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Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Wednesday called for deeper tax cuts for the middle class than proposed by President Bush and described his Republican critics as "the most crooked ... lying group I've ever seen." After urging labor leaders to support his campaign to oust the president, Kerry met with onetime rival Howard Dean to discuss a possible endorsement and what role the former Vermont governor might play in his campaign. Kerry greeted Dean as he arrived at campaign headquarters, and the two joined hands and raised them high for cameras.
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Earlier Wednesday in Chicago, Kerry toughened his comments about his GOP critics after a supporter urged him to take on Bush. "Let me tell you, we've just begun to fight," Kerry said. "We're going to keep pounding. These guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group I've ever seen. It's scary."
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In a speech to top leaders of the AFL-CIO, Kerry said a "Bush Tax" stemming from the president's economic policies has driven up costs for working families. He vowed to reverse that trend while asking those making more than $200,000 a year to pay the same taxes they paid under President Clinton, effectively repealing portions of a tax cut Bush pushed through Congress.
Kerry also proposed creating a $50 billion fund to help states provide relief from state and local taxes for working families that he said have been struggling. "Under George Bush's policies, middle-class families are paying more," he said. "America's middle class can't afford a tax increase. That's why we're going to give the middle class a tax cut."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/03/10/politics1418EST0685.DTL
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