President Obama and Congressional Democrats have accused Republicans of holding middle-class tax cuts and an increase in unemployment benefits hostage in order to get tax cuts for the wealthy. Here’s the Prez on why he agreed to an extension of the Bush tax cuts for all Americans:
I’ve said before that I felt that the middle-class tax cuts were being held hostage to the high-end tax cuts. I think it’s tempting not to negotiate with hostage takers, unless the hostage gets harmed. Then people will question the wisdom of that strategy. In this case, the hostage was the American people, and I was not willing to see them get harmed.
But today the Associated Press reports that Democrats are holding those same benefits hostage in order to get a tax increase on the wealthy:
Angry House Democrats staged a noisy revolt Thursday against President Barack Obama’s year-end tax cut agreement with Republicans, pledging to block a vote unless there are changes to scale back billions ticketed to help the rich. The White House still predicted quick passage.
“If it’s take it or leave it, we’ll leave it,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, after a closed-door meeting in which rank-and-file Democrats chanted, “Just say no.”
When the Republicans said they would not vote for middle-class tax cuts and the extension of unemployment benefits unless tax cuts for the rich were included they were called terrorists.
Now that Mr. Doggett and the Democrats say they won’t vote for middle-class tax cuts and the extension of unemployment benefits unless the rich are excluded what do you suppose it’s called?
So far I haven’t heard the phrase hostage-taking.
The hypocrisy is so thick in D.C. you can cut it with a butter knife.
1 response so far ↓
1 Lee // Dec 16, 2010 at 5:04 pm
It’s a completely different situation now. It’s not the GOP doing the hostage taking/holding. It’s the Democrat Party.
And, as we all know, the Democrats are all “special people”.