rich spend only about 5 percent on consumption they can put the rest in the bank tax free under the FairTax so they only get taxed on 5 percent of their income. The FairTax is a sham and a fraud. For more information see fairtaxfraud.com.
By illumineer
December 14, 2007 11:22 AM | Link to this
I went to the “Fair Tax Fraud” website and read the entire contents. Don’t believe I’ve ever witnessed such stupidity gathered in one location than here. Why is anyone so hellbent on stopping this movement if no one thinks it has a chance of passing? Is it because it might hurt the people behind the website personally? Actually it finally provides a level playing field for all Americans vs. the current system which has created the rich vs. poor classes we have today - that’s obvious to anyone with a brain cell to spare. And proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, by the way. I know, Fair Tax Fraud people, change is hard, but think about other people for a change vs. yourself.
By The Oddball
December 14, 2007 11:33 AM | Link to this
Name one country that has supported its government on a “fair tax” type system. Name one single economist of any standing that believes it will work. Then get back to me on this idea.
By Another taxpayer
December 14, 2007 12:11 PM | Link to this
FAIR, GREAT……….
Only a Democrat in Republican clothing would dream of using such adjectives with TAX.
I think some do adulate their creations too much. What next? The GREATEST TAX ON EARTH! Nope, Might get sued for that one.
By JoeH
December 15, 2007 1:34 AM | Link to this
Folks,
Here is what the current tax system is costing the U.S. economy:
— $250 billion a year just to comply with the IRS tax code
— $350 billion a year in taxes owed but not paid i.e. the ‘tax gap’
— $12 billion just to support the IRS bureaucracy
— $12 TRILLION! in U.S. dollars are in off-shore bank accounts avoiding IRS scrutiny. Alan Greenspan when asked how long it would take to repatriate these dollars under the FairTax said ‘A matter of months’
— One big reason for outsourcing is that baked into the cost of everything produced in the U.S. are embedded taxes that amount to about 23% — this is a huge cost disadvantage
Under the FairTax (HR-25/S.1025) no one pays taxes up to the poverty level i.e. the ‘poor’ pay no taxes.
Under the FairTax no one escapes paying, including crooks, drug dealers, and of course the ‘rich’ who spend the most.
No more pay roll deductions - you take home your entire pay check (less state and local taxes).
All 65,000 pages of the IRS tax code is vanquished i.e. income tax, death tax, capital gains, et al
It is obvious to me that many who have posted their comments here have not read the book, the actual legislation (125 pages vs 65,000 pages), nor have they read any of the $25 million in research performed at Harvard, BCU, well regarded economists, and a host of others, all found at the FairTax web-site.
As a Michigan resident we see all of our auto industry jobs going to Tennessee, and other states that have 7-10% sales tax, no state income tax, and no business taxes.
Taxing consumption is the answer.
www.fairtax.org
By Georgia Dawg
December 16, 2007 4:56 PM | Link to this
Ron Paul is for the fairest tax of all: ZERO. Let’s eliminate the Fed, the IRS and, for Dooley’s sake!, do not even entertain a 20%+ fair tax. What in the world is fair about that?
GO DAWGS!
By Ru Paul
December 16, 2007 9:11 PM | Link to this
I, Ru Paul, haven’t paid taxes in years. In fact, I heard a rumor that the IRS/FEC is investigating my campaign.