red states rule
04-16-2008, 07:23 AM
Yesterday was Christmas Day for liberals. It was also the day millions of Americans forked over a huge chuck of their income to the government
Tax day: It's all in the eyes of the beholder
Today is April 15th -- tax day—but on Capitol Hill, what that means is entirely in the eye of the beholder.
Both parties tried to maximize their political returns Tuesday, with Democrats hammering President Bush on the massive cost of the Iraq war and on the sluggish economy and Republicans using the day to remind citizens that if they were in charge, everyone would be sending less money to the IRS.
House Democrats served first, starting off the day with an early morning press conference to present taxpayers with a bill that "shows how much each American family owes for the Iraq War,” the first of many Democratic attempts throughout the day to highlight the massive costs of the conflict and link it to the current economic downturn.
Republicans didn’t take long to fire back, howling in protest over “the largest tax increase in American history,” which they argue would happen if Democrats allow President Bush’s 2001 and 2003 tax cuts to expire, as they likely will.
By midday, Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada sought to boil the whole argument down to the simplest possible terms.
“Today is a good day to remind the American people which party stands for higher taxes and which party stands for lower taxes,” he said. “The Democrats are very clear, their presidential nominees are very clear: They want to raise taxes.”
But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), had a stock answer of his own ready for his fellow Nevada senator.
“The Republican answer for seven long years has been to slash taxes for the ultra-wealthy, to side with big business, the oil companies, the utility companies -- and let the little guy fend for himself,” said Reid on the Senate floor Tuesday morning.
Later in the day, Reid used the occasion to pivot back to the Democrats message.
“Today is April 15th and we have seen what the president’s tax policy has done to the country,” he said.
“The economy is spinning down as we speak, there is the most significant housing crisis since the great depression, we have a war in Iraq that is costing us 5,000 dollars per second and out here on the Senate floor…the Republicans in the Senate are determined to protect the status quo.”
The Democrats efforts to link the war to the struggling economy here at home has infuriated many Republicans, especially House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), who called it a “cynical myth” and “desperate.”
Clearly the Pope’s arrival in Washington did not lead to an outbreak of partisan goodwill.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0408/Tax_day_Its_all_in_the_eyes_of_the_beholder.html
Tax day: It's all in the eyes of the beholder
Today is April 15th -- tax day—but on Capitol Hill, what that means is entirely in the eye of the beholder.
Both parties tried to maximize their political returns Tuesday, with Democrats hammering President Bush on the massive cost of the Iraq war and on the sluggish economy and Republicans using the day to remind citizens that if they were in charge, everyone would be sending less money to the IRS.
House Democrats served first, starting off the day with an early morning press conference to present taxpayers with a bill that "shows how much each American family owes for the Iraq War,” the first of many Democratic attempts throughout the day to highlight the massive costs of the conflict and link it to the current economic downturn.
Republicans didn’t take long to fire back, howling in protest over “the largest tax increase in American history,” which they argue would happen if Democrats allow President Bush’s 2001 and 2003 tax cuts to expire, as they likely will.
By midday, Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada sought to boil the whole argument down to the simplest possible terms.
“Today is a good day to remind the American people which party stands for higher taxes and which party stands for lower taxes,” he said. “The Democrats are very clear, their presidential nominees are very clear: They want to raise taxes.”
But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), had a stock answer of his own ready for his fellow Nevada senator.
“The Republican answer for seven long years has been to slash taxes for the ultra-wealthy, to side with big business, the oil companies, the utility companies -- and let the little guy fend for himself,” said Reid on the Senate floor Tuesday morning.
Later in the day, Reid used the occasion to pivot back to the Democrats message.
“Today is April 15th and we have seen what the president’s tax policy has done to the country,” he said.
“The economy is spinning down as we speak, there is the most significant housing crisis since the great depression, we have a war in Iraq that is costing us 5,000 dollars per second and out here on the Senate floor…the Republicans in the Senate are determined to protect the status quo.”
The Democrats efforts to link the war to the struggling economy here at home has infuriated many Republicans, especially House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), who called it a “cynical myth” and “desperate.”
Clearly the Pope’s arrival in Washington did not lead to an outbreak of partisan goodwill.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0408/Tax_day_Its_all_in_the_eyes_of_the_beholder.html