Ruth Marcus is such a wanker. She wants to remind the Democrats that we didn’t win any mandate for higher taxes on the most affluent because the election was close and the Republicans still disagree. But that doesn’t matter. The Bush tax cuts expire on January 1st. The president will not sign any bill that restores those tax cuts for people making more than a quarter million dollars a year. Game over.
All that remains to be decided is if the Republicans will acknowledge this reality and work preemptively to avoid the disruption of letting the sequester go into effect. They probably won’t accept reality for a simple reason. A vote to keep taxes low for everyone but the top 2% of earners is still a tax hike for the two percent. That would make Grover Norquist angry.
But, if they wait until after the tax cuts expire, then a tax cut for 98% of the people is a tax cut that won’t raise taxes on anyone. They can keep their promise to Norquist if they go over the fiscal cliff. So, for this one stupid reason, we are going to have to go through the sequester. Total irresponsible governance, all for the sake of saving face and keeping a promise that never should have been made.
Kinda like Peggy Noonan:
PEGGY NOONAN’S ENCOUNTERS WITH MATH
Looks like the re-election of Obama has done little to nothing to stem the careers of Media Whores…reality only has so much appeal to mouth-breathers.
I have a feeling Obama is going to ‘save’ us all the pain and trouble and extend the Bush Tax Cuts again. Believe me…it’s not what I would do, and I would be ECSTATIC to be completely wrong.
But with the last four years to go by…
The votes are close, but Dems looking to be picking up another three (!!!) congressional seats in California. Mary Bono Mack (Sonny’s widow) has conceded, Dan Lundgren is in trouble up in Sacto and there’s another Republican down around San Diego who looks like he’s going down.
Excellent news. Based on all those uncounted ballots in Arizona, are there any undecided seats there?
AZ-2 – the seat vacated by Gabby Giffords and assumed by her leg aid. He was behind, but has taken a 500-600 vote lead.
She’s right, of course. It’s a huge stretch to read as a mandate comfortably winning an election in which tax cuts were a central issue. Not like when those tax cuts were originally enacted on the strength of George W. Bush’s victory as a “compassionate conservative” in 2000. Now that was a mandate!
Mandate is one more word/phrase that Republicans have reduced to meaninglessness by wrapping themselves in it, and leaving their ghastly pheromones all over it.
Like Rove claiming the other day that Obama won by “suppressing the vote”.
Attacking one’s opponent’s strengths is smart, and worked out well for them. Also, recently, for us.
But claiming ownership of the other side’s attributes is simply stupid, and suits them well.
Gotta love these guys for dressing up in stupid for us, it saves a lot of effort.
Rove forgot that the sucker punch has to come before the end of the fight. Republican projection on Democrats was always a sucker punch for the refs (media) and a tell of what was coming.
I like the sequester going into effect. It’s immediate impact holds harmless Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans benefits, and military pay and benefits. It cuts discretionary and military spending by roughly 8%. And puts the monkey on the back of Republicans in the House to show their hand on what they would fund or cut. I think the military spending talks could be very interesting. And expose where the GOP members look for pork-barrel spending.
For whatever reason, the GOP seems to think they have the upper hand in this fight. I would think it’s just posturing–that Booman is right that this is mostly just about saving face with Grover–except for the fact that they had such difficulty with math in the recent election. I guess we’ll find out.
But not giving in to the Republicans wouldn’t be bi-partisan, would it.
Sad that Republicans have ceded control of their party to individuals other than actual party officials. Norquist and Limbaugh rule. Priebus not so much.
She’s David Broder in drag.