Kerry Was For The Boat Tax Before He Was Against It

Still in damage control mode, Kerry sat down for a whiney interview with the Boston Globe and couldn’t help being his usual pompous, out of touch self.

WASHINGTON — Senator John F. Kerry yesterday acknowledged for the first time that he mishandled the political fallout from questions about taxes on his new $7 million yacht berthed in Rhode Island, but insisted that he always intended to make the $500,000 payment once he had registered the boat in Massachusetts.

“Our fault,’’ the Massachusetts Democrat said in an interview. “I don’t think I dealt with it fast enough, effectively enough. There’s nobody to blame but myself for that.’’

Last Friday, Kerry issued a less-than-definitive statement about the matter, saying, “If I owe taxes, I will pay promptly.’’ That was followed over the next few days by a series of similar comments, fueling a stream of media reports about whether the senator was trying to dodge Massachusetts taxes.

Then, on Tuesday, Kerry said he would deliver a check for roughly $500,000 — “whether owed or not’’ — to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue to quell the controversy.

Kerry, during a 45-minute session with Globe reporters, repeatedly insisted that he never had any intention of permanently docking the yacht in Rhode Island to avoid paying taxes in Massachusetts.

Asked why he had not paid taxes earlier, he said he has not taken final ownership of the yacht because there were several changes still being made by a designer, whose team is based in Rhode Island. Thus, he said, he was not in a position to pay taxes in Massachusetts.

He said, however, that he could now take possession within days — possibly soon enough to go sailing this weekend. He insisted he always intended on paying taxes after taking possession, notwithstanding the conditionality of his earlier statements.

He goes on to be very defensive about his wife’s inherited money.

“Look, we don’t feel like we have anything, either of us, to apologize for, to people,’’ Kerry said. “Because you know, the happenstance of death and accident and tragedy leaves my wife with a certain amount of money. . . . She doesn’t have to apologize for wanting to have good moments on a sailboat with her family.’’

Self-inflicted swift boating.

“Can I Get Out Of Here, Please?” – UPDATE: Senator Liveshot Will Pay Up

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Those were the last words heard from John Kerry before he slammed the door of his chauffeured SUV (must be a family member’s) after being pummelled with questions from reporters regarding his $7 million yacht’s suspicious registration in tax-free Rhode Island.

Sen. John Kerry, hounded by questions over whether he is dodging state and local taxes on his ultra-luxe $7 million sailing yacht, yesterday slammed his car door on a pack of reporters demanding to know if he would pony up to the cash-strapped commonwealth.

“Can I get out of here, please,” the harried senior senator said before sailing off into the sunset after an event at the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station .

Kerry continued to insist that he and his wife, ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz, would pay whatever taxes they owe on his new New Zealand-built Friendship sloop Isabel, but wouldn’t specifically address whether he’d cough up some $500,000 in state use and local excise taxes.

[…]

When asked yesterday whether he had brought the Isabel into Massachusetts, Kerry replied, “It depends on who owns it.”

Kerry declined to elaborate and a spokesman didn’t respond to our query, leaving us to wonder whether the senator is looking for another legal loophole to sail through.

Typical liberal.  Taxes for thee, but not for me.

Too bad he’s not up for reelection this year.  Still, it’s another reason to Remember in November.

UPDATE:  Kerry is going to cough up the $500,000.

With his reputation on the rocks, Sen. John Kerry informed Bay State tax collectors today he will cough up some $500,000 in state and local taxes for his ultra-luxe yacht Isabel.

“As we’ve said from the beginning, we have always complied with tax laws and we always will. … The payment is being made promptly,” Kerry said in a statement to the Herald today.

“We’ve reached out to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and made clear that, whether owned or not, we intend to pay the equivalent taxes as if the boat’s home-port were currently in Massachusetts,” Kerry added.

As if it were in Massachusetts?  Come on, Senator.  Is that another botched joke?

Quinnipiac Poll: Obama’s Approval Drops To Lowest Point Evah

(Photo credit: AP)

Let’s get into the delicious details:

A year after President Barack Obama’s political honeymoon ended, his job approval rating has dropped to a negative 44 – 48 percent, his worst net score ever, and American voters say by a narrow 39 – 36 percent margin that they would vote for an unnamed Republican rather than President Obama in 2012, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Anti-incumbent sentiment slams both parties as voters disapprove 59 – 31 percent of the job Democrats are doing, and disapprove 59 – 29 percent of Republicans in Congress. But voters say 43 – 38 percent they would vote for a Republican in a generic Congressional race.

This compares to a 48 – 43 percent approval for Obama in a May 26 national poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University and a 57 – 33 percent approval last July, just before the political firestorm created by opposition to his health care plan galvanized political opponents and turned independent voters against him. In this latest survey of more than 2,000 voters, independent voters disapprove of Obama 52 – 38 percent and say 37 – 27 percent they would vote for a Republican contender in 2012.

American voters also say 48 – 40 percent Obama does not deserve reelection in 2012.

It’s all Bush’s fault.

 

Illegals In MA Get Discounts On Prescriptions, MBTA, Home Heating Assistance

And here we thought it was only free health insurance, dental, food and housing.

The free ride rolls on for Bay State illegal aliens who stand to score benefits, from prescription discounts to MBTA passes, even as Gov. Deval Patrick tempers his rhetoric on such taxpayer-funded perks during his re-election bid.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous that that is going on,” said Rep. James Miceli (D-Wilmington), who called the lax oversight a “slap in the face” to taxpayers.

Illegals applying for state services such as MBTA discounts for disabled passengers, The Ride, home heating assistance and cheaper prescription drugs for the elderly, aren’t even asked whether they are U.S. citizens

“That (citizenship) question – as a result of the recent change in the law – should now be on every application for state benefits, and if it’s not we need to legislatively correct that,” said state Sen. Steven A. Baddour (D-Methuen), who backed a recent push to bar state services for illegal immigrants. “Only those who are here legally should be benefiting from the system.”

[…]

The application for the Prescription Advantage Plan – which offers discounts on prescription drugs for the elderly – doesn’t even require a Social Security card. It asks for Social Security numbers, but alerts applicants that it is “voluntary.”

This concludes our local Remember in November edition.

Tab For Massachusetts Stimulus Propaganda Signs Nears $500 Thousand

I pass one of these signs during my daily commute and have to fight the desire to plow it over with the Mighty Outback.

The Bay State has blown nearly $500,000 in taxpayer dough on road signs promoting President Obama’s stimulus projects – nearly 10 percent of the total nationwide – in a campaign Republicans are ripping as wasteful partisan propaganda in tough election year, a Herald review shows.

U.S. Department of Transportation spokeswoman Nancy Singer said state officials across the country have spent a total of $5 million on the signs – meaning Massachusetts accounts for nearly 10 percent of the nation’s total stimulus sign spending.

“It kills me to see us spending that much money on a bunch of signs to tell people what they’re spending their money on,” huffed Republican Jon Golnik, who’s running against U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) in the 5th congressional district. “It’s the definition of waste.”

The Obama-friendly signs – which cost some $443,000 to make and install – have popped up at construction sites everywhere from Danvers to Harvard. They remind motorists the president is “Putting America to Work,” even as local congressional Democrats fend off strong challengers riding a throw-the-bums out tide.

The review comes as U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has called for an investigation into “overtly political guidance on stimulus advertising.”

“Americans expected that stimulus funds would be used for projects that have lasting value and not as political propaganda,” Issa told the Herald.

10 freaking percent.  Way to go, Deval.

If Illinois has spent $1 million on its own, $5 million total seems low to me.   Not the the Obama administration would fudge numbers or anything. Beacause they’ve never done that before, right?

Remember in November.

It Begins: Insurance Companies Pushing Plans Which Limit Choice Of Doctors

More evidence that you can tell if Obama is lying by whether his lips are moving.  

As the Obama administration begins to enact the new national health care law, the country’s biggest insurers are promoting affordable plans with reduced premiums that require participants to use a narrower selection of doctors or hospitals.

The plans, being tested in places like San Diego, New York and Chicago, are likely to appeal especially to small businesses that already provide insurance to their employees, but are concerned about the ever-spiraling cost of coverage.

But large employers, as well, are starting to show some interest, and insurers and consultants expect that, over time, businesses of all sizes will gravitate toward these plans in an effort to cut costs.

The tradeoff, they say, is that more Americans will be asked to pay higher prices for the privilege of choosing or keeping their own doctors if they are outside the new networks. That could come as a surprise to many who remember the repeated assurances from President Obama and other officials that consumers would retain a variety of health-care choices.

But companies may be able to reduce their premiums by as much as 15 percent, the insurers say, by offering the more limited plans.

“What we’re seeing is a definite uptick in interest because, quite frankly, affordability is the most pressing agenda item,” said Dr. Sam Ho, the chief medical officer for UnitedHealth’s health-care plans.

Of course this will be parsed by Barry & Co. who will say you can keep your plan and doctor, you just have to pay more for it. 

Remember in November.

Obama Will Not Rest For 10 Days On Martha’s Vineyard

But not until he will not rest in Bar Harbor, Maine this weekend.

President Obama, his poll numbers tanking, will return to Martha’s Vineyard – the most Democratic spot in the bluest of blue states – for his summer vacation next month, island sources said.

Our spies on The Rock report that the first family will return to Chilmark’s Blue Heron Farm for about 10 days in August.

“It’s the same deal all over again,” said our source.

The White House declined to confirm the report, saying the prez’s schedule “cannot be confirmed” at this time. But the big buzz on the Rock is that the commander-in-chief, Michelle and the girls, Sasha and Malia, will return to The Rock about Aug. 19. And why wouldn’t they?

The fab farm where the first family beaches themselves has a basketball court for Barry, and the prez was greeted like a rock star everywhere he went. And with his approval ratings at an all-time low, a little love from the locals can’t hurt.

But what about the first lady’s plea to Americans to vacation in the Gulf region to help the oil-ravaged area and “send a different message about the extent of the spill”?

Apparently it’s yet another case of presidential do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do, because tomorrow the Obamas will head north to recreate on Maine’s Mount Desert Island for three days. And, come August, the only oil slick that will be causing the president agita will be from the fried clams at Nancy’s in Oak Bluffs!

Barry and Michelle need some love and there is no better place to bask in the Kool-Aid glow than with the Beautiful People of Martha’s Vineyard.

“We weren’t invited. In fact, we were told not to come.”

Valerie Jarrett gets the hand from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday rejected a request from top White House adviser Valerie Jarrett to speak at a jobs summit hosted by the business group, the latest escalation in an ongoing war between the two camps.

“We would have loved to have gone and participated. We weren’t invited. In fact we were told not to come,” Jarrett said, during an interview on Bloomberg Television.

Chamber officials said Jarrett requested that she be allowed to address their gathering, a several-hour long “Jobs for America Summit,” on Wednesday morning, a few hours before the event began. They said the program was too full to fit her in.

At the summit, Chamber President and CEO Thomas Donahue railed against President Obama’s economic policies.

“Our current economic direction is not working,” Donahue said.

Donahue said that Obama’s health care and financial regulation initiatives are onerous to the point that the Americans will lose freedoms unique to the country.

“Taken collectively, the regulatory activity now underway is so overwhelming and beyond anything we have ever seen, that we risk moving this country away from a government of the people to a government of regulators,” Donahue said.

No wonder these companies – large, medium and small – aren’t hiring.

Support For Arizona Law Hits 75%

As Obama’s support circles the drain, the Arizona immigration law’s skyrockets.

Public support for Arizona’s controversial new immigration law has increased slightly, a new CBS News poll shows, with 57 percent of Americans characterizing the law as “about right” in the way it addresses the issue of illegal immigration.

Support for the measure increased five points since May. Since then, the Justice Department has filed suit against the law, claiming that it usurps federal authority to enforce immigration laws.

Epic fail.

Poll: 6 in 10 Lack Faith In Obama To Make Right Decisions For Country

This is the third poll in less than two weeks which continues to show Obama’s numbers tanking.  His approval rating – at just 43% – is at an all-time low in this poll.

UPDATE: This just-released CBS poll shows even more dismal numbers for Obama with just 40% having confidence in him as a leader.

Public confidence in President Obama has hit a new low, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. Four months before midterm elections that will define the second half of his term, nearly six in 10 voters say they lack faith in the president to make the right decisions for the country, and a clear majority once again disapproves of how he is dealing with the economy.

Regard for Obama is still higher than it is for members of Congress, but the gap has narrowed. About seven in 10 registered voters say they lack confidence in Democratic lawmakers and a similar proportion say so of Republican lawmakers.

Overall, more than a third of voters polled — 36 percent — say they have no confidence or only some confidence in the president, congressional Democrats and congressional Republicans. Among independents, this disillusionment is higher still. About two-thirds of all voters say they are dissatisfied with or angry about the way the federal government is working.

But you keep on golfing and flying around the country to ‘help’ Democrats running for reelection, Barry.