From the political notebook:

From the political notebook:  -  Robert Rob

The Arizona Republic - Jun. 29, 2008 12:00 AM

• The state Democratic Party, in the meantime, has turned itself into a nasty-gram machine, churning out invective-laced attacks on every Republican who moves or thinks about moving.

For the most part, these are thinly based and so over the top that they are easily, and most appropriately, ignored.

I'm going to make an exception for one recent mugging. The party sent out an attack press release alleging that Republican congressional candidates John Shadegg, Sydney Hay and David Schweikert "would raise food prices by 23 percent."

And how would that be?

Well, all three have expressed some degree of interest or support for the FAIR Tax, which would abolish all income and payroll taxes in favor of a national sales tax.

Abolishing all income and payroll taxes on producers and workers would, of course, dramatically reduce prices. There is an honest disagreement among economists about the net, overall effect of the FAIR Tax on prices. But no substantive critic disputes that the initial effect will be to lower prices prior to the new sales tax being applied.

That makes the Democratic Party's assertion that Shadegg, Hay and Schweikert support increasing existing food prices by 23 percent more than just a partisan distortion.

It's thoroughly and shamefully dishonest.

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