Democrats have openly admitted that their top political objective is to get Republicans to give up their no-tax-hike position.
You would think, therefore, that Republicans would instinctively recognize that they should hold firm. After all, when your enemy wants you to do something, it’s not because he has your best interests at heart.
But there’s a reason that the GOP is known as the “stupid party” and this year’s tax fight may give them an opportunity to further demonstrate their ineptitude. Especially because Democrats have launched a two-pronged attack in hopes of bullying Republicans into surrender.
- Democrats are saying that there will be automatic cuts to the defense budget (sequestration) unless Republicans agree to raise taxes.
- Democrats are saying that they’ll let all the Bush tax cuts expire at the end of the year – thus screwing all taxpayers – unless Republicans agree to Obama’s class-warfare proposals to soak the rich.
I’ve already dealt with the first threat, pointing out that the defense budget still grows by 17 percent over the next 10 years with a sequester, so there’s no need to surrender to a tax hike (especially since the Pentagon accounts for 45 percent of global military spending).
As such, let’s deal with the second threat, which is actually a repeat of the fight we had back in 2010. Back then, Republicans said that extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts was an all-or-nothing proposition, while Democrats issued their own ultimatum and said that the rich should be hit with higher tax rates.
Republicans won that fight, even though they were heavily outnumbered in both the House and Senate. So why, given that they control the House and have many more seats in the Senate, isn’t this year’s fight an easy win for the GOP?
Beats me, but the Democrats are playing hardball, perhaps because they think a fight over class warfare is a good way of distracting voters from the weak economy.
One of the Senate’s top Democrats, Patty Murray of Washington, has thrown down the gauntlet and stated that her colleagues are willing to push all taxpayers off the fiscal cliff. Here’s some of what the Wall Street Journal opined about her remarks.
Democrats must feel really good about their election chances, because their latest campaign strategy is to say how willing and eager they are to leap off the January tax cliff. They’re all but daring Republicans to make the Democrats’ day by refusing to raise taxes before the election. …In a speech at the Brookings Institution, she declared that if Republicans won’t raise taxes on income above $250,000 before November, Democrats will gladly let all of the Bush tax rates expire at the end of the year—even on the middle class, and no matter the economic consequences.
The editors at the WSJ are mystified as to why Democrats are willing to undermine an already weak economy with an election just a few months away.
The Murray Democrats are the ones holding the middle-class rates hostage to a GOP vote to raise taxes on the affluent. …Mrs. Murray may think she’s putting Republicans on the political spot, but her real hostage is the already weak economy. Growth in the first quarter was a mere 1.9%, and economists have steadily downgraded their expectations for the second. As the tax cliff approaches, the policy uncertainty is already causing businesses to hold off on hiring and investment. Even the Keynesians at the Congressional Budget Office say that if all of the Bush tax rates expire, growth will fall close to recession territory.
Since the Democrats aren’t coming to me for advice, I’m not sure about their motives. Are they so wedded to class-warfare tax policy that they’re willing to sacrifice other goals in hopes of penalizing success?
Or are they playing a clever political game, figuring that a GOP surrender on taxes will generate so much discord on the right that it will more than offset any electoral downside of a weaker economy?
I suspect the answer to both questions is “yes,” but mostly to the second question. Which is why this Lisa Benson cartoon is an appropriate way to conclude this post.
P.S. You can find more Lisa Benson cartoons here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
P.P.S. If you somehow think that higher taxes are necessary because it’s impossible to otherwise balance the budget, I hope you’ll change your mind when you learn we can balance the budget in just 10 years if politicians merely limit spending increases to 2 percent annually.
[…] Benson did this cartoon, and you can review some of her best work here, here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, […]
[…] P.S. You can see some of my favorite Benson cartoons here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. […]
[…] P.S. You can see some of my favorite Benson cartoons here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. […]
[…] can see some of my favorite Benson cartoons here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, […]
[…] fiscal policy, but still an excellent contribution to the debate. I also very much like her fiscal cliff cartoon, this Keynesian economics cartoon, and this one about jump-starting the economy with tax […]
[…] fiscal policy, but still an excellent contribution to the debate. I also very much like her fiscal cliff cartoon, this Keynesian economics cartoon, and this one about jump-starting the economy with tax […]
[…] Senator Patty Murray Wants the GOP to Do a Belly Flop off the Fiscal Cliff […]
[…] of the list, except taxpayers were tricked into voting for the referendum. I very much like this fiscal cliff cartoon, this Keynesian economics cartoon, and this one about jump-starting the economy with tax hikes. But […]
[…] can see some of my favorite Benson cartoons here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, […]
[…] Benson did this cartoon, and you can review some of her best work here, here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, […]
[…] can see some of my favorite Benson cartoons here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, […]
[…] P.S. You can see some of my favorite Benson cartoons here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. […]
[…] cartoons here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, […]
[…] Senator Patty Murray Wants the GOP to Do a Belly Flop off the Fiscal Cliff […]
[…] funny Lisa Benson cartoons can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, […]
[…] of the list, except taxpayers were tricked into voting for the referendum. I very much like this fiscal cliff cartoon, this Keynesian economics cartoon, and this one about jump-starting the economy with tax hikes. But […]
[…] of the list, except taxpayers were tricked into voting for the referendum. I very much like this fiscal cliff cartoon, this Keynesian economics cartoon, and this one about jump-starting the economy with tax hikes. But […]
[…] funny Lisa Benson cartoons can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, […]
Reblogged this on Another Political Blog.
[…] by some amusing cartoons, I’ve already warned that the hysteria about the fiscal cliff is basically a ploy by the politicians to extract more revenue to finance bigger […]
[…] can see some of my favorite Benson cartoons here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, […]
[…] The only good cartoons I’ve seen about the fiscal cliff can be seen here and […]
[…] by some amusing cartoons, I’ve already warned that the hysteria about the fiscal cliff is basically a ploy by the politicians to extract more revenue to finance bigger […]
[…] by some amusing cartoons, I’ve already warned that the hysteria about the fiscal cliff is basically a ploy by the politicians to extract more revenue to finance bigger […]
[…] Benson did this cartoon, and you can review some of her best work here, here, here, here, here, here,here, here, here, […]
Reblogged this on Red For A Reason and commented:
Excellent perspective on the politics behind the fiscal cliff, and the Democrats’ willingness to hamstring the economy.
[…] funny Lisa Benson cartoons can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, […]
[…] funny Lisa Benson cartoons can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, […]
The scene is a public stage. Patti Murray is holding the middle class at knifepoint. Mitch McConnel is standing in front of The Rich, a much smaller group.
Patti shouts at Mitch, “If you don rob those rich people, I’m going to rob the middle class voters, many of whom support me”.
Mitch replies, “I suppose you must do what is in your heart”.
Democrats are on a sinking ship going into this election with Obamacare tied around their necks and the tea party firing people up about excessive regulations and taxes.
Here in Arkansas we have gone from 28 Republicans in the state house (out of 100 seats) to now 46 and on Nov 6th I bet we get 54 seats or more. When Mike Huckabee was here we had only 10 Republicans in the house but when Obama get elected President everything has changed.
Keep up the good work Dan. I love your blog and have posted hundreds of your posts. You and Milton Friedman are the power behind my blog.
[…] Senator Patty Murray Wants the GOP to Do a Belly Flop off the Fiscal Cliff […]
Reblogged this on Talon's Point and commented:
Republicans need to come out boldly and tell America “Ignore the Dems invitation to fear. The cavalry (you) are coming in Nov and the tax hikes will last just weeks.”