When Did Patriots Stop Paying Taxes?

Palin dead wrong; now is time for US taxpayer to step up: Friedman

By Gabriel Winant, Newser User

Posted Oct 8, 2008 12:14 PM CDT

(Newser) – Sarah Palin is really asking for it, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times, when she blithely criticizes paying taxes as unpatriotic—especially when Uncle Sam needs the cash to pay for wars and a bailout that she supports. Does Palin "think borrowing money from China is more patriotic than raising it in taxes from Americans?" It takes some nerve to support the bailout and call the taxes to pay for it unpatriotic.

In the midst of “an economic perfect storm, only good governance can save us,” Friedman writes, confounded how conservatives can “write with a straight face” that Palin should be VP. And while she professes expertise in energy, Friedman dismisses her drilling plans as prolonging America's dependence on oil. “Patriotic is offering a plan to build our economy—not by tax cuts or punching more holes in the ground.”

[Images (3)]

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Republican vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin waves to supporters before a campaign speech at Minges Coliseum on the campus of East Carolina University Tuesday Oct. 7, 2008, in Greenville, N.C. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)

Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Alaska, campaigns at a rally, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008, at The Jacksonville Landing in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Jake Roth)

Republican vice president candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, talks to supporters during a rally in Carson, California on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Hector Mata)

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And please don’t tell me she will hire smart advisers. What happens when her two smartest advisers disagree? - Thomas Friedman

And please also don’t tell me she is an “energy expert.” She is an energy expert exactly the same way the king of Saudi Arabia is an energy expert — by accident of residence. Palin happens to be governor of the Saudi Arabia of America . . .
- Thomas Friedman

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When Did Patriots Stop Paying Taxes?