Conservative Democrats Strike Again (Updated)

[ProSense]

Conservative Democrats Strike Again (Updated)

Jonathan Cohn

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An article by Manu Raju, in Politico, quotes the three senators criticizing Obama’s jobs proposal. Part of the problem is the offsets: In order to pay for the school maintenance, tax breaks, and other efforts at stimulating the economy, Obama has proposed to raise taxes on the wealthy, starting in January 2016, or to have the new congressional super-committee propose an alternative. Apparently this is unacceptable to Landrieu and Webb, who fancy themselves fiscal conservatives but can’t stomach the idea of slightly higher taxes for the very wealthiest Americans.

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Update: My original item also discussed Delaware Senator Tom Carper, whom the Politico story quotes as saying "I think the best jobs bill that can be passed is a comprehensive long-term deficit-reduction plan. ... That’s better than everything else the president is talking about — combined."

But Carper staffers contacted me shortly after the item went live, arguing that their boss was far more enthusiastic about the Obama bill than the article suggested -- that Carper supports the proposal.

To make their case, they pointed to other statements Carper has made. After Obama's speech, for example, Carper told the Delaware News-Journal that "From cutting taxes for small businesses to creating more job growth, the American Jobs Act is a strong package that merits bipartisan and bicameral support."

So why did Carper decide to step all over his original message?