Flashback, 9/15/10 - "Obama Attacks G.O.P. on Tax Rates"

[Clio the Leo]

**** Warning!: Photo of ACTUAL "Bully Pulpit" in use below! ****

D-REALITY CHECK: Two months ago, the White House pushed the House and Senate to vote on a permanent middle-class tax cut because we thought it was a) the right policy b) an important distinction for the election and c) would strengthen our hand for the lame duck. They refused to take the vote because the House wouldn't go before the Senate, and the Senate thought that they would fail and Democrats would defect on a temporary extension. Now that it is clear that the Senate can pass neither a permanent middle class tax cut or raise the limit to a million, there are only two choices and they both have consequences for the economy writ large, and for millions of Americans who are struggling and cannot afford to have their taxes go up: 1) Let taxes go up, hurt the middle class and inject a massive amount of uncertainty in the economy, or 2) try to find a deal that helps people in a tough economy. Simple extension with nothing else is not good enough for the president. And if the Republicans aren't willing to help the unemployed and middle and working class people, the president will walk away. There may be some on the left and in the Senate, like Senator Schumer, who think its good politics to increase taxes on the middle class so that we can show we are fighting. But that is cold comfort to the Americans struggling to make it everyday, whose paychecks will get smaller on Jan. 1 if we follow that strategy. The president is headed down the path that gets the best deal for the middle class.

http://www.politico.com/playbook/

9/15/10 - Obama Attacks G.O.P. on Tax Rates

By JACKIE CALMES
From the White House to Capitol Hill, the war of words continued on Wednesday between President Obama and Congressional Republicans over whether to extend the Bush-era tax rates for the wealthy.

Mr. Obama added to his schedule an afternoon appearance before television cameras in the Rose Garden, where, flanked by his Cabinet after a meeting, he once again complained that Republicans “want to hold these middle-class tax cuts hostage until they get an additional tax cut for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans.”

All of the Bush income tax rates by law revert after this year to the higher levels of the Clinton years. Even as President Obama was keeping the pressure on Republicans to extend the rates only for income up to $250,000 for couples and $200,000 for individuals, a few more Democrats from conservative districts or states were siding with Republicans against raising taxes on anyone in a weak economy.

“We simply can’t afford that,” Mr. Obama said. “It would mean borrowing $700 billion in order to fund these tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans — $700 billion to give a tax cut worth an average of $100,000 to millionaires and billionaires. And it’s a tax cut economists say would do little to add momentum to our economy.”

He added: “Middle-class families need this relief. These are the Americans who saw their wages and incomes flat-line over the last decade, who’ve seen the costs of everything from health care to college tuition skyrocket and who have been hardest hit by this recession.”

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/obama-attacks-g-o-p-on-tax-rates/

Obama faces mutiny from own party as 31 Democrats demand tax cuts for the rich
By DAVID GARDNER
Last updated at 7:16 PM on 16th September 2010

President Obama was facing a mutiny within his own Democrat Party tonight over his pledge to deliver tax cuts for America’s struggling middle class.
A group of 31 rebel Democrat congressmen and women have broken ranks to demand that all income levels are given tax breaks, including the wealthy.
Mr Obama insists he is targeting Americans earning less than £160,000-a-year.
But the breakaway Democrats fear that increasing taxes, even for the rich, could jeopardise the party’s chances in the looming mid-term elections.

The claim any hint of raising taxes could be political suicide at the ballot box in November.

The rebellion is a major blow to Mr Obama who is desperately trying to coral Republican support for the tax bill that was one of his key promises during his presidential campaign.

Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, he lambasted the Republican leadership for holding the middle class tax cuts ‘hostage’ to boost the pay packets of ‘millionaires and billionaires.’

He complained that extending the cuts to everybody would mean the government would have to borrow another £450 billion ‘to fund these tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans.’ ‘We simply can’t afford that. It doesn’t make any sense,’ he added.

The leader of the Democrat group, Congressman Jim Matheson, insisted yesterday: ‘In the short run with our economy where it is right now, I don’t think we should be raising taxes.’

He claimed that by extending tax breaks brought in under the Bush administration for another one to two years it would give a major boost to small business owners the rebels claim make up one-third of upper-income taxpayers and are ‘the backbone of our economic recovery.’

The congressman said the two parties should work together to get the country back on its feet.
‘People are tired of that bickering. They expect people back here to act like big boys and girls,’ he added.

Many of the rebels are in tight races in states that could easily swing to the Republicans in the polls.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1312696/Obama-faces-mutiny-party-31-Democrats-demand-tax-cuts-rich.html

Of course you cant get the full list of names from anyone, but I'd be willing to bet that most, if not ALL of those 31 lost their steats anyway. These folks, ladies and gentlemen, were your spineless cowards.

[Bragi]

1. "Obama Is Against a Compromise on Bush Tax Cuts"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/us/politics/08obama.html

Obviously a misquote.

[Enrique]

2. but he also signaled that he would cave

Peter Orszag came out and recommended the kind of deal Obama's about to cut, and Obama signaled he'd be ok with that kind of deal.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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