Senator Sam Brownback On Barack Obama And Gas Prices

"You got a difference of opinion between John McCain and Barack Obama. John McCain, he's for pulling off the federal gas tax and having a holiday. Barack Obama says well the prices are high and my only objection is they went up too fast'. That's a big difference of opinion and this is the big issue staring at the country, these gasoline prices." -- Senator Brownback

Senator Sam Brownback
MSNBC
June 12, 2008

Senator Sam Brownback: "I think the real key issue here that we're going to be talking about a whole lot going into this fall are energy prices and gasoline. You got a difference of opinion between John McCain and Barack Obama. John McCain, he's for pulling off the federal gas tax and having a holiday. Barack Obama says well the prices are high and my only objection is they went up too fast'. That's a big difference of opinion and this is the big issue staring at the country, these gasoline prices. You're going to have a difference of opinion between these two candidates on that. I know the country favors John McCain on this opinion."

MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell: "But doesn't John McCain have a problem when it comes to perception, when you look at tax policy? The Obama camp keeps hammering him on tax cuts for the wealthy. Given the economy, given people being really pressed on energy costs, aren't most voters going to respond more to that message than to the message of tax cuts to the rich and corporations?

Brownback: "I don't know anybody that thinks a gasoline tax cut is a tax cut for the rich. As I'm doing town halls across my state, this is the number one topic by a long distance, and everybody's saying we're paying too much for gas, and they don't consider that a tax cut for the rich."

Mitchell: "I was talking more about the other Bush tax cuts that John McCain has supported. The gas tax holiday, at least a lot of voters in Indiana, in the Democratic primary, thought that it was not more than a band aid. That it was a gimmick and they pretty much rejected the idea."

Brownback: "Well, I tell you what, you take off that much money off of a gallon of gas right now and I think people will be cheering you and carrying you on their shoulders. People are fed up with these high prices. We're going to have to do more drilling to get more supply out here. You've got Barack Obama pushing the windfall profits tax, which might feel good, but is only going to drive up the price of gasoline. John McCain is on the other side saying you don't get something cheaper by taxing it more. I think you're going to see a clear difference on this and this is a big, driving issue and going to be in this country. If we start getting $4.50 a gallon for gasoline, people are going to be saying what are you going to do now and in the future to get these prices down. These candidates are very different on gasoline."

Watch Senator Brownback