Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus defended the GOP on Sunday against the notion that its policies only favor the rich, arguing that Republicans are out to create jobs and cut taxes for people of all income levels.
"Of course the party doesn’t favor the rich, but what the party does favor is reducing taxes on every single American out there," Priebus said on CNN’s "State of the Union." "Making sure Washington is focused then on job creation, on cutting spending, on reducing the size of government -- these are things that will spur the economy and these are things that are cornerstone to the Republican Party."
As the Occupy Wall Street movement continues to sweep the nation and Republicans and Democrats struggle to compromise on a deficit reduction plan, A recent CBS/New York Times poll showed that 69 percent of Americans believe Republican policies favor the rich. Only 9 percent believe they help the middle class.
Priebus blamed that perception on President Barack Obama.
"Both parties have perceptions they need to battle," he said. "But the president is doing a full-time job of trying to play class warfare."
Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.) took the Obama's side on Sunday's Meet the Press, saying the only job Republicans care about is "Barack Obama's."
"[Republicans] continue to focus on making sure that millionaires and billionaires continue to have it good," she said. "President Obama is trying to make sure the middle class gets 17 different tax cuts for small business owners. Ninety-five per cent of Americans got a tax break at the outset of Obama's administration. We are focused on getting things turned around, and while yes, we've increased our debt, we've done so in a way that has made sure the economy can start to turn around, and we would make even more progress if the Republicans would stop rooting for the economy to fail."
