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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Reasonableness

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  December 6th, 2012 at 04:30 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

The unreasonable Republicans in the House of Representatives are willing to raise taxes by $800 billion.

Anti-tax Republicans will raise taxes. I’m not happy about it, but that is what John Boehner and Mitch McConnell seem to be offering.

They want to raise that money by limiting deductions instead of raising rates.

They do not want to raise rates because that will impact many small businesses in America whose owners pay their taxes as individuals instead of corporations due to the unreasonable and costly compliance of the American corporate tax code.

Raising rates will affect small businesses. Limiting individual deductions related to state income taxes, charitable deductions, mortgage interest, etc. will not impact those small businesses.

But Barack Obama demands a rate increase.

Republicans will raise the taxes Barack Obama wants, but just not through rate increases. Tim Geithner says without the rate increase to accomplish exactly what the Republicans are accomplishing without a rate increase would “absolutely” send us over the fiscal cliff.

I’m having a little trouble figuring out how these sell outs in the GOP are being unreasonable. I may not like it. I may be happy to primary some of them and hang this deal around their necks like TARP, but how are they being unreasonable in making this offer?

Call me unreasonable. But the GOP is willing to sell out to the tune of $800 billion and the President is refusing. He wants an all or nothing tax rate increase. How the hell is that not unreasonable?

And then there are the spending cuts Barack Obama won’t even talk about. I’ll give him his Clinton era tax rate increases in a heartbeat if we get the same spending rate we had when Clinton was President.

If the Republican sell outs are willing to sell out to the tune of $800 billion in tax increases and Barack Obama refuses to go along with the tax increase because of the mechanism used to reach the same outcome he wants, I think the media is carrying water for the Democrats on who is being unreasonable. The GOP is already selling out. Continuing to paint them as the unreasonable party is telling a story that is not really true.

Don’t confuse conservatives and their demands for what John Boehner and Mitch McConnell are squishing out on.

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COMMENTS

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  • davesinsanantonio

    Conservatives will never confuse their demands for Boehner and McConnell’s squishyness.

    If Obummer continues his unreasonable demands Boehner and the Republicans in Congress should make one of two choices–all or nothing. They should either give Obummer everything he wants and insist that whatever happens is entirely his fault. Or, they should refuse to give him anything he wants and insist it is because they want to save the country from the rapacious spending and taxing of the Dims. Either way the media will blame them for the result. But, going halfway will still get the blame and the country will still go over the cliff. They cannot weasel their way into the hearts of the media. They cannot weasel their way into getting Obummer to be reasonable. So, they need to make one hard choice or the other and stick with it. But stop this wishy-washy waffling and cringing and whining and bowing and scraping and mealy-mouthed, half-hearted defense of principles they really don’t believe. Man up or resign!!!

  • Red_in_SC

    This has nothing at all to do with economics. Barack Obama wants to break the back of the Republican party. If Boehner and McConnell give Obama what he wants, Republicans will punish them in the primaries, causing a huge fight in the GOP. If they don’t give in, the media will hang the resultant economic chaos on the GOP and the public will punish them in the next election.

    There is probably not much the GOP can do at this point, since the media is united and willing to help Obama crush the GOP. To get out of this ambush would require more cunning and ruthlessness than the current GOP leadership possesses. One party rule may be just around the corner.

  • fredmatic1

    As Forrest Gump said, (I think), ‘Stupid is, as stupid does”. We have weak, spineless RINO’s in power….yes, the country club Republicans. If together, all of them could muster up just one cajone, then we might have a chance. I am so tired of the politi-speak coming from them it is ridiculous. Not spending as much as they want to spend, is called a tax cut…. Dem’s and Republicans alike are just a bunch of corrupt, lying weasels. WE HAVE NO MONEY!!!! CUT the free lunches, STOP the foreign aid to countries which hate us, DISEMBOWEL the federal government and make it less than one tenth it’s current size, FIRE the EPA, HEW, HHS….FANNYMAE, FREDDYMACK, the TREASURY……these are ALL unconstitutional and illegal. Social Security is NOT and entitlement…you paid for it. Medicare is NOT and entitlement, you paid for it. Stop them from redefining terms and stealing from us by calling it ‘MEANS TESTING’.

  • sliverlining

    The trouble is recidivism. Creature comforts and familiarity are not scary enough to keep 3 time losers out of prison. They have all those rights and people that fight for them. Never mind that the unjustly jailed innocents are the tiniest fraction for whom to fight. They are Whoville and are important no matter how small. Too bad the justice meted out to a proven innocent is corrupted by and used to the advantage of the general population of prisoners who should just do the time and get out. I digress.

    In politics recidivism is rampant and sanctioned by the voting public. The same career wonks keep coming back because of creature comforts and familiarity. It is no longer scary to be accountable or ashamed of a really, really lousy job performance. We keep pretending OUR guy isn’t at fault (like the rest of the scummy bastards) and keep supporting our personal Whoville, no matter how small (or evil and incompetent).

    The whole system of government/constituents seems to be afraid to do what all of us secretly want to see happen. Deep down I would like to throw out MY guy since faith can carry him only so far and that distance has been passed long ago. I would drop support and send him packing if I could count on the other equally evil and incompetent whores to be sent packing as well.

    We have voted for the lesser of two evils for so long it is now institutionalized. They know it, we know it. Representative government? Maybe. But what does it represent if not recidivism?

    Sliverlining – educated but unknowing.

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasduke Thomas

    I’m afraid the right thing to do is to walk away, let the current Republican Party go the way of the Whig Party and let the Democrats own this. It’s over….

  • spinoneone

    If you haven’t noticed it recently, the GOP is now officially the party of “old white men.” That is according to no less an authority than the New York Times, MSNBC, and the Washington Post.

  • gscandlen

    Obama doesn’t want $800 billion, he wants $1.6 trillion with NO spending cuts. The media think a 50.6% win means that Obama should get everything he ever dreamed of and the 49% who voted for Romney be damned.

  • dsmurf

    This is a great deflection. After January 1st, the King will say,”See, I was willing to give the middle class a tax cut, I’m fighting for the 99%. The Republicans wanted to raise taxes on everyone to keep the richest 2% from higher tax rates.” In the meantime, Republicans are going into a circular firing squad mode, because no matter how they handle this the King rejects the GOP counteroffer, there is no government shutdown, and the Clinton era tax rates plus the “King’s Care” tax rates go into effect. Conservatives stay home in 2014 due to the tax rises and oila, now you know why I call him the “King,” due forfeit of GOP voters, and the President gets Ms Pelosi back the Speakership?
    Where are the charts of recent tax rises and cuts since the Carter years?

  • azaeroprof

    We are the Confederates after the first day at Gettysburg. The Dems have the high ground; they attained that on Nov. 6. Anything we do to engage them and we lose. We should do what Lee (arguably) should have done then. Walk away and live to fight another day. Have EVERY Republican in Congress simply vote ‘present’. Let the Dems pass whatever they want….and own it. This is the one thing Barack Obama does NOT want. He wants the GOP to share the blame for the tax increases. We should keep our fingerprints completely off it. We saw this previewed in the Senate yesterday when McConnell moved to put Obama’s plan to a vote and Harry Reid blocked it. Did Reid block it because he didn’t have the votes to pass it? I doubt it. I think he blocked it because he knew the Republicans would vote against it, but that it would pass anyway.

  • donr

    I just wrote my Congressmen, Rob Woodall, asking him to abstain from voting for John Boehner for Speaker.

  • diamondreo

    Now is the time for the Conservatives within the Republican party to distinguish themselves. All of the so-far comments/replies lend to the greatest strength of opportunity for the good of the Conservative Movement as of today December 6, 2012.

    As Red_in_SC analyzes below, there are the two clear choices now that are the obvious ones as set-up by the President and the Bully-Media… with a lose-lose outcome that – I can’t help but know – makes President Obama retire to his office and just laugh.

    So any and all Washington Conservative that can get in front of a microphone should anounce: ‘DAMN right there’s a huge fight within the Republican Party!’…’it’s a fight between a principled stand for ‘meaningful’ spending cuts, Entitlement reform, and the lowering of tax-rates to “raise revenues” which is ‘proven’, verses the expressed ninnyomics accompanied by the ‘sliding toward Gomorrah’ as has already has been interminably practiced in the past by Speaker John Boehner and the rest.

    Rush Limbaugh so wisely announced last week that the Republicans need to walk-away and leave no “fingerprints” on the outcome.

    Well it looks as if The current “leadership” within the Republican Party will not be taking that advice! Their cumbersome-groping has coated any evident outcome with ‘fingerprints’ that will make Republicans deservedly responsible for any resulting calamity. Already, today’s projected and I might add: ‘pathetic’ outcome is coated by enough Republican slobber, spit, and crocodile-tears for ALL of the subsequent DNA tests.

    I’ll always subscribe to Mark Levin’s statement that Conservatism is not necessarily an Ideology. It is “experience”. With the unprecedented crisis we’re facing today, and the positive result or ‘experience’ of measures successfully put into practice by Coolidge, Kennedy, and Reagan; why wouldn’t we stand on the need for those “revenue-raising” measures now?!

    I’ll stand on that!

    Might as well, the Conservatives in the Party need to – as a group – start the fight by demanding these three measures, thereby throwing the life-jackets to those punished by Boehner’s Tuesday ‘discipline’ of David Schweikert-AZ, Justin Amash-MI, and Tim Huelskamp-KS for their taking of a ‘principled-stand’ for Conservatism. Dispite any outcome, at least then, the public will see that there is at least a faction of the Republican Party – a group of ‘Statesmen’ – that is worth it’s salt.

  • donr

    I just wrote my Congressmen, Rob Woodall, asking him to abstain from voting for John Boehner for Speaker in January 2013.
    Please write your Congressmen and ask him/her to do the same.
    In January 2013 you will know if our Representatives are worth his/her salt and if you should vote to reelected them in 2014.
    Let’s start playing hard ball with our guys, it is for there own good or may I say SALVATION.

    Don Ruane

  • http://teapartisan.wordpress.com Loren Heal

    I’m not afraid of a fight with the GOP leadership.

  • commish1

    Believing that things must get much worse before they will have a chance to get better, I support some cliff diving. There will be months to straighten it out before the worst results hit. But, selling out, giving in, “Boehnerizing” our side is a road to ruin. Whatever happens, the press will blame the GOP anyway, so there is no need to base any decisions on what the press will say.

  • donr

    Dam the Media to HELL and for once do the RIGHT thing. FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT the (add what you wish to complete the sentence).

  • eddiethegeek

    Give Obama an up-and-down vote in each chamber, and GOP members simply vote “present.” Then the President and his minions OWN the resulting economic catastrophe and nobody, not even the sycophant media, can blame the GOP.

  • diamondreo

    Go ahead! …let all the parties involved including Boehner, Cantor, McConnel et.al: BREAK THE BACK of the Republican Party. Leave only the small group of Statesmen to capture it from the rubble. I wouldn’t give a nickel for my party as it stands today anyway.

  • cheesycon

    this is unfair to the leadership. Boehner is trying to lead by compromising and you threaten primaries; now you say he is also reasonable. If he is reasonable then why are we threatening him??

  • badswing

    “And then there are the spending cuts Barack Obama won’t even talk about. I’ll give him his Clinton era tax rate increases in a heartbeat if we get the same spending rate we had when Clinton was President.”….so i have been screaming this to no avail! why hasnt one single republican been able to make this point to anyone when the deems trot out this point about clinton era tax rates!

    we are an inept party with way too many rino’s. its the only thing i disagree with Rush about: time for another party.

  • malvernpa

    It is not about increased revenue, with Obama everything is about smash mouth politics.. Obama is trying to create the 1992 Read my lips Bush 1/Perot situation where he splits the conservatives off of the republicans to create a 3rd party. The 3rd party will insure democrat dominance for years to come. A rate increase cave in by the republicans will soooo anger the fiscally responsible that they will either begin to argue 3rd party OR stay home as they did in 2012 and not vote both of which benefit Democrats.

  • gwalt

    I’m glad to see a lot more people commenting on the fact that no matter what we do, the media will bash us.
    A conservative could save an entire building full of children at a daycare center and the media would blame them for not saving the house plants.
    Can we please hire someone, start a PAC, —- something—- anything —- to return fire on the media? They are at war with us. Forget the war on women. There is a full out, large scale, frontal assault on our religious liberties and freedom and we sit idly by.
    Breitbart? Great site. But it’s a site. Newsbusters? Great site. But it’s a site. It’s not a plan.
    It’s as if we are sending troops to fight Hitlers Germany with tape recorders. We report on their “bias” and tsk, tsk.
    Wt-ph? We can’t get anything past the media palace guards. Nothing. NOTHING!
    How about a Center for Progressive Media Change. Use their own terminology to defeat them.
    It still amazes me, puzzles, makes me aghast that the Romney team had no media plan against the media. After the George Stepphie question last January to Romney— to Mr. Wizard of Smart— planting the seeds of what was to come— Fluke, Catholic bashing, etc.—- the Greek Midget should have been targeted, frozen, polarized. Finished as a Whorenolist.
    But no, we played fair in the holiest hope of hoping hope that the media would be fair.
    Destroy them. Obamma is destroying the Republican part. How?
    By usi g the media as a weapon. Get a crisis management team assembled and blanket, pummel them by name. They report, we retort with any and all means available. Use networks to bash other networks. Name names—- we are at WAR.
    Act like it!!!!

  • fiscalconservative12345

    “I’m having a little trouble figuring out how these sell outs in the GOP are being unreasonable. I may not like it. I may be happy to primary some of them and hang this deal around their necks like TARP, but how are they being unreasonable in making this offer?”

    The problem with this is that unless you put congress into a fiscal straight jacket, they won’t use any increased tax revenue(if it happens at all) to pay down the debt. They are being unreasonable to expect this congress or any future congress to do the responsible thing with money. Do you actually think Boehner, Cantor, McConnell, et. al care about making actual spending cuts?

    Their proposal is like giving an alcoholic the keys to the liquor store.

  • mhorner

    Gingrich took Clinton “Over the Cliff” and was absolutely savaged by the Media, but guess what, Clinton “caved” and brought about the economic prosperity in the 90′s that Clinton and the Dems then took credit for. It’s time we hauled out some old slogans like “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!” Trust me, Obama hates America and everything America stands for. We need to deal with this tyrant the way we should deal with all tyrants, by standing up and fighting back.

  • ncfamilyman

    Obama KNOWS that government is inefficient, and needs to be fed. He doesn’t care. The ONLY thing he cares about government is that its primary function is as a distribution mechanism. He has a hatred for many self-starters and entrepreneurs. I say most, because he is in his heart a racist. He sees the Republican Party as the last bastion of white power. That’s not what we are, but that’s what he thinks we are. That’s what the Republicans are up against, and we have a whole four more years of it.

    After that 4 years is up, we’ll be dealing with President McAuliffe, another gangster. He’ll win, because they have the technology and the formula. Even though we are in the majority, unless every single one of us votes then we’ll lose. We don’t have the Big Data talent to win another presidential election.

    As far as selling out, it is unlikely in the extreme that the MSM has informed any of the populace about the Republican offer. Low-information voters would not care even if they were informed. Republicans are only rich white guys after all. Unfortunately our “rich white guys” seem only to be interested in getting invited to cocktail parties and protecting their own power bases, NEVER are they interested in doing the right thing.

  • http://www.mattmodleski.com mattmodleski

    “Today’s battles are information battles because information shapes both perception and opinion. Those who use information to both attack and defend will win, those who do not will lose.” Sun Tzu 500 BC
    The way people get information has changed, the value of shaping perception and opinion has not. The GOP needs clear objectives, clear strategies and aligned tactics. Rush is not the answer, it’s the choir (being preached to).

  • remalimo

    There was once a Mayor in Houston, TX that claimed that he was not raising taxes. He did not raise the rate, it stayed the same, but this was at a time when the property values for appraisal was to be accererated to market value not the appraisal districts tax value. Needless to say TAXES did go up and the Mayor was VOTED OUT. Speaker Boehner we the PEOPLE aren’t as stoopied as YOU theank!

  • sjccoach

    President Obama’s goal is to destroy the country. Speaker Boehner’s goal is to destroy the Republican party. When Speaker Boehner and his ilk surrender, both men will have achieved their goal. The Republican party will die like the Whig party. The Republican party has outlived is usefulness and a new conservative party needs to be born.

  • drholliday

    Could someone please present some significant historical evidence that increasing tax rates hurt the economy? People keep saying this but the majority of historians and economists, and even investment bankers say it is not true. What is the truth about this?

  • merrie7137

    Unfortunately, Obama (with the help of the media) is running circles around the GOP and winning the PR war. From the average Americans perspective, it just looks like the GOP is against rich people paying more money. You can try explaining how it will hurt small businesses and not increase revenue and it’s only 8 days worth of federal spending, but that’s just over their heads. Someone earlier mentioned the Clinton/Gingrich showdown. As I remember it, people blamed the Republicans. And Obama is NOT Clinton. He will not compromise. He would LOVE for the taxes to go up on everyone after the 1st. He can’t lose this battle because he can ask for Republicans to sacrifice their first born and not be seen as unreasonable. If we go over the cliff, he gets higher taxes, a reduced military and the Republicans take the blame. Win, Win!

  • zollistar

    Join me in my two-part, anti-RINO pledge:
    1. DONATE EXCLUSIVELY to individual, conservative candidates. Zero dollars — $0.00 — to the RNC or any of its off-shoots.
    2. WORK EXCLUSIVELY on behalf of individual, candidates, which today’s technology makes it easy to do. I’ve worked on behalf of candidates all around the U.S. sitting at my computer, dialing for votes, using computer-fed numbers making calls paid for by the campaign.
    If enough of us do this, at a certain point, the RNC and its pals will notice two things:
    !. It’s losing worker bees (us!); and
    2. Its moderates (not us!) are increasingly voting for the Read Deal (i.e., Dems) anyway.
    In short, in addition to being the Party of Stupid, the Republican Party as currently led, is also becoming the Party of Irrelevance. Let’s help to make it really irrelevant. Soon.

  • edintexas

    Actually the House Republicans have passed a number of bills which Harry Reid has refused to allow any status and the Senate has continued to ignore. I think they call these bills “Budget Bills”.

  • edintexas

    If only. Pardon me if I don’t hold my breath.

  • PubliusII

    We are stuck with three realities:
    1. Tax rates will go up no matter what we do. This is true whether or not the House Republicans can cut any kind of deal with Obama.
    2. Obama and the media have successfully framed opposition to raising taxes as Republican defense of “the rich”, supporting their calumny that the Republicans care only for the rich.
    3. Obama will not discuss cpending cuts. His “offer” to consider cuts in 2013 is like Wimpy telling Popeye “I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today”.
    I am angry and frustrated that these are the realities. But we must recognize what is objectively true, even if we wish it were not so.
    Boehner, Cantor, et. al. are trying to get Obama to agree to some real spending cuts in exchange for the House Rs increasing taxes. They likely calculate that, if we are forced to give on taxes, we at least should get some spending cuts, and with some real spending cuts, they can avoid a war within the party. I think that Obama will not agree to any spending cuts (except defense, of course). Full stop. But it is still early in the game, and Obama may decide to deal later, just before Christmas.
    If this analysis is true, then once it becomes clear that Obama won’t deal, then Boehner, Cantor, and conservatives must act to minimize the dmage within the party. Obama and the left hope that we will have a civil war. We should try to avoid a war, which will benefit only the left.

  • sliverlining

    Everyone goes through phases. I was a fire breathing dragon a while back, too. The trouble is getting the whole army of dragons to breathe fire at once. You may find a match and light the candle but I quit looking. Milquetoast is very hard to light.

    Liberal airheads and crispy critters fire up quickly. They have nothing to lose so they aren’t weighted by conscience, accountability, and responsibility. That’s our burden. That is how I see our polarized political world right now.

    One-on-one, liberals are origami. I don’t know how many times I have spoken up and found people suddenly agreeing with me. Why do I have to speak up all the time to find this “secret army of milquetoast”? Liberals blather on and on publicly because the media tells the spineless idiots what to think. Theirs is the “not-secret army of loud, helpful idiots”. They know not what they do (or talk about).

    Ask any liberal to:
    Name ONE SINGLE THING Obama has done that’s good for the country.

    So far I have never lost an argument yet when they venture to say ANY ONE ISSUE. 95% of the time they really struggle to say one thing and most cave. Weak, sniveling, alone. No giant group there for moral (yeah, right) support.
    How can they be for:
    Obamacare – tell me why.
    Apology tour – world standing is a laughingstock.
    Articulate leader – err, ah, umm . . . teleprompt THIS, Stupid.
    Cabinet members – which one was the qualified one, I forget.
    An endless list and I don’t even watch the TV news – stopped during when Clinton got in. I didn’t want them to try to confuse me anymore.

    Sliverlining – battling groveling masses for decades.

  • http://rightdetour.blogspot.com rightdetour

    While I am usually with you, I am not sure how and when the Bush tax cuts, a temporary measure for political expediency, became such a sacred cow. In my mind, it is just more residue left over from the undisciplined, fiscally irresponsible Bush administration. I’d much rather see a show down over the spending side of the government ledger.

  • givemefreedom

    Reasonable(ness) vs Reckless(ness)???

    It’s THIS kind of Republican / democrat “compromise” that brought us to the cliff in the first place.
    Republicans never even new what hit them when they agreed to let the “Bush” tax cuts” be passed with a sunset provision. So here we are a couple election cycles later and the democrats have the Republicans boxed in AGAIN!

    What IS IT about, “NO NEW TAXES” Republicans don’t understand???
    Our nation IS divided, the media IS part of the liberal progressive democrat machine, we ARE in a depression, we have no money to spend, we ARE at the edge of a fiscal cliff . . . . . . what is the down side for Republicans? WHEN IS the right time to lower taxes, stop spending, and be reasonable? Republicans can either continue on their RECKLESS series of compromises or finally stand on principle and do the right thing, tell the democrats and their machine, “NO”!

  • joehatfield37

    The only “fiscal cliff” is the one created by bankers who have trillions in digital money. And pay no attention to that “only earners who make $250k per year and above will be affected” claptrap. The REAL target is the middle class. The political elite is going to tax us into oblivion…….getting rid of deductions, raising rates, all the new taxes related to Obamacare……..they are going to tax the crap out of us, forcing many to go on food stamps. Over the next four years, they will triple the number of people on food stamps. And they’re coming for your 401ks, IRAs, and private pension plans. Just y’all wait and see. As a society, we’re now moving from dependence back into slavery.

  • spandrel

    To be fair, the House has little control over whether the top rates go up – it will happen when the current law expires. Legislating an extension requires the support of the Senate and POTUS, neither of which seems willing to oblige. About the only leverage the House has is to refuse to extend current rates on the lower brackets, which is a very difficult position to defend if you are against tax increases. So it’s entirely rational (or, if you will, reasonable) for the GOP to negotiate for any kind of middle ground, such as limiting deductions instead of raising rates. They really have no other possible strategy.

  • ihateliberals

    Erick this entire charade over taxes just needs to be stopped. Obama does not care about the money collected. If you took every penny collected this coming year it will only be about $2 trillion dollars. If you apply the entire amount to the debt we still owe $14 trillion. Raising taxes is merely more of the class wars. it makes people think the government is trying to do something about the Rich and them paying “their fair share”. The problem is if that tax money were to be left with the people and small businesses then the economy would grow and we might actually, if spending were cut, be able to start tackling the debt. If the economy were to improve and less people were dependent on the Democrats they would start to lose power. Now as for Boehner you have to remember that he is in a precarious position. he is a Liberal Republican. That means he is for most of what Obama is but he has to appear to care about the republicans that aren’t liberals. Otherwise he loses power. This is why he will negotiate right down to the wire and then cave and give Obama what he wants. he can say i fought the good fight but lost. Liberals all have the same goals its just the Republicans want to achieve it differently than Democrats.

  • danno415

    Why does limiting deductions not impact small business but raising top marginal rates do? First of all, exactly what deductions are we talking about? This is a crucial question that is not being answered by Boehner, Erickson, et al. Who does Erickson think uses those deductions but small business? I have a small business and I get to deduct all business expenses from the gross before calculating taxes. Losing those deductions would be HUGE!!

    And why are we bending over backwards to avoid raising top marginal rates at the expense of giving up deductions? Marginal rates over 250K (which I don’t know why this is the magic number, but whatever) only apply to the first dollar earned over 250K. Personally I would be hit much harder by losing deductions than raising the marginal rate over 250K, for the simple reason that very little of my income has ever been over 250K!

  • timcooper62

    I know they have passed budget bills. I am specifically speaking of the fiscal cliff.

  • vandalii

    One correction: “He wants the GOP to share the blame for the tax increases” should read, “He want the GOP to take the blame for the tax increases” as in, “have you stopped beating your wife yet?”. :-(

  • vandalii

    This is eerily similar Morsi’s power grab in November with his “buds” in Parliment — no accountability for massive empowerment. Hmm.

  • vandalii

    Remember, the only things our Organizer in Chief actually knows how to do is golf and campaign. This fiscal cliff debacle gives him a chance to continue campaigning against the Repubs.

  • mtmnd

    Reasonableness? Politics are rarely if ever about reasonableness, but always about power. The impending expiration of the current rate gives Obama the power to get rate hike he wants. The rest is just about trying to make the GOP look bad in the process.

    Unfortunately the GOP leadership seems more than willing to help him out with this second part. They’ve sold out (and alienated their base) with zero prospect of getting anything positive back in return. Now that is unreasonable.

  • libertynugget

    Yet the democrats own the media’s narrative so anythings less than full compliance with Obama’s wishes will ‘send us off the fiscal cliff’. Most people will be watching football and ‘the voice’ and have no idea what the guy the voted for is doing.

    There is no such thing as reasonable when you’re not being held accountable.

  • Finrod

    He’s also purging conservatives from any place of importance in the House, which is what really has people up in arms.

  • giatny

    WAKE UP. The battle over extending the tax cuts for 100% or 98% has already
    been LOST. The Senate bill should be passed in the House permanently
    keeping the cuts for the 98% (something that was fought for under Bush). There is
    no leverage in holding that bill up. However, there is enormous leverage in
    refusing to extend the payroll tax cut or unemployment benefits, defeating more
    stimulus money, and not giving Obama a blank check on the debt. The Am people
    are sick of the fight, don’t understand the difference between tax rates and
    deduction caps, and now know that the fight itself is doing more damage to the
    economy than the tax increase will. Pass the Senate bill and defer the “sequester”
    spending cuts to next year. Everyone can go home for Christmas, the 98% keep
    their cuts and the Repubs can regroup to stop more tax increases and spending.
    There is NO other way to win. Winning is much more important than being
    right. It was pitiful watching Hannity argue this point with Coulter. He just
    refused to accept that the 2% cut can NOT be saved. It is LOST and if the
    Repub Party stands any chance of surviving, it must be through preventing new
    spending and further tax increases. Victory is right in front of their eyes but
    they continue to fight last year’s battle.

  • garylyn

    http://goo.gl/ag61c “How to Avoid Blame and Maintain the GOP Brand as the Low-Tax Party”

    The Western Free Press has published a proposal for dealing with the Fiscal Cliff that effectively puts the blame on Obama and the socialists. It’s simple, direct and will at the least change the politics of this tragic charade. It’s a great idea.

    The problem is that the WFP proposal only deals with the politics of the fiscal cliff. It does not address the Tea Party Patriots core of demand of “Stop Spending, Stop Borrowing, Stop Bailing ….. Stand up for America and keep your oath to support, defend and live by the Constitution”.

    Nor does the proposal address the certain tax increase on America’s economic producers. That was baked in years ago when the GOP refused to use their political power to make the Bush tax cuts permanent.

    The sad truth is that we have already gone over the fiscal cliff. Taxes and crushing regulations are going to rocket in January no matter what the Repubicans do. The problem today is that of political blame for this mess. IMHO, the Repubican Party does not survive if they get blamed for the economic crash that is coming.

    The WPF proposal will put the economic collapse back in the socialists court – where it belongs. Next is holding the line on borrowing by refusing to increase the debt limit. Then comes the challenge of reigning in stampeding regulations while cutting the guts out of spending. Starting with ObamaCare.

    No doubt the Repubicans do not deserve the support of Tea Party Patriots, libertarians and Reagan conservatives. But as tempting as it is to see them flushed down the tube in January, this would be a disaster for American producers. And there would be no stopping a globalist Obama and his socialist hordes.

    http://goo.gl/ag61c Read it. It’s a really good idea. +1 David Leeper.

  • checkmate2012

    The Republican’s are losing this battle because they are trying to be reasonable with a person that only bases his actions on ideology, not economics. We know O said the math worked in 2011 and now some how it’s fuzzy math? What changed? His ego and his desire to sink Reps.
    His proposal was so absurd, Boehner should have laughed and said he’d negotiate when O presented a serious proposal, but he didn’t. And Boehner’s counter-proposal was lacking three key points: 1- We’ll agree to tax increases on anyone making over $2M a year; 2- We’ll give you revenue but all of it must go towards reducing the debt and 3-The Executive branch will cede its veto power.
    Yes, it’s ridiculous, about as ridiculous as O’s proposal! Counter absurd with absurd.

  • secretsociety

    In fact, there seems to be very little connection

    http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/09/tax-cuts-dont-lead-to-economic-growth-a-new-65-year-study-finds/262438/

  • runner12

    The media will carry water for Obama no matter what is done, we know that. But why do we not engage in the fight with the media? Boehner, Cantor, et al are the worst PR people on planet earth. They do not argue their points and they do not fight in the public arena. They must do this!

  • drholliday

    I did not write that they said it was a good idea. Obviously you are good at nonsense spinning. I merely referred to the consensus in the field that there is no correlation between tax rates and economic prosperity. How such a simple minded fool could be a moderator is beyond me.

  • commonsenseobserver

    Heh, trolls sprouting.
    http://blog.heritage.org/2012/09/17/congressional-research-service-wrongly-implies-lower-tax-rates-dont-strengthen-economy/

  • commonsenseobserver

    The policies and innovation that set the stage for future economic growth always come when free enterprise is encouraged, and work and investment is rewarded, through low taxes, light regulation, and responsible government.

  • commonsenseobserver

    We don’t need a civil war. All we need to do is “persuade” Boehner and McConnell to get in line or step aside with some good old logic, alcohol, and money (and maybe blackmail).

  • jaykali

    Ya I tend to agree. Half way in btwn is prob the worst place to be, which means that’s where we will end up.

  • jaykali

    I am pretty pissed off at the media at this point. That is really the biggest story of the last several years. The media has become so corrupt, it’s become a propaganda machine for the left wing government. I don’t think people really understand this, and until they do I think we will continue down the road of destruction.

  • Bill S

    A fool is one that screws with moderators. Sayonara, fool.

  • wadewade

    What’s the point of raising taxes by 800 Billion (over 10 years)? The CBO says that’s only 82 Billion the first year. That’s nothing compared to the deficit or the debt. If they are going to give away that tax increases, they should at least use them to amplify the savings, by getting a 4 to 1 savings from reduction in spending. Now, that’s be 400 Billion a year, that’s real money.

    Bo has already suggested new spending that will blow through the 82 billion. So in the end, it won’t even reduce the deficit by a dollar. When they realize this, they’ll be back for more. You can’t stuff enough matter into a black hole to plug it up, it can suck up everything you can throw at it and just gets more hungry.

  • cheesycon

    taking him out won’t change that though. It will just push him further into RINO and there’s no way any of the more conservative alternatives will get the votes to succeed him.