"The Obama tax cuts for the middle class"
Call them "the Obama tax cuts for the middle class."
Top Democratic leaders in the House are discussing using that phrase to rebrand President Obama's proposed extension of the Bush tax cuts for those making less than $250,000, senior leadership aides tell me.
The use of the phrase has the informal support of Nancy Pelosi and Majority Whip James Clyburn, and Pelosi has used the phrase in private meetings, leadership aides tell me. Rank and file House Dems are privately discussing the phrase. Top Senate aides also like the idea.
The concept behind the new phrase, which has been kicked around by liberal bloggers and others, is that calling them the "Bush tax cuts" cedes the rhetorical game to Republicans in advance. It obscures the history here -- the GOP built in the sunset of the cuts to begin with, to obscure their true costs. The new formulation would also do a better job of highlighting the fact that Obama is willing to extend tax cuts for the middle class now, while Republicans insist on linking that extension to one for the rich, a key distinction in the debate.
"The Bush tax cuts are sunsetting by design, due to legislation that almost the entire Republican leadership supported," one senior House Dem leadership aide says. "President Obama and the Democrats want to implement the `Obama tax cuts for the middle class.' It provides a nice contrast between what the current administration is proposing and what Republicans did in the past."
more:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/09/the_obama_tax_cuts_for_the_mid.html
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