Ted Kennedy Jr. is asking Linda McMahon to pull an online ad that includes a video of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, giving a speech about the economy. The ad, he said, is dishonest.
“(Your ad) distorts the legacy of President Kennedy in order to mislead voters into thinking that President Kennedy would support your position on tax policy,” wrote Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.
The ad is called “A Good Idea Then And Now” and includes 31 seconds from a speech President Kennedy made on Aug. 13, 1963 about the recession America was going through and his proposal to cut taxes to create new jobs.
The ad ends with text: “A good idea then. A better idea now.”
“Your ad falsly implies that President Kennedy would support tax cuts for the same reasons that you do,” Kennedy wrote.
YOU CAN READ TED KENNEDY JR'S FULL LETTER HERE.
The economic climates then and now are very different, he said.
“In 1963 there was virtually no deficit and the top tax rate was 91% percent for income over $400,000. Today, the annual U.S. deficit is nearly $1.5 trillion and the top tax rate is 35% for income over $372,500,” he wrote.
Kennedy said McMahon’s policies are about enhancing the wealth of the richest 2 percent of Americans.
McMahon’s campaign responded.
“Kennedy proposed across-the-board tax cuts because he recognized that a high tax ‘reduces the financial incentives for personal effort, investment and risk-taking,’” Ed Patru, communications director for McMahon’s U.S. Senate campaign said. “That was the case 47 years ago, and it’s the case today.”
Patru said that Kennedy faced opposition from his own party over the cuts in 1963.
Ted Kennedy Jr. has come out in support of Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who is running against McMahon for the senate seat.
