Is conservative opposition to Plan B purely a question of timing?
But here’s the rub. If Republicans voted for “Plan B” on Thursday, many conservative activists would have attacked them for agreeing to raise taxes. But after January 1st, once taxes go up, Republicans could strike a deal with Obama that would raise revenue by double or triple the amount of “Plan B,” and it wouldn’t be seen as breaking their promise. In other words, this whole debate is being driven not by whether conservatives could get a better deal before or after the new year, but by the technicality that the same piece of legislation that would be construed as a tax hike on Dec. 31 would be considered a tax cut on January 1.
This is short-sighted. Conservatives should be dictated not by such technicalities, but by trying to keep taxes as low as possible for as many people as possible under difficult circumstances. To start with the most obvious reason, conservatives want Americans to keep more of their earnings, rather than giving more money to government. From a longer-term policy perspective, they should want the Congressional Budget Office’s baseline revenue projections to come out of this fight as low as possible, so future tax reform can be based around a lower revenue target.
I had a friendly exchange with Hugh Hewitt about this on Twitter last night, and when I made the point that policy outcomes – specifically, limiting the dollar value of tax increases – should be more important than the technicality of when a vote is held, he replied, “Have to disagree. The key is honoring your campaign commitments on taxes, spending and especially Defense.”
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The key is honoring the *spirit* of those promises, not the *letter* of them
SuperBunny on December 21, 2012 at 12:10 PM
Grover Norquist’s tax pledge is perhaps the silliest thing in American politics today.
vegconservative on December 21, 2012 at 12:10 PM
Nope, not any longer. At this point, conservatives should be pushing for the highest level of taxation possible on every single American possible. Particularly the lower income brackets which pay none almost none.
At this point, we cannot get rid of the runs on candy so it is time to start making the people eating the candy pay for the candy.
At this point, the kids need to be corrected, and a little bit of doing chores seems right in line. That is conservative today.
astonerii on December 21, 2012 at 12:13 PM
If my taxes go up I will place full blame on the GOP. Democrats want to keep my taxes where they are, the GOP is stopping them from doing so, which means the GOP is going to raise my taxes. Thanks a lot.
CoffeeMan on December 21, 2012 at 12:14 PM
Going to guess you are not a Republican. You deserve to pay higher taxes.
Why on Earth the Republicans spend their time protecting the enemy from their own consequences which would correct their behavior is beyond me.
astonerii on December 21, 2012 at 12:16 PM
Not a question of timing, a question of sanity. Thereby giving Bronco Bama and the progs a win.
tommy71 on December 21, 2012 at 12:20 PM
Yup, blame whoever you like, CoffeeMan, but everyone who still has a job (even part-time) needs to pay dearly for this beautiful utopian society brought about by the lightbringer…
Fallon on December 21, 2012 at 12:22 PM
Nice to see a contribution from the low-information side. Welcome to Hot Gas!
If the Democrats want to keep your taxes where they are, then how come 80-90% of the work to avoid the fiscal cliff is being done by House Republicans? Reid and Obama just simply have the job of shaking their heads at everything that the Republicans pass through.
Axeman on December 21, 2012 at 12:33 PM
I strongly disagree as a conservative. The public thinks the solution lies in hiking taxes, because they are refusing to accept specific spending cuts that would be significant enough to have an impact. Time to demonstrate that even the harshest of tax increases will not resolve the issue- and it should impact ALL taxpayers.
michaelo on December 21, 2012 at 12:36 PM
Timing doesn’t matter. Obama and Reid will pass something before the cliff and it will be a worse deal than plan B. But off course those principled objectors wont take blame for that. Nope they’ll still blame Boehner.
Zaggs on December 21, 2012 at 12:37 PM
Besides, you’ll just be getting back those budget-balancing, growth-of-the-90s Clinton rates. Why wouldn’t you be happy about that? It’s Clinton-approved!
“The Clinton tax rates. You know they work!”
So tell me this, all of Bush’s tax cuts went to the rich, and we had prosperity under Clinton (gag), but you think you’re going to lose something by going back to Clinton’s tax rates?
Consistency really isn’t in your sides forte. Luckily for that, you have the media for people to check their facts against.
Axeman on December 21, 2012 at 12:39 PM
The entire goal of the Democrats in this debate is getting the Republican Party to abandon its principles.
Anybody with a sixth-grade math education can see that nothing Obama is proposing is going to cure the current deficits. The only reason he has for shoving an $80-billion-a-year tax increase on “the rich” down Republican throats is get them to “sign on” to the premise that insufficient taxation is the primary problem with the budget.
Ironically, the Clinton-era tax rates that Democrats touted for years as almost solely responsible for the prosperity and surpluses back in the 90s, are now being sold to us by the same Democrats as a complete disaster for the middle class.
And the Republicans who actually created the current Bush rates over fierce Democratic opposition, and wanted to make those rates permanent multiple times (again blocked by the Democrats) are now being held up as the only reason these wonderful tax rates are going away (“My2K”).
Congratulations to the Democratic leadership. This is almost a work of art.
New slogan for the Democrats:
“The Democratic Party: fighting like hell to protect the middle class against Clinton’s tax rates.”
tbrosz on December 21, 2012 at 12:40 PM
Like Obama would negotiate any nicer just because Boehner got a bill passed that raised taxes. At that point he would push Boehner to move further. In for a penny in for a pound. We get rolled.
No point in moving closer to Obama until he is actually at the negotiating table.
Let me guess, you go into a car dealership, look at the price on the sticker and begin by offering a 10% markup?
astonerii on December 21, 2012 at 12:40 PM