After meeting Tuesday with President Obama,
liberal activists seemed confident of one thing: the president will
stand firm in his quest to end Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy and
extend them for the middle class at year’s end.
"We are very, very committed to making sure that the middle class and workers don't end up paying the tab for a party that we didn't get to go to, and the president is committed to that as well," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told reporters after the meeting.
But negotiations between Mr. Obama and congressional Republicans over the “fiscal cliff,” which begin on Friday, involve more than income taxes and deductions. The social safety net is on the line, and progressive groups, including big labor, are on high alert. The meeting with the president may have centered as much on warning him against making concessions on big social programs as on supporting him over tax hikes.
In fact, for the liberal activists who helped reelect Obama, the campaign isn’t over.
“MoveOn is staying fully mobilized after last week's election,” Justin Ruben, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action, said in a statement after meeting with the president.
Mr. Ruben said he appreciated “that the president again promised not to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class and the poor," adding that "our members are committed to defending Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security from any benefit cuts as part of a budget deal.”
Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2012/1113/Fiscal-cliff-for-Obama-and-liberals-a-wary-alliance
"We are very, very committed to making sure that the middle class and workers don't end up paying the tab for a party that we didn't get to go to, and the president is committed to that as well," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told reporters after the meeting.
But negotiations between Mr. Obama and congressional Republicans over the “fiscal cliff,” which begin on Friday, involve more than income taxes and deductions. The social safety net is on the line, and progressive groups, including big labor, are on high alert. The meeting with the president may have centered as much on warning him against making concessions on big social programs as on supporting him over tax hikes.
In fact, for the liberal activists who helped reelect Obama, the campaign isn’t over.
“MoveOn is staying fully mobilized after last week's election,” Justin Ruben, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action, said in a statement after meeting with the president.
Mr. Ruben said he appreciated “that the president again promised not to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class and the poor," adding that "our members are committed to defending Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security from any benefit cuts as part of a budget deal.”
Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2012/1113/Fiscal-cliff-for-Obama-and-liberals-a-wary-alliance
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