In the middle of the SCHIP fight some weeks back, I encountered a curious poster at the checkout of the local kwik-e-mart:
Smokers are being targeted for a 156% tax hike.
Tell Congress a $6.10 a Carton Tax Increase is Going Too Far.
The poster referred me to a website which urged people to contact their representatives about upholding the president's expected veto of the tax increase. Not surprisingly, the webpage was paid for by Phillip Morris and made no mention of the SCHIP program the tax hike would fund.
However, when I clicked through to another page entitled Latest Polling I discovered Phillip Morris funded polling that did eventually mention the SCHIP program and uncovered some interesting results. The survey, conducted in 11 congressional districts held by Blue Dog Democrats, gives us a rare detailed look into swing district attitudes about Democrats, taxation, SCHIP, and - oddly enough - progressive Medicare reform.
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