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I can tell you for a fact that yesterday killing of the Omnibus spending bill will be cheered by almost every business I’ve talked to as I stated in my Examiner column today:
I submit that if a congressman, state rep or MSM reporter came with me for a week door to door; they would not dare advocate the taxes, spending and regulation that they do.
Read the whole thing as they say.
It’s not often that I disagree with Rush Limbaugh AND Sarah Palin but it is my opinion that the Obama Tax deal is an excellent deal for the GOP and the right, particularly on the political side.
1. The two-year tax cut deal as I’ve already said gives us the ability to constantly bring up a vote to make the tax cuts permanent and put Senate Democrats and the president on the spot again and again and again. (If it passes we get credit, if it fails it becomes a political issue for 2012)
2. Democrats, by extending unemployment save the republicans the tough issue of refusing to extend them. As for paying for it, there is nothing to stop congressional republicans from allocating tarp funds etc to pay for said benefits AFTER Jan 3rd. Also by not including or demanding additional benefits for the 99 week guys it takes it off the table (even liberal democrats didn’t want this extra spending).
3. The individual pork pieces in the bill can be attacked by individual bills during the next session, forcing the left to defending them. Each time the left defends said pork, it becomes an issue for 2012.
4. Thanks to Bernie Sanders filibuster an actual unapologetic socialist is now the iconic image of the left…
4a. …And of course it shows the intransigence of the whole bunch of them in attempting to block this, making the lie over the “compromise” issue. This firmly establishes the idea of democrats unwilling to compromise, (particularly to those who have voted for them in the past whose unemployment benefits are on the line) that we can play up over and over again in the next session. It will be an excellent counter to the media goes that will try to make GOP intransigence an issue. We will answer: “Oh it’s the democrats being just as uncompromising as there were with the president in December.” It shatters the media’s template built carefully over decades.
5. And finally I’d rather have the actual tax rate in place than to simply have a football to kick democrats with. Why give the economy a hit when we don’t have to.
Ted Kennedy was always smart enough to take a piece of what he wanted and then amend it over time. We may have disagreed with Sen Kennedy over issues but tactically we should be just as smart.
When I left this morning the MSM media was groaning and complaining about the president’s compromise of taxes but Wall Street was delighted and stock shares were going up.
By the time I got home, unbelievably the president managed to groan and complain about the deal he himself had cut to the point where he managed to reverse the optimism that the deal managed to achieve.
Pundit and Pundette notes the shock of people who saw the press conference, but it is her own quote that is worth repeating:
His fifth-rate temperament was on full display today.
Nice Deb points out the 180 that he had done here, but it is her link to Ace of Spades who pulls comments from Huffpo that is really something.
Talking points memo declares Obama a Pragmatist.
Today, he very clearly and loudly said: that savior persona is not me. I am the pragmatist. And you know what, I don’t have a whole lot of patience for the idealists. I share their ideals, but I don’t share their approach and I’m not going to get bogged down in recriminations over not living up to some abstract ideal.
Meanwhile in an e-mail sent out by Move On that a friend was kind enough to forward to me they had this to say:
The “deal” he’s proposing is an “absolute disaster,” as Senator Bernie Sanders said.
But it’s not a done deal. Leading Democrat Chris Van Hollen said yesterday that “House Democrats have not signed off on any deal,” and last night Senator Sanders vowed to “do whatever I can to see that 60 votes are not acquired to pass this piece of legislation.”
Senator Sanders and other progressives in the Senate are our best hope to stop this terrible deal. But Bernie can’t do it alone.
So moveon’s hero is the one avowed socialist in the congress yet nowhere do they point out what York pointed out nor do they have a word about the AMT that has still not been addressed . Update: I stand corrected, Rachel Maddow reports they DID address this Yet here comes the new filibuster calls:
The clock’s ticking. Can you sign a petition today to leading progressives in the Senate—Sens. Feingold, Franken, Brown (OH), Boxer, Merkley, Whitehouse, Durbin, Harkin, and Schumer—urging them to stand up and use the filibuster to block this awful “deal”?
But William Jacobson says that no matter how angry progressives get they aren’t going anywhere, Stacy McCain agrees.
Now as Byron York reports; for all the screaming of the left on this deal apparently it was congress that put him in this spot in terms of blame:
To pass a measure by reconciliation, the Senate must pass a budget that contains what are called reconciliation instructions. But this year, as they faced an angry electorate and grim prospects in the midterm elections, the Democratic leadership made the specific decision not to pass a budget. Revealing their spending priorities to voters already unhappy with out-of-control federal expenditures was just too risky, so Sen. Harry Reid and party leaders punted, even though passing a budget is one of Congress’ core constitutional responsibilities.emphasis mine
A lot of people on the right were shocked the not passing of a budget (including me), but the MSM didn’t think it was newsworthy for some reason. Perhaps we on the right wouldn’t have been as upset if we knew the consequences, to wit:
With no budget, there could be no reconciliation. And no possibility of using reconciliation to extend the Bush tax cuts — which were originally passed with bipartisan support — on the Democrats’ terms. Shirking your constitutional responsibilities can have consequences.
Thus the dems were hoisted on their own petard. They held off on the budget to avoid huge losses, well that worked out didn’t it.
You might recall two years ago, when republicans met with the president objections were answered with two words “I won”.
Right back at ya.
The next two years are certainly not going to be boring.
When the initial Bush tax cuts were proposed the making of the tax cuts temporary was a compromise that democrats and liberal republicans managed to forge to keep their constituents happy. If they could not stop the Bush Tax Cuts they could at least make them expire thus giving some consolation to their progressive followers.
Although Bush over and over suggested the Tax cuts be made permanent he could not manage to find the votes.
Now we come to 2010. The economy is bad and unemployment is rampant and now Democrats who were so proud to keep the Bush tax rates from becoming permanent find themselves trapped once again!
Once again the left is screaming “tax cuts for the rich” and their supporters are screaming for them not to cave in figuring that even after the republicans take control in a month they will not have the votes to get it passed.
Meanwhile Republicans are pushing to make the Bush rates permanent.
And so the white house and their advisers are leaning toward compromise, another extension, maybe two years of the Bush Tax Cuts. And thus the trap is set again.
The smart thing for the administration would be to pass the cuts NOW and make them permanent for several reasons.
1. This will take the issue off the table, every time they simply extend the “Bush tax cuts” it sets up democrats in an election years to defend increasing taxes on business. (You know the folks who actually hire people.)
2. As long as they are not permanent they remain the “Bush Tax Cuts”. Once they are permanent then they just become the US tax rates. Keeping them temporary keeps them associated with republicans and George W. Bush.
3. If a democratic congress passes the tax cuts, then they not the republicans will get (and actually deserve) credit for the positive economic results. If it is passed once republicans are in power, republicans will get (and deserve) the credit for the results.
4. If they are not passed and the economy gets worse (as the result of the tax hike) Republicans can directly blame democrats. Great issue for 2012.
5. And finally if this is done NOW, then democrats have two years to placate their base. It will be over and done with.
Making the tax rates permanent would be not only the right thing but also the smart thing. That’s why I’m positive the democrats will fall right into the trap and simply vote for an extension at best. Given the chance to do the right or smart thing, the Democrats can be counted on to miss the boat.
I wonder if George W. saw all of this coming years ago and actually intended to set this trap for the left?
Update: Crooks and Liars thinks the democrats have the GOP right where they want them. I’m telling you it’s just too easy. How do we ever lose elections to those guys?
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