Left Wing Says Raise Taxes, Washington Dems Ask “How High?”

July 28, 2011

Democrats Appear Happy to Cater to Their Left-Wing Base to Curry Favor for the Next Election

House Democrats and the president continue to insist on tax increases in a debt reduction package, so much so that even Beltway pundits are taking notice of their stubbornness.
The reason why is that Democrats are beholden to radical left-wing extremists whose votes they need in the next election. These left-wing activists are fighting against any debt reduction plan that makes meaningful spending cuts, and Washington Democrats are happy to do as they’re told.
This constant catering to the left wing is just the latest evidence that Obama is concerned about one thing and one thing only in a debt-reduction deal: his re-election campaign.

House Democrats and the president continue to insist on tax increases in a debt reduction package, so much so that even Beltway pundits are taking notice of their stubbornness:

HOUSE DEMOCRATS STILL SAYING NO PLANS TO REDUCE DEFICITS WITHOUT TAX HIKES: “The head of the House Democratic Caucus pushed back hard Monday against plans to reduce deficits without new tax revenues.”

“Larson was quick to note that the tax-revenue hikes supported by Democrats wouldn’t kick in for a few years… ‘But they’re going to have to be included in any kind of balanced plan,’ he said. A cuts-only strategy, Larson added, ‘is just untenable.'” (Mike Lillis, “Larson: Debt plan must include revenues,” The Hill, 7/25/11)

OBAMA STILL CALLING FOR TAX HIKES: (“Address by the President to the Nation,” The White House, 7/25/2011)

BUT “NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT TAX INCREASES, EXCEPT BARACK OBAMA” AND HOUSE DEMS: “After hearing the president’s speech last night, CNN’s Gloria Borger pointed out that ‘nobody today is talking about tax increases, except Barack Obama.'” (Daniel Halper, “CNN: ‘Nobody is Talking About Tax Increases, Except Barack Obama,'” The Weekly Standard, 7/26/2011)

The reason why is that Democrats are beholden to radical left-wing extremists whose votes they need in the next election. These left-wing activists are fighting against any debt reduction plan that makes meaningful spending cuts, and Washington Democrats are happy to do as they’re told:

“DEMOCRATS FEEL PRESSURE FROM LEFT IN DEBT TALKS,” MOVEON.ORG MOBILIZING: (Jim Angle, “Democrats Feel Pressure from the Left in Debt Talks,” Fox News, 7/26/2011)

MOVEON “RALLYING OUTSIDE CAPITOL” ON THURSDAY. (Tweet from Dave Weigel, Twitter, 7/27/2011)

WHITE HOUSE ADMITS CAVING TO LEFT-WING “ACTIVISTS”: “Are you worried about activists tearing this — activists on your side of the aisle tearing it apart?” MR. CARNEY: “And theirs. And theirs.” Q: “But that’s why you didn’t — that’s why this hasn’t gone public?” MR. CARNEY: “You know how it works.”(“Press Briefing by Jay Carney,” The White House, 7/26/2011)

SUPPORT “SLIPPING” FOR OBAMA AMONG “STALWARTS” AND “THE NUMBERS ARE PLUMMETING IN THE PRESIDENT’S BASE”: “Even here in bluest Massachusetts, some of President Obama’s stalwarts say their support for the liberal darling is slipping — as a new poll suggests the numbers are plummeting in the president’s base and a call has emerged from the left for a primary challenge.” (Chris Cassidy, Hillary Chabot and Ira Kantor, “New Polls: Obama’s Off Base,” The Boston Herald, 7/27/2011)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): “GOOD IDEA” FOR OBAMA TO FACE A PRIMARY CHALLENGE. (Chris Cassidy, Hillary Chabot and Ira Kantor, “New Polls: Obama’s Off Base,” The Boston Herald, 7/27/2011)

AND “BLUE DOG” DEMOCRATS ARE NOW STRAY DOGS UNWELCOME IN THE DEMOCRAT CAUCUS: “Ross has chaired the so-called Blue Dog Coalition of fiscally conservative Democrats. The group’s membership shrank from 54 members in 2010 to about two dozen when the 112th Congress was seated in January, and their influence within the caucus waned.” (Mike Memoli, “Rep. Mike Ross Latest Conservative Democrat to Pass on 2012 Race,” The Los Angeles Times, 7/25/2011)

This constant catering to the left wing is just the latest evidence that Obama is concerned about one thing and one thing only in a debt-reduction deal: his re-election campaign:

POLITICO: OBAMA’S MONDAY SPEECH STUCK TO “THEMES OF 2012 CAMPAIGN,” “CAME AT AN AWKWARD TIME”: (Carrie Budoff Brown and Glenn Thrush, “Debt Ceiling Speeches: Obama Reasserts Himself, Boehner Pushes Back,” Politico, 7/25/2011)

WHICH IS NO SURPRISE, SINCE OBAMA’S ’08 CAMPAIGN MANAGER IS SPEARHEADING DEBT CEILING STRATEGY: “David Plouffe, the President’s 2008 campaign manager and now a senior adviser, has become the behind-the-scenes voice spelling out Obama’s new debt strategy.”(David Rogers, “Debt Talk Turns To Tax Reform,” Politico, 7/7/2011)

WHILE OBAMA’S CAMPAIGN TEAM IS TAKING A “LONGER-TERM VIEW OF DEBT CEILING POLITICS”: (Christina Bellantoni, “In Politics Of The Debt, Nobody Is Winning,” Roll Call, 7/26/2011)

GEITHNER: WE NEED A NEW CREDIT CARD TO GET US “THROUGH THE ELECTION”: (Remarks from Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace”, 7/24/2011)

OBAMA SAYS HIS TAX HIKES WON’T TAKE PLACE UNTIL 2013, AFTER HE’S RE-ELECTED: “So when you hear folks saying, well, the President shouldn’t want massive, job-killing tax increases when the economy is this weak — nobody is looking to raise taxes right now. We’re talking about potentially 2013 and the out-years.” (“Press Conference by the President,” The White House, 7/11/2011)