Are you telling me that the party of F.D.R. and Harry S. Truman, but also tax slasher John F. Kennedy, cannot make the case for middle class tax cuts, while simultaneously making the case against extending tax cuts to the wealthiest 2%? As for small businesses, Democrats already covered that in the $42B Small Business Jobs Act, which the House just sent to Obama's desk. When Independents are looking towards Republicans more than Democrats, ducking a middle class tax cut fight is political malpractice.
Democrats have also decided to not deal with the Bush tax cut repeal. Speaker Pelosi couldn't rally her caucus, mostly because of conservative Democrats worried about midterms. Someone needs to explain what the hell having a majority means if so called Democrats are going to slither away without making the case for middle class tax cuts.
If any Congress deserved to get blown out of Washington it's the 111th. I know it will usher in ugliness from the Right. However, if Democrats won't stand on a line to make the case they've stood on throughout history, which is standing up for the middle class, then they don't deserve the majority.
There is wide support for middle class tax cuts:
The president's recent proposal to extend tax cuts for the middle class, while letting the Bush tax cuts expire for the wealthy, is a smart political move for a number of reasons: 1) it enjoys rising public support; 2) it protects against the loss of swing independents; 3) it allows Democrats to drive a contrast with the GOP; and 4) it allows Democrats to address voters' overlapping economic concerns," offers the memo, which was obtained by HuffPost and written by John Anzalone and Mark Keida of Anzalone Liszt Research.
Not even bothering to make the fight is the height of political cowardice. It's leaving a move on the board against Republicans un-played that Democrats need and the electorate wants to hear from them. Make the case, drive it home hard, then let the people decide who has their economic back.
If Democrats in "difficult" districts can't make the case against extending Bush tax cuts for the top 2%, while resoundingly raising their voice for middle class tax cuts, then these Democrats deserve to lose, because the district is too red to help the Democratic agenda actually manifest real progress that matters.
Ryan Grimm laid out the breakdown, which includes Sen. Feinstein saying it would be a "mistake" to tackle tax cuts before the election. But this coming from Ms. Milulski sickens me:
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), also up for re-election, said that she was in favor of voting on extending the middle-class tax cuts before the election, but was willing to extend tax breaks for the wealthy for two years as part of a compromise.
Where has FDR's Democratic Party gone?
Washington's Patty Murray, who's in the fight of her life, said it plainly: "We should not go home without extending these tax cuts." Sen. Russ Feingold said basically the same thing.
Meanwhile, the White House blamed Republicans. Sorry, but if you're not willing to make the fight and go down on principles you don't get to blame the other guy.
Never has a Democratic majority failed to use their power to fight for the middle class, with Pres. Obama taking the only way out he has to blame Republicans, even though it was the Democratic leadership in Congress that made the decision.
Blue collar Democrats, as opposed to conservative Blue Dog Dems, depend on Democrats. The 111th Congress let them down by refusing to make the tax cut fight.
Why shouldn't people vote them out?
Joe Sestak, running against Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, reveals what a fighting Democrat looks like. It's also how you turn an election your way.
"This is no time to shy away from this fight -- because we're fighting for middle class Americans," said Joe. "We cannot let the extremists and the special interests shout us down, no matter how many millions they spend on deceptive campaigns against us. We were elected to fight for ordinary Americans, and this is the moment when we prove we can fulfill that public trust. This is the hour for courageous leadership. Working families are struggling, and we cannot afford to kick the can down the road. Let's stand up and say 'enough is enough.'" - Joe Sestak
Taylor Marsh is a political analyst and veteran national political writer out of Washington, D.C.
Follow Taylor Marsh on Twitter: www.twitter.com/taylormarsh
We know we can't get the needed action out of these Democrats.
There's only one thing We can really take action on. The fastest way to get positive action is to replace these non-functioning Democrats. It will take two cycles, but does anybody have a credible alternative?
One could argue that the tax cuts...AL the tax cuts... should simply expire. As much as I'm living month-to-month and would love hanging on to the extra bit of change, I recognize that higher taxes are the price we pay for every one of us allowing the obscene levels of spending to take place. Cut taxes, yes, but only after we've paid off our debt and have a surplus budget and can aford the cuts - even cuts acrosss the board - without going back into the red.
If that's what the dems think is best for the country, fine. That I could support. If that's the case, man up and say so.
If, on the other hand, you want to extend the tax cuts for the middle class but not the rich, this is an absolute no-brainer: Hold two votes, one on the middle class cuts, and one for the uber-wealthy. The gop will either fillibuster the cuts for the middle class and watch themseles opposing middle class cuts on b-roll for the next decade, or let them pass. Then hold a vote on the tax cuts for just the rich. If by some miracle it passes, let the President veto it.
Why is this so hard?
.Over ten years the Federal Government will lose over a trillion+ dollars extending the tax cuts for the lower and middle class who since the Bush Cuts created a new 10% tax bracket and reduced"everyones taxes" and made the tax burden on Married filing jointly equal to the the tax rate of and individual.(why should families pay an effective higher tax rate then a single person who has no dependants), raised the child tax credit from 500.00 to 1000.00(should be even higher); have enjoyed the lowest rates in recent history!
The Republicans are sticking up for small unicorporated businesses such as mine. It is 700 billion to extextend the rates for all tax payers on the oridinary "earned" income. That is less than 1billion dollars per year.
They spend about that much each day they are in session. They have wasted 10X that much in the past 4 years(dems took over the congress(both houses) in Jan. 2007.
As far as the large companies and million+ income earners claiming themselves as a Small Business, thats another case of unfair tax policy that should have no bearing on raising taxes on the true small business employers that are unincorporated and have been hit as hard as the middle class.
Attacking the Repub. over this is a Democratic political spin to better their mid-term position. Their "help" is nohelp
If you read the Bill it will do little if anything to help my business and I expect most stuggling small business owners who are unicorporated.
If it saves us anything, the amount saved with be eaten up by increasing our taxes, forcing us to change our group health coverage to a more expense plan and forcing us to send our utility companies, landlords, suppliers and anyone else we pay more than $600 to during the year a 1099(something which will dramatically increase or accounting fees and per my Tax Attorney is plain stupid and unenforceable to begin with) They only added the 1099 provision to falsely decrease the cost of the Health Reform Bill which was also the reason they tacked the Student Loan Bill onto the Health Reform Bill.
There is NOTHING in the Small Business Legislation that requires Community Banks to loan out this money. We don't need more credit to pay our taxes. We need Federal Income Tax rates to be extended for those Small Businesses with AGI of $500,000.00 or less. Our profits are what we use to expand our businesses, provide employees more benefits and increase their salary.
The wealthy 1% are the greediest people in America - except the pholanthropists who work for the good of all. That does not include the philanthropists to Museums where the school children and the poor never go anyway !
They would love a FREE CLINIC folks
Harry Truman once said this:
"I don't like bipartisans. Whenever a fellow tells me he's bipartisan, I know that he's going to vote against me."
Harry was thought to be showing signs of life but that's just the because he's spinning in his grave while the Democrats are on life support after suffering from a long term bout with a terminal illness called "bipartisanship."
Harry also said this:
"When voters are given a choice between voting for a Republican, or a Democrat who acts like a Republican, they'll vote for the Republican every time."
I'm going to the polls to vote for the dumb asses anyway. I hope I'm not lonely. What the hell, I'm a Cubs fan and a Browns fan...and...a Democrat.
Are we not tired of supporting these fat cats ??