Coleman Has Taken $2 Million From Wall Street, Financial Interests – More Than Any Other Senate Candidate In The Country

Special Interest Senator Has Followed Bush Economic Agenda All The Way

Saint Paul [09/30/08] – As the economic crisis deepens, potentially resulting in a $700 billion taxpayer-funded bailout of Wall Street, the Al Franken for Senate campaign today released a new statewide television ad, “Turmoil,” reminding Minnesotans that Norm Coleman has been a rubber-stamp supporter of the Bush economic agenda that caused the crisis in the first place.

Coleman has taken $2 million from Wall Street and financial interests – more than any other Senate candidate in the entire country.

Communications Director Andy Barr:

“Norm Coleman is deeper in the pockets of Wall Street and the financial interests who have caused this meltdown than any other Senate candidate in the country — $2 million worth. So it’s not enough just to ask Minnesota families to put up $2,300 for every man, woman, and child to bail out Norm’s friends. We need to get rid of people like Norm Coleman who followed the Bush plan of letting these special interests put our economic security in jeopardy.”

Watch the ad here:
http://www.alfranken.com/content/video_detail/?id=72

SCRIPT

Al Franken: I’m Al Franken and I approve this message.

Announcer: Wall Street in turmoil. The economy devastated. Taxpayers left to pay the bill. Who was looking out for us? Not Norm Coleman. He’s taken $2 million from Wall Street and financial interests. More than any other Senate candidate in the country. And Coleman has supported the Bush economic plan all the way – that’s led to a $10 trillion national debt. Norm Coleman. Part of the problem – not the solution.

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Coleman Has Taken More Than $2 Million From Financial Interests In The 2008 Cycle – More Than Any Member Of Congress Not Running For President. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Coleman has taken $2,054,683 from the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate sector. The only Members of Congress to take more form that sector in the 2008 cycle were presidential candidates. [Center for Responsive Politics, Finance/Insurance/Real Estate Money to Congress, Top 20 Members]

• Coleman Has Taken More From Financial Interests Than Any Other 2008 US Senate Candidate In The Country. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Coleman has taken more from the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate sector than any 2008 US Senate Candidate in America. [Center for Responsive Politics, Finance/Insurance/Real Estate Money to Congress, Senate Candidates]

The National Debt Has Increased By More Than $3.5 Trillion Since Coleman Took Office; Debt Is Nearly $10 Trillion. On January 21, 2003, the day after Coleman took office, the national debt was $6,387,841,175,651.97. As of September 29, 2008, the national debt was $9,945,578,231,981.59. [US Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt]

COLEMAN HAS STOOD WITH BUSH ON THE ECONOMY

Coleman Has Voted To Increase The National Debt Limit 5 Times, Raising The National Debt By More Than $3 Trillion In His Time In Office. Coleman voted five times to raise the federal debt limit – it has gone from $6.4 trillion when Coleman arrived to more than $9.5 trillion after his fifth vote in 2006. [Vote 54, 3/16/06; Vote 76, 3/17/05; Vote 57, 3/11/04; Vote 213, 11/17/04; Vote 202, 5/23/03]

Coleman Has Voted Against PAYGO Rules Six Times. In May 2003, Coleman voted against an amendment that would extend Congressional “pay-as-you-go” (PAYGO) rules until 2008. In March 2004, Coleman voted against restoring PAYGO rules that would require and 60-vote majority to enact new tax cuts or new spending on entitlements without showing how to pay for them. Coleman voted against restoring PAYGO rules in March 2005, twice in November 2005, and a sixth time in March 2006. [Vote 200, 5/23/03; Vote 38, 3/10/04; Vote 53, 3/16/05; Vote 283, 11/3/05; Vote 340, 11/17/05; Vote 38, 3/14/06]

2008: Coleman Said, “I Want To Make See The Bush Tax Cuts Made Permanent.” During a March 2008 interview on CNN, Coleman said, “I want to see the Bush tax cuts made permanent.” [CNN, "Situation Room," 3/14/08]

2006: Coleman Release Praised Bush Economic Policies. In April 2006, an official Coleman press release said, “Citing it as proof positive of the effectiveness of the pro-growth policies put in place by President Bush and the Republican Congress, Sen. Norm Coleman said the strong economic growth reported today underscores the need for Congress to ensure that the successful pro-growth polices remain in place.” [Coleman Release, 4/28/06]

2004: Coleman Voted To Make Bush Tax Cuts Permanent. In September 2004, after voting to make President Bush’s tax cuts permanent, Coleman said “Last night we killed a major tax increase on Minnesota working families. Our economy is on the move again and raising taxes would only slow it down. Hardworking American families deserve to keep more of their hard-earned income. This is important legislation.” [Vote 188, 9/23/04; Coleman Release, 9/24/04]

2004 Star Tribune: Headline: “A First Year Marked By Loyalty; As A Senator, Norm Coleman Hit The Ground Running And Stayed True To Bush.” In January 2004, the Star Tribune reported, “Coleman was part of a Congress that drove up deficits to record levels, but he defended the president’s economic record, saying that cutting taxes will lead to more jobs and ultimately reduce the national debt.” [Star Tribune, 1/5/04 (emphasis added)]

2004: Coleman Praised Bush’s “Leadership On Economic Security.” In January 2004, Coleman said Bush had, “provided leadership for the war and ‘leadership on economic security.’” [Star Tribune, 1/21/04]

2003: Coleman Cast Crucial Vote For Bush’s Final 2003 Tax Cut Package. In May 2003, Coleman cast a crucial vote to approve the final version of President Bush’s $330 billion tax cut plan, which passed 50-50 with Vice President Cheney breaking the tie. “This is a jobs bill, and I’m a believer in that,” Coleman said. “I’m a believer that when you cut taxes, you generate job growth, and that’s what this economy needs.” Democrats, who were largely shut out of negotiations over the bill, said the bill would put the government deeper into debt. The bill benefited taxpayers with income from investments, lowering taxes on capital gains and stock dividends to 15% Previously, investors paid as much as 38.6% tax on dividends and 20% on capital gains. The bill also accelerated the 2001 income tax cuts. [Vote 196, 5/23/03; Pioneer Press, 5/24/03; Associated Press, 5/23/03]

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 at 17:58 and is filed under Press Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.