Republicans have already broken Grover Norquist’s pledge by offering to close tax loopholes, so why are they so dead set against letting the Bush tax cuts for the rich expire? Those tax cuts were never supposed to be permanent, and there are many wealthy people who think their taxes should go up. As this comic points out, they have been doing very well lately, and can afford to invest a little more back into their country. And everyone agrees that huge deficits are bad. So why is there an impasse?
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We know why there is an impasse. Not enough Republicans have actually repudiated Norquist.
They have been working for 26 years to lower taxes so they can create a debt crisis, and use the debt crisis to get the Democrats to agree to start dismantling Social Security, Medicare, and welfare. and now they are right where they wanted to be – revenues at 15% of GDP instead of 20%, and the debt crisis is forcing action.
They can’t give up now – this is the best chance they will EVER have to finish implementing the Norquist “starve the beast” plan. If they let taxes go up, it’s game over.
Fortunately for all of us, the game IS OVER. Taxes are going up January 1 and there is NOTHING Republicans can do to stop it. And Obama is holding firm on the issue and has made it clear he would rather go over the cliff than compromise on taxes rising on the rich. As a result, the sensible Republicans realize they are losing a bargaining chip and should make the best of it, while Norquist and the Tea Party are screaming to hold fast – and screaming with futility.
The end of Norquist’s scheme is in sight and I for one am a happy man.
the problem is that the current Republican party is a faith based organization. Its more of a religion than anything else. And with all religions, no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary, and no matter how much the beliefs are against your own best interest, changing beliefs takes an enormous effort.
TMF, I disagree, many of their voters are fundamentalists and vote Republican because of certain social issues (some fabricated), but the actual lawmakers are milking social issues for all they’re worth while pushing hard for their other agendas. That’s what I see.