Today in uncalled-for responses to articles we wrote. We also responded to this guy a couple more times, just for good measure. (The funny part? His name is spelled Lowrie, not Lowry, something we corrected from last night after we found more info.)
Lowrie says it’s just “Washington thinking” to look at whether modest-income Americans will wind up shouldering much more of the tax burden. He repeatedly refused to say how much more of the tax burden would be borne by the poor and middle class than under the current system. But he implicitly acknowledged the problem by saying that the campaign would “fix this” with a new empowerment-zone plan that would be laid on top of the 9-9-9 plan and would presumably lower taxes in inner cities. But how fair is that to people living elsewhere? And aren’t we back to more complexity?
BY THE WAY … Lowrie isn’t an economist. He’s a “wealth management” consultant, whatever that means.
Ladies and gentlemen, so terminates your Bloomberg-Washington Post debate for the Republican presidential candidates. So who comported themselves well? And who came up short?
The Winners:
Mitt Romney. At this point, it’s almost becoming embarrassing. Romney has just wiped the floor with… [more]
We’re starting to get to the point where the winners and losers are the ones who aren’t necessarily flashy, but well-polished and well-studied. Romney made it look easy; he’s well-polished and well-studied. Santorum and Huntsman are in the same boat, and suddenly looking better as a result. Cain’s well-polished, making up for his weakness on certain things (like explaining 999). Paul’s well-studied, but his opinions are tougher to polish for a larger audience (although he’s making inroads). But Perry and Bachmann looked like they were drowning (all buzz, little substance), and Newt just looked like the odd man out, a tenured college professor in a real-world situation. To us, it seems like this debate format had the effect of playing up smarts and playing down rhetoric. Those who lean more on smarts won. Those who lean on rhetoric struggled.
No, Alan Greenspan was a disaster.
Ron Paul, rebutting Herman Cain’s statement that of the Federal Reserve Chairmans of the last forty years, he thought Greenspan was the best. This was a curious choice, and not a politically convenient one due to Greenspan’s proximity to many of America’s financial flaws over the last decade — which means, we reckon, that it was an honest answer. So hats off to that!
Be sure to check out more coverage over at DC Decoder!
I’m gonna ask the United States Congress to include a 2/3rds majority vote before they can raise the 9-9-9 tax.
Herman Cain, answering Rick Santorum’s challenge as to how he’d prevent the rates in his tax plan from being raised over time; he also promised to protect the rates with the veto pen while in office.
Be sure to check out more coverage over at DC Decoder!
Asked to name his economic advisors, Herman Cain named a “Rich Lowry of Cleveland.” Cain has named this individual before (who is apparently not the same Rich Lowry who is editor of the National Review) but past attempts by reporters to track him down have proved fruitless (see the above link)…
Some good extra insight, we were wondering about Rich Lowery ourselves when Cain mentioned him.
Edit: We learned a little more about Rich Lowrie (not Lowry) and posted about it.
The problem with that analysis is that it is incorrect.Herman Cain, “responding” to a critique of his 9-9-9 plan.
9-9-9 will pass, and it’s not the price of pizza!Herman Cain, responding to Jon Huntsman’s quip that “The 9-9-9 Plan” sounds more like a pizza special than a plan for economic recovery.
Welcome to the
ten zillionthfourth debate in as many weeks for the GOP presidential primary contenders, coming to you live at 8 p.m. EST from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. You can watch it live on Bloomberg TV or online via the Washington Post here. If you haven’t been… [more]
DC Decoder’s preview is also worth a read. And after you read theirs, read ours!
It’s debatin’ time! Yet again! The big news hanging over this one is Chris Christie’s recent endorsement of Mitt Romney, tactically deployed the day of the debate, but there’s a lot of other stuff to look for, too. Will Newt Gingrich insult the moderators? Will Michele Bachmann look unnervingly calm the entire time? Will Jon Huntsman make an awkward joke? Will Gary Johnson and Buddy Roemer crash the debate last-minute? Here are a few things to keep an eye out for tonight during the EconDebate, a Washington Post/Bloomberg joint we’re covering with DC Decoder, which starts at 8 p.m. EST:
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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who only a few days ago was being pushed to run for president himself, will endorse Mitt Romney before tonight’s debate.
The nod from the tough-talking Christie may help give Romney a boost among Tea Party types who have so far remained wary of the former Massachusetts governor. And the timing - heading into tonight’s critical debate, as Rick Perry tries to fight his way back - gives even more weight to Romney’s frontrunner status.
We expect Christie to skew the debate in Romney’s favor, but honestly, we’re more curious abut what Herman Cain’s gonna do tonight, because he’s suddenly way more high-profile than he was during the last debate.
Also… check out our coverage of tonight’s debate, which we’re doing with our friends at DC Decoder!
Herman Cain’s support grows: Now Cain is tied with or ahead of Rick Perry in every poll RealClearPolitics covers, barring two, and his average is also ahead of Perry’s. Of note: The latest Gallup poll has Cain within two points of Mitt Romney. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are roughly tied, and Michele Bachmann’s pretty much disappeared. That was quick.
“I don’t have facts to back this up, but I happen to believe…”: Herman Cain is downright unimpressed with Occupy Wall Street, and he’s not afraid to let us know it. We suspect those of you who are sympathetic to (or participating in) this movement probably weren’t likely Cain voters anyways, but his strident denunciation here probably won’t win him any converts: “It is not a person’s fault if they succeeded, it is a person’s fault if they failed.” source
He’s tied with Mitt Romney for first in one poll and ahead of Rick Perry in another. Months ago, Herman Cain’s presidential campaign seemed like something of an underdog, with many people unaware of the former pizza chain executive. Now, with multiple straw-poll wins under his belt, the non-politician is within shouting distance of the lead. RealClearPolitics has him in third place, but if you take out the two oldest polls listed, he rises to second, ahead of Rick Perry, thanks in part to consistent poll numbers and Perry’s own faltering of late. Cain’s worth watching, suddenly. Wow. (photo via Gage Skidmore) source
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