Gonna Kill Kill Kill Kill the Poor Tonight

I'm puzzled by part of John McCain's new stump speech, which is still heavy on JoethePlumber. This part:

Senator Obama says that he wanted to spread your wealth around. When politicians talk about taking your money and spreading it around, you'd better hold onto your wallet.

Fine so far.

Senator Obama claims that wants to give a tax break to the middle class, but not only did he vote for higher taxes on the middle class in the Senate, his plan gives away your tax dollars to those who don't pay taxes. That's not a tax cut, that's welfare.

But John McCain wants to do this, too! I don't think McCain has proposed eliminating the Child Tax Credit or the Earned Income Tax Credit. No, I don't see any promise of that on his economic page. I do remember that McCain wanted to double the Child Tax Credit, and I do see this from McCain's speech.

I will provide every single American family with a $5000 refundable tax credit to help them purchase insurance. Workers who already have health care insurance from their employers will keep it and have more money to cover costs.

Th-th-th-that's welfare! Why, some of those people don't even pay income taxes! John McCain wants to spread the wealth around! Alternatively he believes in using tax credits to assist Americans with low incomes, like every serious Republican (or reader of Milton Friedman) wants to do. Look, either he can come out for a Rothbardian dismantling of the functions of the state or he can explain how his use of tax credits is different than Obama's.

Related: JoethePlumber hasn't been a bad issue for McCain, as it allows him to make a positive case for his agenda instead of a smirky anti-Obama case. But it's too quickly become another example of the insufferable whininess that's characterized this stretch of the McCain campaign. People were mean to Joe because he asked a question, just like they were mean to Palin, just like Obama played the race card and has to apologize or he's going to bed with no supper.

It's like they're being advised by Chris Crocker.