Didn’t they lose?
As I write this, we are just 19 days away from the official expiration of the Bush tax cuts. Not only would taxes go up for all income earners above the quarter million dollar threshold, but taxes would ALSO go up for the middle class. Yet here we are, less than 3 weeks away from a potential economic Armageddon, and it’s politics as usual in Washington. President Obama, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell managed to come to a compromise to extend the Bush tax cuts for a period of 2 years (mighty convenient that that just so happens to be when Obama is up for reelection, hmm?), in exchange for a Republican concession to extend unemployment benefits by 13 additional months. This has angered BOTH sides of the aisle, as Republicans who campaigned on gutting the deficit now have to chose between breaking from party ranks, and breaking from their campaign promises. But in addition, the Progressive wing of the Democrat party is up in arms over Obama’s acceptance of breaking HIS 2008 campaign pledge to only give tax cuts to 98% of Americans; in other words, those earning under the $250,000 cap. And so, Washington is in a state of flux, and no one can confidently say what way is up, and what way is down. But wait just a moment….which side won the argument on November 2nd?
One would think, based off the tone coming from the left, that the historic election we witnessed last month overthrew the supply-siders. The reality of the situation is, however, that the exact opposite resulted. When was the last time that a party in power lost nearly 70 Congressional seats, 6 Governorships, and hundreds of state seats, and acted as though they still had the winning message? As Congressman Paul Ryan, the incoming chair of the House Budget Committee put it, only in Washington could maintaining the current tax rate be considered a tax cut; yet here we are, having to defend our position as Republicans that an extension of the current rates is merely avoiding the largest tax HIKE in United States history, and is NOT a tax cut. The Progressives in Congress (as last I knew, a total of 53 current Representatives) signed a letter essentially demanding that this compromise bill NOT be brought to a vote on the House floor. Congressman Anthony Weiner, Senator Bernie Sanders, Congressman Charlie Rangel, and Senator Richard Durbin all have decried the compromise, using the American people as a defense for such action. Apparently, these folks believe that what’s best for the American people, is NOT giving a tax cut to the wealthy. First of all, as Congressman Ryan correctly points out, this IS NOT a tax cut! Secondly, what have the Progressives done to prove that they have any idea what the American people want? They rammed health care reform down our throats, when every poll showed we didn’t want it, they rammed stimulus down our throats, they tried (and thanks to the Senate, they failed) to force cap and tax down our throats, they have been repudiated on EVERY overreach they’ve made in the last 2 years, and they STILL think they know what we want? And, in their haste to buck the rich, they are leading us down a path that would, as I said, lead to a tax hike for EVERYONE; but we’re to believe that the Progressives are for the middle class, even though they are willing to throw US under the bus, to maintain their class warfare.
In the face of growing adversity, our president went before the White House press after a secret meeting with former President Clinton, and managed to weasel his way out the door, and left Mr. Clinton at the podium to fight Obama’s battle for him. Now, maybe it’s me, but if you need a president that hasn’t been in power for 10 years to fight your battles for you, don’t you think MAYBE you’re not fighting the correct one? The sad reality is, as I watched the video of Clinton gesticulating at that podium, it reminded me of what true leadership is…and I don’t say that lightly, as I was NOT a fan of Clinton’s during his 8 years in office, OR his post presidency. I guess that’s what happens when you’ve experienced 2 years of a political novice wrecking everything good about the country you love. But enough of the bloviating. We need to get something through to the left wing - accept the fact that you lost the mid-terms, accept the fact that you were embarrassed and repudiated, and deal with it. Stop bickering and whining over the fact that you have to extend tax cuts to the rich. The Republicans don’t HAVE TO accept adding in an extension of unemployment benefits for 13 more months (something I don’t support); I’m certain that with the message we the people sent to Washington last month, it’s a safe assumption that there is more than requisite political capital on our side that it’s not a risky venture to just say “NO!”. Sure, taxes will go up for everyone on January 1, but once Pelosi hands Boehner the gavel, the Democrats will be powerless to stop us from cutting taxes, BACK to the Bush level. There is far more at stake by adding to the deficit by extending unemployment benefits backed by 0 dollars, than there is by temporarily letting taxes lapse.
As long as Republicans hold Obama and Harry Reid’s feet to the fire, we won’t risk losing favor with the American people. We know that the deficit is a mess. We know that the economic climate is toxic. We know that raising taxes on the highest income earners will hurt economic growth. But at a time where the deficit is a far greater crux than economic growth, and when we KNOW who will be calling the shots for the next 2 years, we can trust the House to fix the tax problem later. And perhaps in another 2 years, when the 2nd likely wave against the progressive movement hits, and we get rid of President Obama, put an end to Harry Reid’s reign as Majority Leader, and give the Progressives a taste of what being in the minority is REALLY like, the left will actually figure it out - YOU LOST! Deal with it.
