The Democrats want a class warfare, soak-the-rich campaign talking point so badly that they are openly willing to risk plunging the United States into another recession:
Democrats are making increasingly explicit threats about their willingness to let nearly $600 billion worth of tax hikes and spending cuts take effect in January unless Republicans drop their opposition to higher taxes for the nation’s wealthiest households.
Emboldened by signs that GOP resistance to new taxes may be weakening, senior Democrats say they are prepared to weather a fiscal event that could plunge the nation back into recession if the new year arrives without an acceptable compromise.
Sen. Patty Murray, who once favorably compared late terrorist Osama bin Laden’s foreign policy to our own, is leading the Democrats’ charge.
This is big, and it is outrageous: The fundamental difference between the two major parties is exposed for all to see. The Democrats want to punish job creators with higher taxes and are willing to hold middle class tax rates hostage to get what they want. The Democrats are lurching hard left on a pretty fundamental thing in an election year: the state of the economy. This is Jim Jones, drink-the-Koolaid stuff the Democrats are doing. They are threatening to hurt millions of Americans if the GOP doesn’t agree to raise taxes, taxes which may help bring the weak economy down if they are enacted. But if the GOP agrees to raise them it disappoints and dispirits its own base, and will share the blame for the consequences.
If this election is to be about big ideas instead of minutiae or who is and isn’t a past felon (that would be former cocaine user Barack Obama, by the way), let it be about this. Let it be about which party wants to grow the economy and which party is willing to risk destroying the economy just to have some kind of wedge issue. Let it be about whether we are a capitalist society that rewards work or a collectivist society that denigrates work from the top.
Unfortunately, though, this won’t be a campaign about big ideas. It will be a campaign about capturing the voters in the middle, who are mostly not interested in big ideas. If they were interested in big ideas, they would not be in the middle. Most would already be aligned with one side or the other, and anti-patriots like Patty Murray would have had to get real jobs a long time ago.
Which party is made up of “hostage takers”, again?
It’s fine with me if Democrat senators wish to go over the cliff. This is the kind of major party decision that the entire country should be allowed to watch them make.
My fear is that as usual Republican leadership with weenie-out and yield. This is one time that the “Party of NO” should say “No”. I’m more afraid of the RINOs than I am of the Democrats.
Yeah. John McCain is quoted in the story being, well, John McCain.
Well, okay then, so be it. Let’s see if the Dems have enough gonads to deliberately crash the economy (again, just as they did in ’08 to get O elected!). This time, Bush won’t get the blame, they and the Obamassiah will. I’m betting that the Dems fold pretty quickly, as they will need GOP votes in the house to raise the debt ceiling again this year.
It’s a Trap! The demos want to raise all taxes on everybody because taxing the rich is not enough to pay for their crony activities and vote buying. This is a clever idea to make that happen by blaming repubs for not agreeing to 100% of what demos want to do, but in the end getting what they want – which is higher taxes for everyone. It also provides cover (blaming republicans) for all the unaffordable care act taxes that kick in January 1 2013. Brilliant political move and repubs are falling for it.
Like this would be the first time this has happened. They did this to Bush which gave us Obama. It worked so well that I really think they’d like to do it again. Trouble is have demonstrated quite well that they can put the car in the ditch but seem to be having trouble demonstrating any propensity for getting it out of the ditch.
By all means let’s keep the rich having the lowest rates for the last 80 years. By all means let’s grow the deficit by over 800 Billion over the next ten years by letting the rich off the hook. Obama has made a very cool calculation and the pressure will be on the conservatives to say NO to keeping all tax deductions for everyone up to $250K because they want their rich friends not to go back to Clinton era tax rates for over $250K. So a person that makes $300K will pay $1500 more in taxes.
He framed it perfectly – let the election decide the tax rates for the rich and we know the Republicans will never want that now don’t we.
You do know that the top 1% pay the lion’s share of taxes, right, coward?
“By all means let’s keep the rich having the lowest rates for the last 80 years. By all means let’s grow the deficit by over 800 Billion over the next ten years by letting the rich off the hook.”
Dear God, another lefty innumerate.
The deficit, fool, is the consequence of the Democrats having increased annual Federal spending from $2.7 trillon in FY07 to $3.9 trillion in FY12. Back in FY07, the last GOP budget, the deficit was just $214 billion- that was WITH the Bush tax rates in effect, and WITH the Iraq surge.
Do you really think that the current economic miseries will be solved by siphoning even more money out of the productive sector into the government rathole? Is there no end to your greed? Will your rapacity never be satiated?
BTW, $800 bn over ten years is $80 bn per year- or about the figure by which Obama has increased the annual food stamp budget, alone… and less money than he blew in a single bill, the worthless Porkulus.
That post of your screams at not knowing what you are talking about. The FY09 budget was passed and took effect in Oct of 08. President Obama came into office in Jan of 09 and the stimulus was the only addition to that budget but not by much as most of it was spent on FY10 and FY11 and expired in FY12 which we are now in.
As for your deficit numbers – Bush kept the war spending off the books and then in 07 the economy tanked and by 08 we lost close to 9% of GDP. Tax revenue also tanked and we we losing jobs starting in 07 through July of 09.
Pelosi and Reid had control of the budget from January 07. The 09 budget was passed on a party-line vote in October (months late) but then deferred (unlawfully) until February so that Bambi would dign it where GWB would have rejected it.
And the economy didn’t start to tank until Q2 of 2008.
You’re just making excuses: the problem is NOT a lack of revenue, but incontinent spendarrhea. If Federal spending were cut to FY 07 levels there would be no deficit at all. Whereas if you greedy, grasping, selfish libs were to tax the Evil One Percent at 100% – not just the top bracket, but confiscate every penny they earn- it wouldn’t come close to closing the shortfall.
How about this: try to justify a single dollar of the new spending Obama has added since he took office. Go ahead.
Listen little boy that’s such a bogus argument. How much do they pay in social security taxes or medicare or sales taxes of gas tax or other taxes? You’re a one trick pony and not a very smart one at that.
As for coward look in the mirror and just say you;re a conservative and like to hate America and what it stands for because that what conservatives like you do – they like Jim Crow laws and hated when civil rights passed and don’t want minorities to vote. But it’s conservatives like you who are the real cowards who shiver in the corner every time some yahoo conservative says you should be afraid. Now go grow up and ask your mommy for some milk and cookies.
Give him enough time, and a lib eventually will drop the mask and reveal his true colors: a hate-filled, illogical ranting teenager who believes absurd twaddle.
I’m very logical and dislike conservatives as they are the brake on America becoming greater than we are. Mostly I think conservatives are a bunch of bigots, religious freaks, easily lead, and very insecure white men who have mommy issues.
Says a coward.
Are you a freaking baby? You follow me around saying coward every time I post. Just because I respond to some of your inane twaddle and make your points look stupid doesn’t mean I’m a coward it just means your not very bright.
In other words, you’re a bigot, and the sort of bigot whose prejudice is formed from utter ignorance, since the stereotype you throw out has no relation at all to actual real-world conservatives.
And, no, America will in no way be a “greater” country if it follows California down the drain.
Hmm – displaying possible signs of paranoia?
If you had taken the time you might have noticed Bryan is the guy who wrote/posted this article. But in all likelihood you didn’t even take the time to read it – just thought you’d come in here and spew your left wing hate. You’ve done it – now why don’t you take a hike? Is that mommy I hear calling you for milk and cookies?
You’re not to bright now are you. Bryan follows me around like some lost puppy.
I have time to waste so here goes:
Jim Crow laws were enacted by the Democrats. Progressive such as Woodrow Wilson applaud what they saw as the historic accuracy of “Birth of a Nation.” A majority, albeit a narrow one, of the delegates to the 1924 Democratic National Convention voted down a resolution to disassociate their party from the Klan. A larger percentage of Republicans than Democrats in both houses of congress voted for the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
I told a friend of mine this once and she refused to believe it. It is in the public record. Look it up!
Freddie – were those Democrats conservative or liberal. Hint: they were conservative. As you are aware being an astute historian – in the recent past there were conservatives and liberal in both parties. That has changed and thankfully all those conservatives who espouse limiting voting rights and making voting more difficult are conservatives. Conservatives also dislike gays and want their rights to trump gay rights.
Maybe as an historian you can list on those laws that made America great that conservatives championed and liberals opposed. I’ll give you one they opposed among many – Civil Rights
A minor correction: Obama admitted to committing felonies but cannot be considered a felon since he was never caught and convicted.
Note to Romney: Start assuring the American voters that, if taxes are raised or tax cuts expire under this Congress, you will ask the new Congress to cancel those actions retroactively to January 1st.
I’m as conservative and anti-Obozo as they come, but I gotta say that Republicans threatening to vote against an extension of the Bush tax cuts because the Dem proposal doesn’t extend the cut extension to people making over $250K/year seems to be a *losing issue for the GOP.*
What it says to most people is that GOP congressional leaders would vote against an extension of the tax cuts for everyone, rather than going along with letting the Dems raise taxes a couple of percent on top earners.
I’m well aware that an extra two percent on top earners will do zip to reduce our deficit and debt, and that if the Dems succeed in raising tax rates on that group this time, they’ll lower the threshold next time. Yes and yes, I get it. But hear me out:
GOP House members need to queue up a list of things we want but Dems don’t, and announce that we’ll concede on the two percent tax hike on top earners IF the Dems will agree to whatever our matched goal is. The idea is, the Dems will bitch and moan and whine and reject, and that will give the GOP the perfect defense:
Ever seen that poster where someone is holding a gun to a dog’s head, and the caption is “One more [something] and the dog gets it”? It’s effective because the dog looks innocent and surprised, and obviously hasn’t done anything wrong, but is being threatened with death (jokingly) to force someone else to do/not do something.
In this case, Dems are holding all unfortunate, struggling taxpayers hostage–gun to their heads–to force the GOP to agree to raise tax rates on top incomes. If we cave they will then cheer endlessly: “Look, citizens, we fought–for YOU–to raise taxes on the rich, and we WON!! Yay, and vote Dem.” And that will be effective.
What we need to do is change the game on them: Force *them* to either concede on a point we want, or else *decline* an offer by the GOP to agree to a small tax hike on top incomes. If the latter, it shows their true colors to everyone. And of course if they take the deal, the GOP at least gets something we want and couldn’t otherwise get– like a federal law allowing every state to require a photo ID to vote, to use just one example.
Of course the devil is in the details–and given our current leadership I wouldn’t be surprised if the GOP ended up trading higher taxes for a handful of magic beans. But the *tactic* is a good one.
You’d certainly think so. I mean, congress passed a law years ago that says the gummint can’t spend over the duly-passed debt “limit.” But I thought everyone knew that the Democrat-controlled senate has repeatedly violated laws duly passed and signed by earlier congresses, and no one has jailed or shot a single one of ‘em.
Specifically, the Budget Control Act says congress must pass a budget every year by a certain date. Ever since Harry “the crook” Reid took the gavel, the senate has ignored this law. House dutifully passes a budget but Reid refuses to bring it to the senate floor for a vote. The bastard clearly thinks laws don’t apply to either Democrats or specifically to him.
Obama violated the War Powers Act, in sending U.S. forces into combat in Libya without congressional authorization, and also failed to take the “emergency clause” of asking for and getting congressional approval within 60 days or pulling U.S. forces out.
This government only obeys laws when it wants to. Period. So I don’t think the Dems would flinch at simply ignoring the spending “ceiling.”
– and Louise