Traficant pushes 25 percent sales tax in speech to Portage TEA Party

Falls News Press/ Record Courier ^ | 9/12/10 | Diane Smith

[Brugmansian]

Tom Zawistowski, executive director of the Portage County TEA Party, said there was controversy in the ranks when it was announced that Traficant would address the group, and said many people called to say they were "embarrassed."

[Brugmansian]

From two of the quotes, it looks like he could bleed off some Democrats. Anyone watching this?

[dalebert]

not watching but hoping he can pull some dem votes.

[JoenTX]

Trafficant, huh.

If anyone remembers, back during the Clinton years, he was one of the more common sense and realistic Dems you were likely to hear. Rush played him a fair bit on his show. He wasn’t (isn’t?) a raving liberal, leftist, Socialist clod.

He’s been convicted and has a rap-sheet..............but he may well be a damn sight better than about 75% of the current Dems.

Just saying, that’s the state of the current Dem Party and overall political landscape.

[AlmaKing]

Plus, you get the hair at no charge in the total package.

[lewislynn]

“Beam me up Mr. Speaker” Traficant and Tauzin a Congressman from (I think)LA. actually had a 15% national sales tax bill/proposal in Congress.

[Plumberman27]

Yeah,they finally were able to convict the man on getting a porch built at his house at tax payers expense. That is after he took on the IRS on numerous occasions and beat them in every case. I Think they tried to get him for tax evasion on 6 or 7 different occasions. He pissed off somebody and they sent they IRS after him. The guy is a dinosaur but a good dinosaur. One thing i am sure of is that he stopped the mob wars in the tri state area. Does anyone remember the phrase, “Youngstown Tune Up”?

[Las Vegas Dave]

Ohio Pings!

To be added to the Ohio Ping List, please freepmail (works best),
both LasVegasDave and TonyRo76.

[TeachableMoment]

He proposes a 25% sales tax,and gets a standing ovation, at a tea party event?

LOL WHAT???

[fortheDeclaration]

I assumed the sales tax would replace the Income tax.

[Keli Kilohana]

Mr. Trafficant,

Barbara Boxer called. She wants her hair back.

[gunsequalfreedom]

He’s been convicted and has a rap-sheet..............but he may well be a damn sight better than about 75% of the current Dems.

I lived in his district and met him from time to time. Traficant might have played it a bit loose - he was after all convicted. But he was also a thorn in the side of a government run amok. They went after him for that. By the standards they applied to him they should all be in jail. You have it right on the common sense part in your post. Maybe it was a case of just not good sense.

[gunsequalfreedom]

Those on FR that have been critical of Traficant will do well to remember this about him.

After the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, Traficant tended to vote more often with the Republicans than with his own party.

On abortion, Traficant voted the pro-life position of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) 95% of the time in the 105th Congress, and 100% of the time in the 106th and 107th Congresses.

After he voted for Republican Dennis Hastert for Speaker of the House in 2001, the Democrats stripped him of his seniority and refused to give him a committee assignment.

Because the Republicans did not assign him to any committee (gotta love those Republicans), Traficant became the first member of the House of Representatives in over a century without any committee assignment who was not in a leadership position.

[SampleMan]

The actual rate of a sales tax is meaningless, if it totally replaces the income tax. The reason I say that is that people simply won’t tolerate paying that much tax every single day on every single item.

Therefore within a year the rate would drop to 10% and most federal employees would get their walking papers.

A sales tax to replace the income tax is a good idea, no matter what the initial rate has to be, because once everyone is paying that amount and is reminded of it several times a day, all of the freebies won’t seem like such a great idea anymore.

[no dems]

Hey, I'm down with a 25% Sales Tax if it eliminates the Income Tax. That would be fair. Let all the people on Welfare, pay 25% tax on their kids $145 tennis shoes and $120 Oakland Raiders football jackets that they somehow manage to have the money to buy; not to mention their 42 inch flat screen TVs.

[no dems]

Is it definite that he is getting on the ballot? If so, he will definitely split the Dem vote but he'll get a lot of Pubbie votes as well. Heck, he might win. If he does, he'll caucus with the GOP so we will still have control of The House.

[screaminsunshine]

I am down with a 25% aggravation Tax on the Government. This Tax is a reverse income Tax. I get paid by the Government 25% more than what I earn as reparations for all the aggravation they have caused me over the last 60 years. It can also be a Progressive Aggravation Tax. The younger you are the lower the rate. This is because the young have not been aggravated as much because of the time deduction.

[mom4melody]

This is my Tea Party and there were some ugly comments on the Facebook site (including mine).

I thought the idea was to rid D.C. of felons, not send more there.

[chuckee]

“once everyone is paying that amount and is reminded of it several times a day, all of the freebies won’t seem like such a great idea anymore.”

I like the idea of a national sales tax except it should be called a national entitlements tax to remind people every day that once they vote themselves tribute today, they will be paying for it today , not their children in the future and not the person in a higher tax bracket. Then we will see how many progressives vote for entitlements on their own dime.

[DJ Frisat]

"He’s been convicted and has a rap-sheet..........."

Almost certainly because he didn't toe the pro-big government, liberal Democrat line. If he were a good little Democrat, they would've circled the wagons.

[SF_Redux]

why aren’t people like him culled from the beginning anymore?

what the hell is wrong in this country?