http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/254086/can-republicans-talk-thomas-sowell

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RUSH: All right, Alan Simpson Babe and Irksome Bowles are soon to be chairing the official press conference announcing the actual aspects of their proposal. There’s also big news today about the Obama meeting with the Republicans on tax cuts. I just want to ask you a question. When was the last time that Obama called for a meeting with Republicans, “We gotta talk this out amongst ourselves, we gotta come to some common ground,” do you remember when it was? That would be the health care summit in which Eric Cantor and a number of other Republicans were up there with Obama, the Democrats, and he listened and rejected all of it. And every time Eric Cantor or Mike Pence or anybody made a brilliant point about something, Paul Ryan, Obama stared at them, angrier than he’s ever gotten at Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks sissy who released all the data. So there’s nothing that’s gonna come of this. We all know what Obama wants. Obama does not want any extension of these tax cuts.

By the way, rich has been dropped. It’s now millionaires and billionaires. That’s the terminology. During the health care summit I was alone. I told the Republicans, “Don’t even go. Don’t even waste your time showing up. All you’re going to do is add weight to Obama and allow him to say at the end of this whole thing that he is all for bipartisanship, that the people got together and so forth.” The health care summit ended with Obama saying that’s what elections are for, I won; you lost. I’m gonna listen to what you say here, but I’m not gonna really hear it. It’s gonna be the same thing here on taxes. These clowns know they lost the election, but they’re trying to turn it around and have the opposite impression created. Thomas Sowell has a column on that today, which I’ll get to here in short order.

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RUSH: Thomas Sowell: “Can Republicans Talk?” He’s worried that we might lose this tax extension debate because there aren’t any Republicans who can articulate properly here to persuade people what this is all about. It’s the argument about tax cuts raising revenue. And what Sowell wants is some Republican to say, “Look, tax cuts for the rich, tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires raises money,” which it does. Tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires and the rich raises money and will create jobs. He wants a Republican in Washington, in this debate, to say that. Now, admittedly, there are gonna be some Republicans gun-shy about defending the rich and defending the super rich. I, of course, do not have that problem. But then, the question is, does what happen on this show, will it influence the outcome of what happens in this debate in Congress and Washington? It might, but that’s something we can’t count on.

So ten words or less, how to articulate what really is going on. And we’ve done this for 23 years. For example, we’ve made the point this is not even about tax cuts. Nobody’s taxes are gonna be cut here if the current tax rates are extended. There are no tax cuts being discussed. The Democrats in the media want you to think that what’s on the table is tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. Nobody’s taxes will be cut, regardless what happens here. Nobody’s even suggesting tax cuts. Sowell is worried that Republicans don’t even have the ability to articulate that. Here, let me give you a couple of excerpts from his piece, at the end of it.

He goes through and lists the facts as I have just done here. And he says: “Most important of all, these tax-rate reductions spurred economic activity, which we definitely need today. These are the facts. But facts do not ‘speak for themselves.’ In terms of facts, the Republicans have the stronger case. But that doesn?t matter, unless they make the case, which they show little sign of doing. Democrats already understand the need for articulation. Robert Reich is only one of many articulate Democratic spokesmen. But where are the articulate Republicans? Do they even understand how crucial articulation is? The outcome of this lame-duck session of Congress may answer that question.”

Now, so far, not one Republican is off the reservation on this. The Democrats wanted tax increases during all this, and no Republican’s gone along with that. I would also add that if a Republican does come along and properly articulate this, will we ever hear about it? There is that component here. Will the Drive-Bys ever report it? The Drive-Bys are totally interested in disinformation and presenting the conventional wisdom or the cliche on this, that this is all about tax cuts, additional tax cuts for the rich, which during an economy like ours is only gonna benefit the rich, instead of saying millionaires and billionaires are also known as the people who save and create jobs. It’s not hard to say, but there is some fear. Look, decades of pounding by the media, we know this is what happens to Washington Republicans, we know this is what happens. They get pounded and pounded and pounded, lied about, misrepresented, false associations are made, and they become queasy about speaking up. And Sowell’s frustration is, for God’s sake, who just won the election, who just won a huge landslide? Why are they afraid to show up and speak up? And I understand, everybody has that frustration. I have it less than others because I have the ability to speak up. You know, I have this — the Golden EIB Microphone — and I get to satisfy my frustrations.

But people who don’t have a microphone are looking for others who do to speak for them, and in elected politics, that’s elected officeholders like Republicans, and if they don’t speak up on this, and people want whatever will bring this economy around. People want whatever will create jobs. People are not interested here in what’s gonna best benefit Democrats or best benefit Republicans. They want an economy rebounding.