John Thune: Better Tax Cut Deal For Republicans 'Not Likely To Happen' (VIDEO)

South Dakota Senator and potential presidential candidate John Thune suggested Wednesday that his fellow conservative heavyweights Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Sarah Palin shouldn't expect to be able to craft better tax cut bargain for the GOP considering the current makeup of Congress and the White House.

DeMint and Palin have both announced their opposition to the current deal as drawn out by Obama this week, because they believe the minimal increases to the estate tax and the two-year extension of tax cuts for the wealthy are not sufficient concessions to justify the reauthorization of unemployment benefits for 13 months.

Asked about their opposition on Fox News Wednesday night, Thune said he understood their apprehension, but that they should accept the current structure of the plan because it's as good as they're going to get.

"I would prefer if we could get a permanent extension of this for all taxpayers, but right now, that Democrats have 58 votes in the Senate and about 260 votes in the Senate [House], and they have a Democrat White House. That's not likely to happen," Thune told Sean Hannity. "And so I hope what we can do is at least get this two-year fix into place, and we'll have an opportunity when we get some reinforcements in January to start looking at tax policy on a longer term basis."

While Democrats have been grumbling about Obama's failure to map out a tax plan that more accurately represents the nature of his past rhetoric, other Republicans such as Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and failed Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell have joined the conservative cause of trying to pressure the GOP to push for additional incentives.

WATCH

Comments

[Peter van Erken]

08:36 AM on 12/14/2010

Taxes are pretty low anyway compared to other countries!

[Douglas Bennett]

06:01 PM on 12/13/2010

SARAH “CRUELLA DEVILLE” PALIN - SUNG TO DISNEY‘S “101 DALMATIANS” = SARAH/ PALIN DeVILLE - SARAH/PALIN DeVILLE - If she doesn't scare you no evil thing will - To see her is to take a sudden chill - SARAH/PALIN CRUELLA DeVILLE - The curl in her lips - The ice in her stare - The innocent children better beware - She's like a spider waiting for the kill - Look out for SARAH/PALIN CRUELLA DeVILLE - At first you think PALIN is a devil - But after time has worn away the shock - You come to realize - You've seen her kind of eyes - Watching you from underneath a rock - This vampire bat this - inhuman beast - She ought to be locked up and never released - The world was such a wholesome place until - SARAH/PALIN CRUELLA DeVILLE…The End!!!

[junkiebev]

02:05 PM on 12/13/2010

Where are the tea-party protests about adding 1 trillion to the deficit? I guess their silly Ben Franklin costumes are all at the dry cleaners...

[PatLow]

03:04 PM on 12/13/2010

They dont care about the deficit or the national debt. They done even understand these are two different things.
 
This is what they are ultimately behind as it will force the government to make draconian cuts to balance the budget - "starve the beast" strategy. They would be out with the three corner hats and pitch forks if the tax rate were to increase. Most of these rubes were protesting because they thought that once Obama took office it meant that their taxes automatically went up, when in fact they all went down as a result of the tax credits offered in the stimulus package.

[sqeptiq]

01:14 PM on 12/13/2010

Primary this RINO! How dare he blaspheme against Palin and DeMint?!!

[Skunkman]

12:10 PM on 12/13/2010

Last Sunday, under the pretense of filling the freezer for her hungry family, (Operation: Reindeer Slay) she went on a $2.4 million (or whatever) caribou safari. After several entertaining misfires, she "bagged an animal" -- scoring some sweet, free-range caribou meat that the Alaska Dispatch estimated cost $200 a pound.

Hyped as a must-see, reality TV Kodiak moment, the Mama Grizzly drama fizzled when -- after a riveting exchange of horrified grimaces and OMG eye-rolls -- Gosselin bailed on Palin, having endured as much as she could bear.

(Safety tip: If you encounter a Palin in the wild, remain calm and slowly back away while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.) This goes for John Thune. Be carefull. :-)

Mike:

[Upchucker]

08:34 AM on 12/13/2010

How many South Carolinians will benefit from the extension of unemployment benefits? DeMint can vote against the deal his party dictated because he knows the benefits for the large number of unemployed in SC are not at risk. In other words, he'll oppose the deal but will still take the money.

[brian gallentine]

10:58 PM on 12/12/2010

@ letitsnow You and it seems only only a very few people recognize that O is triangulat­ing around the GOP. Clinton is in the house strategizi­ng with him. I'm peeved too. It seems that he's giving everything away for naught. But this is part of a plan to deligitimi­ze one of most probable strategies by the GOP in the next two years. O HAS done quite a few good things in his short 22 mo.s in office. Everyone who wants to feel better about the O should go to www dot wtf has Obama done so far? It sure made me feel better.
I truly believe that more of us need to get educated and VIGILANT - Watch what ALL of these public officials DO. And then TALK to everyone we know, to spur more eyes. Sunshine is the best dis-infect­ant!!

[ddemos]

04:39 PM on 12/13/2010

Great @Brian...then why aren't the Dems and this White House not extolling their own virtues...

They consistently ALLOW the Repubs to control the narrative,,,it's revolting and I am losing faith in them as leaders by the minute...

The only one I here speaking loudly is Mrs Pelosi...go figure....and she is the mosr reviled...coincidence...nahhhh

[floydian101]

10:10 PM on 12/12/2010

The so-called "death tax" has always been one of Thune's biggest talking points. I remember him making a big deal of it during his unsuccessful senate run in 2002. I didn't follow politics as closely back then, and, when I found out how few people were actually affected by it, it struck me as an incredibly deceitful platform to be selling his home state. Yet this year he had no challengers in his reelection bid. I find that sad.

[nojob4US]

11:33 PM on 12/12/2010

Ummm, he did take Daschle's seat in 2004. The reason why he went uncontested is he's well liked by both voting members of parties in the state ....

[floydian101]

03:02 AM on 12/13/2010

Correct, he did take Daschle's seat in 2004. I was referring to the earlier race against Johnson in 2002. I remember many advertisements from that year attacking Johnson for voting for the "death tax." All other things aside, I still consider it to be deceitful to take a tax only affects the very wealthy and phrase it in such a manner that average people think it's something they have to worry about. Not a whole lot of wealthy estates out in South Dakota.

[RoseCity]

03:44 AM on 12/13/2010

Being a SD resident, I can truthfully say that the Democratic party here is very weak. South Dakota is a red state. The state gov is totally Republican controlled, Gov (current and newly elected in Nov.) both House and Senate.

We also have (until early Jan.) Rep. Stephanie (princess Steph) Herseth- Sandlin head of the house Dem Blue Dog caucus, she's a DINO. The tea group backed candidate Kristie Noem unseated Steph.

The main problem is the Dems couldn't come up with a candidate who had as much name identity to challenge Thune. Whoever they could have come up with would likely need to be a conserva-dem.

[MiamiMama]

09:52 PM on 12/12/2010

THE only Republicans to speak out against Sarah Palin at he ones running for office. The others are a bunch of scared wimps.

[Skunkman]

07:34 PM on 12/12/2010

Julian Assange, who said that after months of hacking former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s brain, WikiLeaks has come up empty.

“I challenge the best hackers in the business to have a look inside,” he said, speaking from an undisclosed location. “There’s nothing there.”

Mr. Assange, still on the run from authorities, said that once his team of hackers gained access to Gov. Palin’s brain, “What little we found there was so encrypted it bore no resemblance to any recognizable language.”

The WikiLeaks founder said that his discovery about Gov. Palin’s brain is good news for her political future: “Most politicians have to worry about their private thoughts coming back to haunt them, but that clearly isn’t going to be a problem for her.”

For her part, Gov. Palin seemed to be relishing her role as the one politician in the world who has nothing to fear from WikiLeaks.

On Twitter, she addressed the following message to Mr. Assange: “How’s that Wiki-Leaky thing workin out for ya?” LOL

Mike:

[ChurchofOne]

12:17 PM on 12/13/2010

Geez... stop plaigiarizing from Andy Borowitz, will ya??

[Skunkman]

01:42 PM on 12/13/2010

Well Well Churchofone. Are you on another planet? With out a bit of cut & paste
HP wouldn't exist.

[phillip finley]

06:50 PM on 12/12/2010

Question Do you think the GOP cares about the America Debt?.......I be waiting on your answers!

[svarbhanu]

06:58 PM on 12/12/2010

spending is power and nobody gives up power. the GOP has shown time and again they actually spend more than Democrats, but it will always be an effective criticism "deficit hawking" to distract from the issues. It's a charade but it will always be effective as long as people think that national debt works in the same way that personal debt does. It doesn't work that way at all, or else banks wouldn't exist, and we know that debt actually has a certain value.

[notyouraveragebear]

08:25 PM on 12/12/2010

They don't care about anything but themselves and their wallets.

[Hannest]

06:37 PM on 12/12/2010

In the picture with thune and Miss P...amazing that the photo editor actually
found the one where
palin said:.
" Why John..that is not my belly button.""
..and Thune says...
"thats not my finger."'

[phillip finley]

06:29 PM on 12/12/2010

The GOP never care about the Deficit!.....so when you hear any of them talking about try lowing our Debt they are lying people!....don,t fall for it!.....

[eilish]

05:59 PM on 12/12/2010

Well, I'm surprised Obama hasn't rushed to ask them what more they'd like......

[OutoftheClouds]

05:23 PM on 12/12/2010

It's my opinion that a very sudden and very large scale financial catastrophe is about to strike. So what you are seeing in the political arena is the face of greed taking one last shot at robbing the citizens of this country before that happens.

[Bobcaaat]

11:25 AM on 12/13/2010

Why would you think it will be the last shot? This will continue until all of the money is concentreated in the top 2% Many will loose their freedoms and become lower servers to the wealthy. Oh well, I'm glad I'm old.