December the 7th may be the day that lives infamy, but December the 6th marks the day President Obama lost the debate on taxation. On that day last year, as Washington Post writers Lori Montgomery and Shailagh Murray put it, the Democrat “and congressional Republicans . . . reached a tentative accord on a far-reaching economic package that would preserve George W. Bush administration tax breaks for families at all income levels for two years”.
To return tax rates to their level before the Texas Republican took office, all Obama had to do was, well, nothing. The tax rates set early in Mr. Bush’s term would have expired on their own.
In working out this compromise, then signing the bill, the president essentially conceded the argument on taxes. And yet now it appears the agreement he had worked out with congressional leaders fell apart because Speaker Boehner wouldn’t accede to his demand for “additional revenues” (AKA more taxes).
If the president so wanted additional revenue, why then didn’t he just sit back last December and let the Bush tax rates lapse?
Why ask a question you know the answer to? Because he wanted to extend unemployment benefits and he couldn’t work out a deal for those without extending the tax cuts.
Because he wants the Republicans to raise taxes for him.
Ayn Rand called it “the sanction of the victim”, “sanction” in that context meaning “approval”. Obama wants the victim – the American taxpayer – to approve, via their Republican representatives, their own rape by him.
It’s what he wants today, also. He could have a budget ceiling deal today, if he just follows the principle that each dollar of ceiling increase must be matched by a dollar of 10-year spending cuts. But he doesn’t want that. He wants higher taxes. And he wants Republicans to be the ones to vote for it. Will they cave, yet?
Even though his party held both Houses of Congress, he couldn’t force a tacx increase through? I mean, I know there was supposedly a threat of a filibuster in the Senate (if we can pretend Snow/Collins/Lugar/Brown wouldn’t have bailed), but I seem to recall Bush always got his war funding passed even when the Democrats controlled Congress and tried to block it.
I guess Obama just isn’t nearly as politically competent as Bush was.
No Democrats sadly don’t have the unified convictions that the Republican party has. Much easier to snipe a democrat here or there than it is to break Republican ranks. May not always agree with their policies, but I have to admire Republicans abilities to get what they want.
” Much easier to snipe a democrat here or there than it is to break Republican ranks. ”
Think ObamaCare – Snowe. ‘Nuff said.
I’m still confounded by the liberal claims that Chairman ObaMarx cut taxes. Nobody seems able to point to the legislation that brought that about.