red states rule
09-24-2010, 05:10 AM
Once again Dems show their top priority is the upcoming election and not what is best for the nation
So Dems say the tax cuts are needed to help the "middle class" yet they have to spend their time trying keep their jobs first?
It is great to see Dems showing what is really important to them
Senate Democrats are looking to punt the tax-cut debate past the November elections, facing pushback from Democrats facing re-election in 2010 who worry about getting tagged with raising taxes on small businesses, senior Democratic aides say. The party gathered Thursday afternoon for a caucus-wide meeting to set the pre-election agenda.
Democrats emerged from the meeting mostly mum about what final decision had been reached, though Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said it was "generally accepted" that no vote would be taken before the election.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the number two Democrat, added that "the likelihood of our passing anything by way of tax extensions is very, very slim." Like many of his colleagues, however, he said no final decision was reached. "Harry will make the final decision," Durbin said.
The White House has been pushing hard for such a vote, circulating polling showing that a majority of Americans, including wide margins of independents, support extending the middle-class tax cuts. Ultimately, though, Democrats up for election feared an assault from the GOP that the party was raising taxes on "small businesses," even though a vanishingly small portion of those who would face a tax hike are real small businesses. But, in an age of 30-second commercials, it only takes one to stare into the camera and lament the effect of the tax change on hiring.
Two members of Democratic leadership -- Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) -- are facing tight races, as are Sens. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).
Two Democratic aides said that Feingold has been arguing behind the scenes that the vote should not be held before the election, but a Feingold aide denied that charge, saying that his boss isn't afraid of the vote. "Senator Feingold has informed Majority Leader Reid directly that he would prefer to vote on extending the expiring tax cuts before the elections and that he is ready and willing to vote whenever leadership decides to have that vote," he said. "Senator Feingold has made his position clear - he supports extending the middle class tax cuts and he thinks we should find a way to pay for them. But he opposes extending tax cuts just for the wealthiest Americans, which would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit and do little to help the economy."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said that, politically, now is the wrong time for a vote on taxes -- not because of the substance, but because of the potential for the GOP to "mischaracterize" the vote. "I actually believe that a vote on taxes right before the election is - and I'm not up [for re-election] - because the message can be manipulated and it's such a hot-button issue, that even, let's say a hypothetical bill, something everybody agreed with, somebody would find a way to micharacterize it. I think with taxes, particularly in this economy, candidates should commit [to voting a certain way] and that's fair, but I think to pass it before the election is a mistake," she told reporters on her way into the caucus meeting.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/23/democrats-look-to-punt-on_n_736356.html
So Dems say the tax cuts are needed to help the "middle class" yet they have to spend their time trying keep their jobs first?
It is great to see Dems showing what is really important to them
Senate Democrats are looking to punt the tax-cut debate past the November elections, facing pushback from Democrats facing re-election in 2010 who worry about getting tagged with raising taxes on small businesses, senior Democratic aides say. The party gathered Thursday afternoon for a caucus-wide meeting to set the pre-election agenda.
Democrats emerged from the meeting mostly mum about what final decision had been reached, though Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said it was "generally accepted" that no vote would be taken before the election.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the number two Democrat, added that "the likelihood of our passing anything by way of tax extensions is very, very slim." Like many of his colleagues, however, he said no final decision was reached. "Harry will make the final decision," Durbin said.
The White House has been pushing hard for such a vote, circulating polling showing that a majority of Americans, including wide margins of independents, support extending the middle-class tax cuts. Ultimately, though, Democrats up for election feared an assault from the GOP that the party was raising taxes on "small businesses," even though a vanishingly small portion of those who would face a tax hike are real small businesses. But, in an age of 30-second commercials, it only takes one to stare into the camera and lament the effect of the tax change on hiring.
Two members of Democratic leadership -- Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) -- are facing tight races, as are Sens. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).
Two Democratic aides said that Feingold has been arguing behind the scenes that the vote should not be held before the election, but a Feingold aide denied that charge, saying that his boss isn't afraid of the vote. "Senator Feingold has informed Majority Leader Reid directly that he would prefer to vote on extending the expiring tax cuts before the elections and that he is ready and willing to vote whenever leadership decides to have that vote," he said. "Senator Feingold has made his position clear - he supports extending the middle class tax cuts and he thinks we should find a way to pay for them. But he opposes extending tax cuts just for the wealthiest Americans, which would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit and do little to help the economy."
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said that, politically, now is the wrong time for a vote on taxes -- not because of the substance, but because of the potential for the GOP to "mischaracterize" the vote. "I actually believe that a vote on taxes right before the election is - and I'm not up [for re-election] - because the message can be manipulated and it's such a hot-button issue, that even, let's say a hypothetical bill, something everybody agreed with, somebody would find a way to micharacterize it. I think with taxes, particularly in this economy, candidates should commit [to voting a certain way] and that's fair, but I think to pass it before the election is a mistake," she told reporters on her way into the caucus meeting.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/23/democrats-look-to-punt-on_n_736356.html