From: SMOKEFREE@compuserve.com
Date: Tue, 08/12/08
After Promising To ‘Never’ Give Up Fighting Big Tobacco, McCain Gives Up
August 11, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/11/mccain-tobacco/
Last month, the House passed legislation - sparking the ire of
conservatives - that would grant the FDA stronger regulation power over the
tobacco industry, mirroring a 1998 proposal authored by Sen. John McCain
(R-AZ). At the time, McCain said he would "never" give up on his
anti-tobacco efforts.
As the Wonk Room noted, however, McCain recently signaled that he had
doubts with the House legislation, stating he wouldn’t "commit to voting
for it until he sees the final legislation." Roll Call reports today that
McCain is "declining to embrace" his own legislation:
The campaign of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John
McCain (Ariz.) is declining to embrace McCain’s own 1998 tobacco bill,
legislation that would have raised taxes to the tune of $516 billion over
25 years... Asked repeatedly last week whether McCain still backs the bill
and if he thought it was a good idea, senior adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin
declined to answer directly.
But he noted that some of the aims of the legislation did not pan out as
hoped for after the tobacco industry and the states settled on their own....
And McCain today does not support raising taxes on cigarettes, his adviser
said.
In 1998, however, McCain supported a $1.10-per-pack tax hike. "I still
regret we did not succeed," he said last October. Throughout his campaign,
he has been touting his support for the 1998 legislation, even running an
advertisement on the matter:
Only McCain has taken on big tobacco, drug companies, fought corruption in
both parties.
McCain’s website cites a David Brooks column stating that "in 1998, McCain
championed anti-smoking legislation that faced furious opposition from the
tobacco lobby." At Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Summit, McCain said "the
influence of the tobacco companies" on Congress caused his 1998 bill to
fail.
McCain’s flip-flop suggests he is pandering to his anti-tax base, after
catching heat from conservatives for saying that "payroll tax increases"
were not "off the table" regarding Social Security. "There are a number of
things in McCain’s record - including the tobacco bill - that give
conservatives pause," according to a "leading conservative strategist"
interviewed by Roll Call.
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