Palin talks taxes in Leesburg

By NEIL H. SIMON
Media General News Service

Published: October 28, 2008

LEESBURG, Va - With “Tito the Builder” at her side Monday, Sarah Palin kicked off the last full week of campaigning before Election Day talking taxes in Northern Virginia.

Trying to focus the presidential race on middle-class families and small-business owners, the Republican vice presidential candidate stood with Tito Munoz, who calls himself “Tito the Builder,“ a Colombian immigrant who rose to own a construction company in Prince William County.

After contrasting the tax plans of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama with those of her GOP running mate John McCain, Palin said the choice for voters should be clear.

“You can either do the math or go with your gut,“ she said, “either way you draw the same conclusion, and that’s that Barack Obama is on the side of bigger, more controlling government.“

The crowd chanted, “Use your brain, vote McCain.“

Obama has proposed raising taxes on Americans earning more than $250,000 a year and cutting capital gains taxes for small business.

Democratic state Del. Kris Amundson of Mount Vernon said in a statement from the Obama campaign, “Governor Palin again proved she’s good at distorting Barack Obama’s positions, but what she didn’t do today is provide an explanation for how John McCain’s economic policies would be any different than George Bush’s.“

Munoz, in his yellow hard hat and orange work vest fired up the audience estimated at 8,000 in forested J.R.‘s Festival Lakes.

“Everything we stand for is in danger by higher taxes and less freedom,“ Munoz said.

Palin asked the exuberant crowd, “So, Virginia, will you hire us?“

She then stoked fears that an Obama win could mean a Democratic sweep of the legislative and executive branches.

“If big government spenders control the House and the Senate and—heaven forbid - the White House, then they will have a monopoly of power in Washington,“ she said, and they’ll set the country on a path that would erode America’s entrepreneurial spirit.

Palin said a McCain administration would cut income taxes, capital gains taxes, and double the child tax deduction for families. She called Obama “Barack the wealth-spreader.“

The message resonated with voters like Claudia Hinger, of Purcellville, who said her vote comes down to the economy. Hinger works in a grocery and wants to be assured she’ll keep more of her paycheck under a new president.

“I’m scared; my family’s scared. I don’t want to be in a 12-year Depression,“ Hinger said. “I feel if Obama became president, we’ll be in trouble.“

Other voters said they supported the Republican ticket out of concern for the nation’s military strength.

“Obama just doesn’t seem to get it,“ said Beth Summers of Loudoun County, who came to the rally wearing a “Veterans for McCain” shirt. “You have to have lived it,“ she said of McCain’s military service.

Palin also campaigned in Fredericksburg, Va., Monday and was to hold an evening rally in Salem, Va.