NEW: Doherty Battles Dems Over Bush Tax Cuts

NEW: Doherty Battles Dems Over Bush Tax Cuts

Republican Congressional candidate Brendan Doherty is defending himself against what campaign manager Ian Prior calls “half-truths and partisan rhetoric” coming from the state Democratic Party.

Earlier in the day, Democratic Party spokesman Bill Fischer took Doherty to task for failing to comment on the House Republicans’ efforts to kill the Middle Class Tax Cut act that would have extended the Bush-era tax cuts on all by two percent of Americans.

“We’ve seen a variety of opinions from Mr. Doherty on the Bush tax cuts,” Fischer said.“When he made an appearance on WPRI’s Newsmakers, he proposed letting all of the tax breaks expire. When he was on WJAR’s News Conference, he indicated they should all be extended. Yesterday, when his Republican cronies in Washington were advocating raising taxes on 25 million middle-class families while preserving tax breaks for millionaires, Mr. Doherty was silent. He wants to protect millionaires, at the expense of the middle class.

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Prior offered the following rebuttal:

"Brendan Doherty has repeatedly said that the current tax rates should be extended to 2013 when a hopefully less divisive Congress can address comprehensive tax reform that levels the playing field to benefit the middle class and small businesses. Following the lead of his preferred candidate, Mr. Fischer's comments are yet another in a series of half-truths and partisan rhetoric that fuel the gridlock that paralyzes Washington D.C. Perhaps Mr. Fischer should take a closer look at Congressman Cicilline's campaign contributors and ask who is really beholden to millionaires, billionaires, and big businesses."