Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), has drawn a great deal of criticism from Democrats for his proposal to raise taxes on half of Americans — specifically, those with lower incomes. But some Republicans are calling Scott out as well, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. And Scott got some pushback from Fox News’ John Roberts as well during a March 27 appearance on “Fox News Sunday.”
In his 11-point Rescue America Plan, Scott proposes, “All Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount. Currently, over half of Americans pay no income tax.”
Roberts, not to be confused with the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative chief justice, quoted Scott’s plan directly and told the NRSC chairman, “That would raise taxes on half of Americans and potentially sunset programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Why would you propose something like that in an election year?”
Scott disingenuously responded, “That’s, of course, the Democrat talking points” — and Roberts told him, “No, no, it’s in the plan…. Senator, it’s not a Democratic talking point. It’s in the plan.”
HuffPost’s Josephine Harvey notes that during a recent appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, Scott “got away with making false claims” about what’s in his Rescue America Plan. But Roberts clearly had no intention of letting Scott lie about what’s in his own plan.
McConnell recently said of Scott’s Rescue America Plan, “We will not have as part of our agenda a bill that raises taxes on half the American people and sunsets Social Security and Medicare within five years.”
Reprinted with permission from Alternet
