Steve Benen points out the problem with stopping the compromise on taxes:
But let’s say they’re all wrong. Let’s assume, for the sake of conversation, that the liberal economists don’t fully appreciate the larger principles at stake here; their stimulus projections are overly optimistic; and their entire perspective is skewed by weakness, a poor understanding of political tactics, and a Neville Chamberlain-like worldview.
Indeed, let’s also say, just for the sake of conversation, that the liberal policy experts lose the argument and Congress rejects the agreement. Dems decide it’s a bridge too far, so they scuttle the deal and take their chances.
What’s Plan B?
I don’t mean this to sound snarky and this isn’t a rhetorical question; I’m genuinely interested in understanding the back-up strategy. When I posed this question yesterday to some Capitol Hill aides I know, they said they’d recommit to fighting even harder for the original Obama tax plan — permanent breaks for those under $250k, Clinton-era top rates for those above $250k. If/when this week’s compromise goes down, Republicans, they said, would likely cave and accept the Democratic approach. They’d be out of options — it’d be a choice between the Dem plan and higher taxes for everyone. Dems would regain the leverage they lost before the midterms.
But they wouldn’t be out of options. One can pass a bill retroactively affecting the tax rate from January 1st fairly easily and beginning in January, Republicans will control the House and have a Senate much closer. At that point they can likely extract more for compromise and the incoming class of GOPers are likely to demand just that. Now add this to Susan Collins behavior below and tell me how this gets any better?
That’s the exact same question I’ve been asking for 2 days now. No one has given me a good answer. The GOP will pass it and then we’ll spend 6 months listening to the media say “Republicans get things done, Democrats can’t”. When the economy recovers it will become conventional wisdom passing this bill was the turning point and Republicans will be given the credit. *sigh*
…Did that veto pen of his suddenly run dry?
That’s what gets me. If Obama truly gave a shat about ending the extra tax cut windfalls for the rich and stopping these billionaire bailouts he can just threaten to veto any such hypothetical GOP post-January malarkey unless it does include a sensible unemployment extension and does not include welfare for the wealthy.
It ain’t Plan B. It’s Plan V.
PS – If the economy recovers the GOP will take credit no matter what. Vice versa if it stays in the crapper.
“The economy rebounded because conservatives held strong.” or “Clearly the Obama Socialist Democrat Agenda is a failure and has resulted in zero job growth. Only conservative plans work.” … The propaganda works no matter what happens, by definition.
Have Dems forgotten how to do this?
PPS – Why haven’t any Dems said “We already passed a middle class tax cut and the GOP blocked it. If they want a tax plan before the end of the year they have one. Pass the House bill. By the way, we also passed an unemployment extension because we Democrats look out for our fellow Americans. Again, the GOP killed it right as Santa started showing up in malls. It’s their latest version of the Republican War on Christmas. If conservatives really cared about our fellow Americans they’d back the unemployment extension too.”
THIS AIN’T ROCKET SCIENCE.
Hell, start calling the House middle class tax cut and unemployment extensions “The Democrats’ Leave No American Behind Plan”… (“Democrats. We don’t leave any Americans on the field. Ever.”)
And it’s GOP that’s killing ’em off…
Repeat. Repeat. F’ing repeat again.
We may not have Fox Entertainment but we do have friggin’ mouths with which to speak.
Dammit.
But they don’t care about unemployment benefits. They have shown it. How is that going to change when they have the House and a better position in the Senate?
Everyone keeps saying he can just do veto it and force them to give in–but they don’t care about getting the tax cuts in the short run. They’d love to run against him as having raised taxes and in most voters minds he would have.
Additionally, the 2% temporary reduction in Social Security withholdings is a big deal in terms of stimulus.
He got three things we wanted: Unemployment benefits, a holiday on part of payroll taxes, and a middle class tax cut. For that we gave them two years of a tax cut for the uber rich. That’s not a bad deal in the long term.
We are helping real people here and that matters. The Republicans won’t–they don’t care because their base will take it out on them if they do.
I found this site today, and I am really glad to have found it because e it confirms what I’ve been thinking all along, except I felt as if I was a lone voice in the dessert! Nice blog ArchPundit! I will from now on follow this blog, Yours, Lola
* desert- I meant desert!
I think I’m in love with ArchPundit! 🙂
Why isn’t his message loud and clear out there? WHy have the American people been duped?
I think I am in love with Lola the Casanova… LOL
Archy – I understand he got three things he wanted. He also has to bend over and get a huge white elephant he campaigned long and hard AGAINST shoved down his throat and now he’s fighting for it against his fellow Dems.
No matter what, the cons are going to spin this as him (A) wanting to raise taxes and (B) ballooning the deficit. After all, heading into the height of primary season everyone’s going to see that “temporary” cut in Social Security taxes disappear. Paychecks will shrink and taxes will go up.
That or we get to hear the GOP-controlled House talk about how they want to keep taxes low for a year+.
Either way the President and the Dems in general simply MUST step up their friggin communications. Only 8% of Americans even know that the original Stimulus Package included the biggest middle class tax cut in history.
Dan Seals called out Bob Dold’s opposition to that specific tax cut on Chicago Tonight before the election. Dold just said “I have no idea what he’s talking about.” It was probably about the most accurate thing Dold said all campaign-long but, still, it proves the point that people think Obama already has raised taxes when in fact he’s done the opposite.