Bush Camp Attacks Kerry's Spending Plan
WASHINGTON — Republicans on Monday significantly escalated their effort to paint John F. Kerry as a big-government liberal, charging he has endorsed a $1.7-trillion spending spree that would demand huge tax increases.
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Democrats quickly countered that Bush had no credibility in accusing others of fiscal irresponsibility after presiding over a significant increase in government spending and the nation's largest federal budget deficit.
"No one in America should be taking math lessons from this administration or anyone associated with it after they have turned record surpluses into record deficits," said Stephanie Cutter, Kerry's communications director.
The new Bush attack echoed arguments Republicans used against Al Gore in 2000 and Bill Clinton in 1992. And some Democrats predicted that the charges would increase pressure on Kerry to show how he can square his promises of substantially increased spending on healthcare and other programs with his pledge to halve the federal budget deficit while only raising taxes on the most affluent families.
"The Kerry folks do have some tasks to do," said Ron Klain, a senior advisor to Gore in 2000. "They have to show they have a fiscal plan, a tax plan and a spending plan that makes sense."
If nothing else, Monday's fierce exchanges -- with conference calls to reporters by each side -- underscored the accelerated pace of this year's political battle. In 2000, Bush did not launch his comparable attack on Gore's spending plans until the first week of September.
The new Bush offensive is the latest to target Kerry since he emerged as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee early this month.
In speeches, interviews and television advertisements, the GOP has sought to portray Kerry as a traditional liberal who would be too quick to cut military spending and too slow to use military force.
The charge that Kerry is contemplating massive increases in government spending -- and tax increases to pay for it -- fleshes out the argument Bush sketched last month in a speech to Republican governors. The president said he sought to increase choice for individuals, in part by allowing them to keep more of their money through lower taxes, while his opponent would "increase the power of politicians and bureaucrats."
That reprised a central argument Bush employed with some success during the final weeks of his race against Gore in 2000.
