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The Deal Does Not End The GOP Drive To Cut Taxes For The Wealthy

One of the strange conceits of the proponents of The Deal on taxes is that GOP tax cutting somehow ends with The Deal. While making fun of the silly Dana Milbank and his rewriting of the health bill process history, Paul Krugman misses the larger mythmaking - that The Deal ends the tax policy debate. Milbank writes:

The alternative to a deal, administration officials say, was to waste the next few months fighting over taxes [. . .] only to wind up with a deal that likely would be worse with Republicans controlling the House.

Apparently, Milbank and the White House believe that the Republicans will be finished with the tax issue now that The Deal is struck. How utterly idiotic. First, The Deal will be the dominating factor in shaping the budget for the next two years - the GOP will slash the budget. Second, The Deal ends in 2012 which is, if the White House has not noticed, just around the corner. Today, David Axelrod said "we'll have that debate in 2012." That's nice, but who exactly is going to be persuaded? Not Republicans. Even if the Dems win the 2012 elections (and the likelihood is even if Obama wins, the House and the Senate will be Republican after the 2012 election), there will be LESS Dems in Congress than there are today. How exactly is the situation going to change favorably in 2012?

Milbank call this "strategy." I call it idiocy.

Speaking for me only

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  • Display: Sort:
    Obama will do nothing (5.00 / 5) (#3)
    by Dadler on Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 10:10:11 AM EST
    Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero.

    And he will just say he's powerless, and then he'll blame others, etc, etc, etc...

    The act is so tired now it's a wonder it's still awake.

    That he announced his deal and said that, unfortunately, those low taxes for the rich are just a pillar of Republican economic "theory" and they just won't give it up, and that Obama then said NOTHING to criticize this "theory" or attempt to describe it as the wretchedness it is, well, this is all the proof you need.

    He will do nothing. He has proven that he views ideological differences as unimportant, as simply little roadblocks to the grand and mushy and conservative compromises to be forged in the tepid fires of lukewarm water.

    Obama is an even bigger piece of nothing I ever suspected.  There is less than no there there, there isn't even an idea of where there is supposed to be.

    "...he will just say he is powerless" (5.00 / 2) (#8)
    by KeysDan on Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 11:47:34 AM EST
    makes me recall his and his apologists mantra that the president can't do..whatever.  That he just can't wave a wand and make whatever happen.. no,  is up to the Congress (e.g. DADT), but with the tax deal, he negotiated with the Republicans on what congress should do, and told the Congressional Democrats to just do it.  But then, doing nothing and letting all Bush era tax cuts expire rather than letting all Bush era tax cut continue was in his re-election interests and he was no longer powerless.  

    Parent
    Hey man (none / 0) (#9)
    by MO Blue on Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 01:03:07 PM EST
    Obama has a new book out. Don't even suggest that he and members of Congress pay more in taxes. What is being in power for other than writing laws that increase your own personal wealth. Also, gotta keep those savvy businessmen happy so that they fill the campaign coffers.  

    Parent
    Everybody knows... (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Mr Natural on Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 10:24:27 AM EST
    the less taxes paid by the rich, the better things get.  In the limit, America won't reach its full flower of incandescent prosperity until the rich are contributing absolutely nothing!

    And so (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by cal1942 on Tue Dec 14, 2010 at 12:56:57 AM EST
    Rome came tumbling down.

    Parent
    Truly Insane (5.00 / 9) (#5)
    by pluege2 on Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 10:34:52 AM EST
    The alternative to a deal, administration officials say, was to waste the next few months fighting over taxes

    obamadmin - what morons, "fighting over tax policy is not a waste of time, it is exactly THEIR DAMN JOB!!!!! They are sent to Washington to argue over tax policy, i.e., to solve problems, to LEAD (something obama and the fools in his admin know nothing about).

    When republicans create false linkages to abuse the unemployed in order to enrich the already obscenely rich - it is their job the FIGHT them. It is their job to protect the social safety net for the many; it is their job to defend the little guy, not make deals with the devil.

    It would be nice to know what obamadmin thinks their job is.
    .

    I really think, that from a strategy (5.00 / 3) (#6)
    by Anne on Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 10:42:29 AM EST
    perspective, it's time to game plan on the basis that we have a Republican president; coming at this as if Obama has a Democratic mind-set on tax/fiscal policy (not to mention so many other areas where he trends right instead of left) is to ensure that we - traditional Democrats and the 98% of people who don't make or have boatloads of money - once again wind up on the losing end of every important decision.

    Everything makes a lot more sense when you do this:  President Barack Obama (R).

    That's what we have to come together to push back against, and the sooner, the better.

    & if it's President Barack Obama (R) (5.00 / 2) (#10)
    by The Addams Family on Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 08:12:47 PM EST
    then what do you do if you want to vote for a Democrat in 2012?

    you have to primary Obama

    write in Bernie Sanders if no actual Democrat steps up

    there's really nothing to lose anymore (ymmv)

    Parent

    He's more conservative than W. (none / 0) (#7)
    by observed on Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 10:46:15 AM EST
    There's the 2%

    Parent
    BTD, you hit the nail and the head! (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by cpa1 on Mon Dec 13, 2010 at 07:22:10 AM EST
    It's no where near over.  Republicans want a flat tax and even Bernanke said that rates should be lower, I thought he said in the 20s, to stimulate the economy....another a__hole.

    By the way Dana Milbank was the JERK who said, on "Hardball"  that the press hated Al Gore because he thought he was better than them and they liked Bush because he was more real and he never tried to act superior.  What a putz.  

    I call it a pale imitation of Clinton. (none / 0) (#1)
    by observed on Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 09:49:11 AM EST
    He's counting on getting votes by standing up to "angry Dems"

    Maybe our "negotiator-in-chief" (none / 0) (#2)
    by KeysDan on Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 09:58:14 AM EST
    will agree with both BTD and Milbank and call it an "idiotic strategy."  A win, win in their world.