Vulnerable Democrats ask Congress, Obama to extend Bush tax cuts

[Robbien]

Two House Democrats in tough reelection races are asking Congress and President Barack Obama to extend the Bush administration tax cuts.

Reps. Bobby Bright (D-Ala.) and Mike McMahon (D-N.Y.) asked members in a “Dear Colleague” letter Thursday to support extending the tax cuts, which passed in 2001 and 2003 and are set to expire this year, for at least another two years. Specifically, Bright and McMahon are asking lawmakers to sign a letter to Obama asking him to include the tax cuts in his budget plans for 2010.

“Allowing these tax rates to expire during this recession runs the risk of curtailing economic expansion just when it begins to pick up and could lead to a ‘double dip’ recession,” says the letter to Obama.

In the letter to the president, the members say the Bush tax cuts should not be allowed to expire. That would put them in opposition to Obama’s stated plan of letting some of the tax cuts meant for the wealthy to expire while keeping breaks in place for the poor and middle class, consistent with his campaign pledge of not raising taxes for anyone making less than $250,000 a year.

Bright and McMahon’s letter is likely to earn backing from Republican-leaning business associations. For example, in releasing the letter to reporters, Bright’s office included a statement from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) praising the congressman.


http://thehill.com/homenews/house/77415-vulnerable-dems-want-extension-of-bush-tax-cuts

[tabatha]

1. No way !

[Ken Burch]

9. Well, these Blue Dogs are just serving the people who bought them.

They want to reward the people who've been staging a capital strike against a Democratic president(I.E., the "jobless recovery"), because that's what the people who own their immortal souls are insisting on.

[Deep13]

2. Are you all fucking kidding me?!

Damn, I've been saying that a lot lately.

The whole point (or at least one point) was to restore some responsibility to Federal spending and not to let the poor and middle class bear the greatest part of the tax burden.

[damntexdem]

3. Screw them!

Get rid of the tax cuts while there are still enough Dems to do it -- before the SCOTUS/corporate takeover is complete.

[Lasher]

4. Fuck no!!!! That is exactly the wrong thing to do.

I was just thinking, wouldn't it be great if would be great to just let them all die without doing anything at all to keep even the slightest bit of them going? Give the party of no a taste of their own medicine!

No more fucking concessions! No more anything that even might look like a concession! It's time to draw a line in the sand!

[dgibby]

5. That would be VERY unwise. n/t

[FormerDittoHead]

6. Why send the letter to Obama? I thought he was completely powerless? n/t

[BirminghamExaminer]

7. Bobby Bright doesn't surprise me

He was instrumental in getting the Hyundai plant in his area when he was mayor of Montgomery. He wouldn't have been able to do that without giving them a huge tax incentive. Alabama has one of the worst records (so it seems) on getting big business to the state using tax incentives to lure them in. Argh.

[lance_the_man]

8. Stimulus plan

Is this in response to the realization that the stimulus plan was a waste of time?