Some Americans Can Only Dream of Owning a Boat Worth One-Tenth the Massachusetts Tax Bill on John Kerry’s New Yacht

01 Aug, 2010 by B. Daniel Blatt

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JammieWearingFool helps us get at the most telling aspect of the John Kerry boat-berthing/tax-dodging story:

The fallout continues for the laughingstock: John Kerry and his woes over the good ship SS 1040. Or maybe to use his own words we should call it the Botched Joke. Ironically by running to his favorite newspaper to try and control the damage he’s just kept the story alive.

(H/t Instapundit.) : Emphasis added.

And the last thing he wants to do is keep this story alive. : Other bloggers and pundits have focused on the hypocrisy angle: : while the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee grandstanded about corporations who seek tax shelters abroad, he sought one in a state bordering the one he represents in the Senate.

What JWF gets at is that the last thing any rich politician wants to do: draw attention to his own luxury purchases — particularly in these tough economic times. : Think about this for a moment, many men and women dream of owning their own boat to take to a nearby body of water for weekend and holiday recreation. : They work hard to scrape up enough money to buy a decent boat that costs less than one-tenth (if that) of what Kerry would have owed in taxes on his new yacht had he berthed it in his home state.

Let me repeat: : many Americans dream of owning a boat worth less than one-tenth of the state taxes Kerry attempted to dodge on his new yacht.

Not just that, he had had the yacht built abroad while many Americans, including presumably many boat builders, are out of work. : If he were up for reelection this fall, he’d be a goner.

One final note: : can you imagine the media hullabaloo if this were a story about a Republican? : Or if, say, a Republican former president spent a couple of million bucks on his daughter’s wedding?

Crossposted at GayPatriot.