Today in Washington, D.C. - Dec 2, 2010 - Dems Should Stop Pursing Liberal Wish Lists - Time To Stop The Tax Hikes

Rangel Is Guilty!!
Cartoon by William Warren

Congress is in session. Senate Democrats are taking long caucus sessions trying to determine proposed actions - not all are in agreement as detailed later.

Charlie Rangel (D-NY) is scheduled today to stand on the floor of the House and to be censured. He plans to first plead for a lesser action. In the House of Representatives, censure is essentially a form of public humiliation carried out on the House floor. Normally the House Speaker [Pelois - if she has the moxie perform this action against her liberal friend] reads out a resolution rebuking the member for the specified misconduct while the member must stand in the House well and listen to it. Rangel is very fortunate not to be in jail. In the history of the House, censure has been used 22 times ( only 3 of them being since 1966).

House Democrats are intent on forcing through tax legislation which will be DOA in the Senate because enough Senators will oppose the bill. In her last days as House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi is pandering to her liberal constituents and claiming now a desire to protect the middle class while opposing full tax relief and continuance of the present tax cuts for all Americans. Thank your American voters for sending enough Republicans to the US House, to have her removed as Speaker in the next session of Congress.

Democrat House leaders will attempt to force through a procedural motion (“rule”) that would prevent Republicans from offering a proposal to stop all the tax hikes scheduled for January 1st. A “yes” vote on the rule for the Democrats’ House tax bill is a vote to raise taxes and kill jobs. Speaker-to-be John Boehner (R-OH) summed it up as follows, "Instead of putting politics first and taking cues from liberal special interests, Democrats in Washington should think about following orders from the American people for a change."

The New York Times writes today, “Republicans threatened to block any legislation until a deal is reached to extend the expiring Bush-era tax cuts, potentially derailing the Democrats’ busy end-of-year agenda. The blunt threat was made in a letter to the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and signed by all 42 Senate Republicans. And it was reiterated by the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, in a speech in which he accused Democratic leaders and Mr. Obama of ignoring the midterm election results.”

The Times notes that “[t]he move put Democrats in a vise” and Politico reports, “Senate Republicans’ aggressive move to block virtually all business in the chamber has created a fresh round of partisan anger, threatening to derail or delay the rest of the Democratic agenda in an already gridlocked lame-duck session of Congress.”

The NYT reports that the “announcement drew howls of anger from Democrats who said it was just the latest evidence of Republican obstructionism. To emphasize their point, Democrats went to the floor and attempted to bring up numerous bills, including a measure to extend jobless benefits and a measure to promote clean energy. On behalf of his colleagues, Senator John Barrasso [R-WY] repeatedly voiced objections, blocking the bills and prompting a furious speech by Senator Claire McCaskill  [D-MO].”

Yet Democrats’ anger was all about the liberal wish list of bills they want to move forward on, it had little to do with recognition of the message voters sent a month ago about their priorities: addressing the struggling economy and the size of government.

As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell explained this morning, “Yesterday we watched a number of Democrat senators come to the floor and express their exasperation at not being able to do what they want to do around here. Astonishing. Let’s face it: Most Americans aren’t particularly interested in the things Democrat leaders have put at the top of their to-do list. They thought they put a restraining order on Democrat partisan priorities early last month. It’s time Democrats put the priorities of the voters first. . . . “In a couple of weeks the lights go out around here unless we do something to stop it. At the end of the month every taxpayer suffers a pay-cut unless we stop it. But Democrats would rather spend the Senate’s limited time on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and Immigration. They’d rather come down to the floor to talk about filibuster rules. So they still don’t get it — and that’s why Republicans are insisting we put these things aside and finish the most important and urgent legislation before time runs out.”

Indeed, Democrats’ continued inability to listen to what the American people are saying is on stark display with the political show vote on raising some taxes House Democrats plan to hold today. Even The New York Times described Democrats’ strategy as “scrambl[ing] to hold a series of symbolic votes aimed at showing Republicans defending lower taxes for millionaires.”

ABC News reported on the frustration Democrats’ move has generated with Republicans. “Republican leaders in Congress [Wednesday] ripped House Democrats for holding a politically-charged vote Thursday on extending the Bush tax cuts for middle-class Americans but letting them expire for the wealthy at year’s end. ‘I think it’s wrong,’ said House Speaker-to-be John Boehner. “It does undercut the conversations we had just yesterday to continue to play political games. The American people said on election day, “Stop the games. Stop the spending. Stop the looming tax hikes.”’ That argument was echoed by the Senate Republican Leader McConnell. ‘Regardless of what the majority tries to force House Republicans to do, it’s not going to go anywhere.  We are going to extend the current tax rates. We’re not going to raise taxes on anybody. The only thing we’re discussing now is just how long that extension will be.’”

Democrats should drop the political games and their liberal wish list and simply focus on the urgent priorities of Americans. As Sen. McConnell said today, “The Dream Act doesn’t create jobs. Filibuster rules don’t create jobs. Wasting time on votes to raise taxes won’t create jobs.” Giving business owners some certainty and preventing a massive tax hike on all Americans is what people are looking for and the right thing to do for the economy. How is it that so many Democrats still can’t understand that the American people have told them to focus on their priorities and not those at the top of the liberal Christmas list?

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