Sen. McCaskill opposes disavowed mileage tax proposal

Representing a divided state that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) carried in the 2008 presidential contest, McCaskill faces an uphill battle for reelection next year. That fight was recently made tougher by reports that McCaskill used taxpayer dollars to pay for flights on her private jet and failed to pay taxes on the plane.
 
Although she has reimbursed the money in both cases, the airplane controversy continues to dog her.

McCaskill is a staunch ally of the president, but rarely misses opportunities to burnish her populist credentials to appeal to voters back home.
 
The White House quickly walked away from the mileage tax proposal, saying it was contained in early draft legislation that had not been vetted by top administration officials.
 
“This is not a bill supported by the administration,” White House spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said in a statement last week.
 
“This was an early working draft proposal that was never formally circulated within the administration, does not take into account the advice of the president’s senior advisers, economic team or Cabinet officials and does not represent the views of the president,” she said.
 
Despite the White House disavowal, Republicans have sought to use the proposal to their political advantage with polls showing gas prices a top concern among voters. Recent surveys have shown gas prices dragging down the president’s approval ratings, even as he enjoyed a boost in popularity from authorizing the killing of Osama bin Laden.