Top White House aide David Axelrod told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos today that the administration intends to explore a number of means by which it can overhaul the nation’s health care system, but refused to reaffirm then-candidate Barack Obama’s “firm pledge” to not raise taxes on middle class Americans.
“The president had said in the past that he does not believe taxing health care benefits at any level is necessarily the best way to go here,” said Axelrod. “He still believes that, but there are a number of formulations and we’ll wait and see.”
Obama has not always been open to “a number of formulations,” however. In fact, prompted by Republican accusations his tax plan would hurt middle class pocketbooks, Obama was quite adamant he would do no such thing. While campaigning in Dover, NH, Obama said, “Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”
Slow to fulfill campaign pledges or entirely reversing his position on others, the president has come under fire from the most loyal of Democratic Party activists, including the LGBT community and environmentalists, but waffling on his no-middle-class-tax-hike pledge stands to pit the irresolute president against a majority of the American voting public, not just disillusioned splinter groups.
After pressed on whether the president will draw “a line in the sand” by a persistent Stephanopoulos, Axelrod refused to take the bait and align the administration with any such ultimatum.
“One of the problems we’ve had in this town is that people draw lines in the sand and they stop talking to each other. And you don’t get anything done. That’s not the way the president approaches this,” he said.
The reason for President Obama’s now-obvious reticence to pursue campaign pledges—or make intractable ultimatums, for that matter—is quite simple. Keeping promises while juggling the competing interests of donors, activists, and voters is no simple feat. If you don’t make a promise, you can’t break it.
Then-candidate Barack Obama promised impossibilities—of a transparent government, of a new politics, of a hopeful and peaceful American—and performed little. Now-President Barack Obama promises nothing and yet he still performs little.
Color me surprised.
There will be a 5% increase coming
carlsbadd Sunday, June 28th at 9:08PM EDT (link)When the Bush x cuts expire the middle class will get hit with a 5% increase.
Despite the battle cry of the GOP only giving tax cuts to the rich by the left, The Bush tax cuts included a 5% CUT for the middle class, so when those cuts expire they will blame it on Bush and wash thier hands of it.
You know there will be tax increases of some kind
The_Rebel Sunday, June 28th at 9:28PM EDT (link)on the middle class to pay for all of these mindless programs. When it happens, I trust the Republicans will be as unrelenting as the Democrats were when George H.W. Bush reneged on his no new taxes pledge. I believe this would be the tipping point for many Americans sick of paying for government program after government program.
We should get a good test this week with the state of California’s troubles. The Dems voted for more tax increases. Arnold vetoed those increases.
Surprise Surprise
Kayla Sunday, June 28th at 9:39PM EDT (link)How did his supporter think all these programs were gonna get paid for? By magic? When taxes go up along with unemployment we’ll see how the hopenchange works out for them.
They all thought "the rich"** would pay for it.
Brian Hibbert Monday, June 29th at 9:13AM EDT (link)After all, “the rich” can afford it. “The rich” won’t have to change their lifestyle. “The rich” only got rich on the backs of the working man anyway. What they didn’t realize is that they are “the rich”.
** “The rich” == anyone who is not receiving government aid or a union member.
Socialism doesn’t work. It looks nice on paper, but it’s been tried and it’s failed miserably every time (usually accompanied by widespread death and suffering).
Proud member of the V.R.W.C.
Join the RedState Strike Force
Read My Lips obama
bobojake Sunday, June 28th at 9:41PM EDT (link)NO NEW TAXES
I saw the interview...
Max Venom Sunday, June 28th at 9:42PM EDT (link)… and George did a good job pressing A-rod for an answer… that never came. A-rod dodged it like the weasel he is.
The truth is Obama will do anything to pass anything. Obama doesn’t care about campaign pledges. He breaks those every day. The only thing Obama concerns himself with is pushing a radical socialistic agenda down the throats of Americans wether we like it or not.
And since the administration has re-defined the definition of “bipartisanship” to technical changes made to a bill, we can only look forward to 4 years of spin and havoc.
CVW-14_-_10_-_Nov_2000.jpg
I would like to make obama- reid and peloski
bobojake Sunday, June 28th at 9:56PM EDT (link)The longest LAME DUCKS EVERY TO BE IN OFFICE.
We just have to keep the pressure on. Truth will win out.
Show up at the Democrats town hall meeting and ask the questions media should be asking.
We need to keep pressing the advertisers on the alphabet Networks to let them know we aren’t interested in purchasing things for sale by them if they are puttin advertising dollars in tha MSM News Stations. It time to put the majority in Action against the foney fraudulent spending and liesw the last 5 months.
This is over and above the $2,500 increase per middle class family
bk Sunday, June 28th at 10:38PM EDT (link)since that promised reduction won’t happen.
James couple of things I want to point out...
antisocial Sunday, June 28th at 11:06PM EDT (link)1>Expiration of Bush tax cuts will be an effective tax increase.
2>Inflation, rise in interest rates, fall in the value of dollar will be as bad as tax increase.
3>Taxing health care benefits will be as bad as tax increase.
4>Crap-And-Raid is as good as tax increase. The impact this disastrous bill is going to have on the local economy will be huge. Apart from energy costs to average energy consumers the ripple effect(in terms of product costs) is going to be huge. And we will see energy consuming industries getting killed in a global market.
And on top of it all Tax hikes are coming. They were always on the cards despite what Obama said in his campaign.
The Emperor has no clothes!!!
——————————
Republicans who lost the Crap-and-Raid fight in the House -
Mary Bomo Mac (CA-45)
Mike Castle (DE)
Mark Kirk (IL-10)
Frank A. LoBiondo (NJ-02)
Chris Smith (NJ-04)
Leonard Lance (NJ-07)
John M. McHugh (NY-23)
Dave Reichert (WA-08)
"95% of all Americans to get a TAX CUT"
scottbomb Sunday, June 28th at 11:54PM EDT (link)I seem to recall some politician making that very promise. I wonder who it was….
I wonder if the voers who were actually naive enought to believe this Marxist will remember in 2012? Will the Republican candidate remind them?
http://www.HowObamaGotElected.com
“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of ‘liberalism’, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.” - Norman Thomas, U.S. Socialist Party presidential candidate 1940, 1944 and 1948
that is crazy I wonder how many pay federal taxes
mom2oneson Monday, June 29th at 1:32AM EDT (link)Almost everyone I know has a negative tax or whatever it’s called where they get more back than they paid or they paid 0 and get back thousands. I only know a few men that pay taxes.
No Surprise
Hera Monday, June 29th at 3:01AM EDT (link)This news is only a surprise to the gullible and the stupid, which describes the majority of Obama voters. Everyone else knows that the dems always raise taxes on the middle class, because that’s where the money is.I knew when Obama promised only to raise taxes on the “rich” that he was lying.