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The Republican tax panic

It’s certainly true that Republicans can’t stop a tax rate increase if Mr. Obama is determined to make it happen. The Bush-era rates automatically go up on January 1, and the House can’t extend them alone.

But Mr. Obama also can’t get what he wants without House Republicans. He needs their votes to extend current rates for lower-income taxpayers, as well as to prevent the Alternative Minimum Tax from hitting 27 million more taxpayers. Most of those new AMT taxpayers live in high-tax Democratic states. Meanwhile, the death tax rate reverts to 55% and a $1 million exemption. Senate Democrats running for re-election in 2014 won’t want that on their resume.

For all of his bluster about blaming Republicans, Mr. Obama also knows a budget failure would do enormous harm to his chances of second-term success. It would guarantee at least two more years of trench budget warfare and poison the chances of immigration or other reform. Another recession would be on his watch, not on George W. Bush’s.

The point is that Republicans have more leverage than they imagine, and they ought to act like it.

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We should go over the cliff. Does anybody know how many people would start paying`federal income tax again?

Valkyriepundit on December 10, 2012 at 8:06 AM

Where are all the trolls acknowledging Obama’s ownership of this debacle?

Galt2009 on December 10, 2012 at 8:06 AM

We should go over the cliff. Does anybody know how many people would start paying`federal income tax again?

Valkyriepundit on December 10, 2012 at 8:06 AM

Prominent oppressives like Howard Dean have already acknowledged that taxes have to go up for everybody – why does the Left still cling to the fantasy of just screwing the very wealthy?

Galt2009 on December 10, 2012 at 8:09 AM

The point is that Republicans have more leverage than they imagine, and they ought to act like it. A good start would be for the House to pass a bill this week extending all the tax rates for six months and fixing the defense spending cuts coming in January. Then ask Senate Democrats to pass their own bill, and they can negotiate with the President under regular Congressional order.

Republicans need not play along, and they and the country will suffer if they do. Above all, they need to start negotiating as a team with Mr. Obama and stop making premature concessions for the TV cameras that only make the White House less likely to meet them half way.

Galt2009 on December 10, 2012 at 8:11 AM

For all of his bluster about blaming Republicans, Mr. Obama also knows a budget failure would do enormous harm to his chances of second-term success. It would guarantee at least two more years of trench budget warfare and poison the chances of immigration or other reform. Another recession would be on his watch, not on George W. Bush’s.

The point is that Republicans have more leverage than they imagine, and they ought to act like it.

The problem with that premise is it assumes A)the media will report on the country going over the fiscal cliff in a fair and impartial manner and B)the American public at large has any clue what the hell is going on. If the last 4 years should have taught us anything it’s that the Democrat/media complex will do anything to protect Obama(even ignore the sacking of a US consulate by terrorists and the subsequent coverup!) and that at least 51% of the electorate is dumb enough to go along with it.

Doughboy on December 10, 2012 at 8:21 AM

I worry that the country would be so vulnerable to any sort of aggression by going over the cliff that we’d all regret it in a few years. If you give him his idiotic tax hikes but with the cuts needed to cut the deficit to zero for FY 2013 then he looks bad for rejecting it at the very least.

DHS, Energy and the EPA can all do with major cuts for instance without damaging the country or Republican chances at election in 2014 in my opinion.

DeathtotheSwiss on December 10, 2012 at 8:28 AM

Don’t you mean “reeeveeenuuee” panic?

Dongemaharu on December 10, 2012 at 8:31 AM

The problem with that premise is it assumes A)the media will report on the country going over the fiscal cliff in a fair and impartial manner and B)the American public at large has any clue what the hell is going on. If the last 4 years should have taught us anything it’s that the Democrat/media complex will do anything to protect Obama(even ignore the sacking of a US consulate by terrorists and the subsequent coverup!) and that at least 51% of the electorate is dumb enough to go along with it.

Doughboy on December 10, 2012 at 8:21 AM

The problem is too much worry over what the media will say or how the party will look, rather than putting what is good for the country first.
The republican party’s image has already been tarnished by the media and it is past the time to put the country first.
Here is the required simple two step sequence.
1, fix the country
2, fix the image

oldernwiser on December 10, 2012 at 8:55 AM

Tax ‘em all, Tax ‘em all, Tax ‘em all.
Tax the rich, California, and St. Paul.
Tax all the brokers and libruls I say.
Don’t leave any money to sequester away.

We’ll be saying hello to them all,
As back to the congress they crawl.
They have all our money, there’s none left for us.
Never the less tax them all.

Old Country Boy on December 10, 2012 at 9:12 AM

The Republicans could start by defunding, say, the Department of Education. Then it’d be the Democrats’ turn to negotiate – on everything – from a position of weakness.

But the Republicans are, unfortunately, the Republicans.

PersonFromPorlock on December 10, 2012 at 9:25 AM