Two top surrogates for President Barack Obama found themselves in a
political firestorm this week when they were accused by Republicans of
breaking with the president in calling for an extension of the Bush-era
tax cuts.
Although President Bill Clinton and former National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers quickly walked back their comments, the damage was done: Republicans seized on the remarks to put pressure on Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to act on a short-term extension of the 2001 and 2003 cuts before November.
The fuss served as a preview of the GOP’s election-year strategy, as the House lines up a July vote to extend all the cuts. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) joined House GOP leaders to call on Obama to extend the tax cuts. McConnell said that in 2010 negotiations with Vice President Joseph Biden to extend the tax rates, the administration argued that the economy needed it. Now, he said, the economy is worse than it was then.
“It’s pretty obvious that the economy needs the certainty of the extension of the current tax rates for at least a year,” McConnell said.
“It’s really important that we provide certainty to job creators in our country,” Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) echoed.
Such a full extension will likely be one of the last votes Members take before they leave for the August recess. “Whenever the vote on stopping the largest tax hike in history occurs, I would hope that many Democrats join former President Bill Clinton and Republicans in opposing it,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said.
Democrats are already on guard. Rep. Robert Andrews (N.J.) conceded that forcing Democrats to vote on the subject “will put some in a tough political spot.” But, he added, “to run that sort of political play that close to an election in the midst of global economic turmoil is pretty bad and sick.”
The White House pushed back hard.
Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_147/GOP-Democrats-Lay-Out-Tax-Cut-Stances-215136-1.html?pos=hbtxt
Although President Bill Clinton and former National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers quickly walked back their comments, the damage was done: Republicans seized on the remarks to put pressure on Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to act on a short-term extension of the 2001 and 2003 cuts before November.
The fuss served as a preview of the GOP’s election-year strategy, as the House lines up a July vote to extend all the cuts. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) joined House GOP leaders to call on Obama to extend the tax cuts. McConnell said that in 2010 negotiations with Vice President Joseph Biden to extend the tax rates, the administration argued that the economy needed it. Now, he said, the economy is worse than it was then.
“It’s pretty obvious that the economy needs the certainty of the extension of the current tax rates for at least a year,” McConnell said.
“It’s really important that we provide certainty to job creators in our country,” Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) echoed.
Such a full extension will likely be one of the last votes Members take before they leave for the August recess. “Whenever the vote on stopping the largest tax hike in history occurs, I would hope that many Democrats join former President Bill Clinton and Republicans in opposing it,” Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said.
Democrats are already on guard. Rep. Robert Andrews (N.J.) conceded that forcing Democrats to vote on the subject “will put some in a tough political spot.” But, he added, “to run that sort of political play that close to an election in the midst of global economic turmoil is pretty bad and sick.”
The White House pushed back hard.
Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_147/GOP-Democrats-Lay-Out-Tax-Cut-Stances-215136-1.html?pos=hbtxt
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