Another one of my recurring problems with the Professional Left, remains how hair-trigger they are when it comes to rumors and gossip.
Right now the blogosphere is alive with notions that the President is dead set to cave on the Tax Cuts for the Rich.
Has he said anything about this? No.
Has he done anything in this direction? No.
Are we freaking out anyway? Yes, most definitely yes.
Okay. First off, chill.
Second, New Rule (thank you, Bill Maher) no more freaking out about what you think the President is going to do, you can only freak out about things the President has done.
Now, I don't want to make the New Rule hard and fast. If you hear something you don't like, I encourage people to call their Senators, call their Congressman, call Harry, call Nancy and call the White House. You should voice your displeasure at even the hint of what you don't like. You should do so politely, and then you know what you should do?
You should hang up, go about your day, and wait and see if your fears are grounded in any sort of fact.
Is it possible the President is caving on the Tax Cuts for the Rich? Sure, but do we know that yet? All we've heard is Republican Talking Points. Robert Gibbs didn't seem too concerned at his Press Briefing and reiterated that...basically...Congress plenty of time to do its job...all of it.
The best resolution to this Tax Standoff is this: Permanent Extension of the Tax Cuts for the Middle Class, and a tax hike on the rich to Clinton Era levels. (There's a lot of give in this definition).
Second best resolution, failing to get any of the above? Letting the Bush Tax Cuts expire. Period.
Okay, here's what I want you to watch in next couple of days.
1) Just because Senate Republicans are threatening to hold everything up, doesn't mean that House Democrats (still in the uber-majority until the new year) are going to play along. All indications are that at this point, they ain't.
And here's the trick: if House Democrats do nothing, absolutely nothing at all, just sit on their hands and refuse to do any voting: we get the second best resolution.
For the Republicans to get what they want, Tax Cuts for the Rich, we have to participate...actively, and while there may be willingness on the part of too many Democrats to do just that, I don't think there's any way to force the current Speaker of the House (that'd be Nancy) to hold a vote to help the Republicans out.
That means, while you're celebrating the end of the New Year in a couple weeks, the Bush Tax Cuts will be dying off.
2) So, the question for us Lefties is, in order for us to actively participate in renewing these Bush Tax Cuts, what do we get? Your satisfaction with that answer is going to greatly determine your satisfaction with the outcome.
I think the reason the Republicans mysteriously postponed their meeting with the President for two weeks was to push it as close to the deadline as possible, and force urgency into the discussion. They think we're scared of letting the Bush Tax Cuts expire, and lets be frank...to many Democrats are.
But not all of us.
So the question remains, what do we get?
The problem with taking hostages is that the Hostage taker turns into a hostage themselves.
If they want their precious tax cuts for the rich, then agreeing to DADT Repeal, the DREAM act, the START Treaty and Unemployment Benefits extension hostage, are the starting point for negotiations.
I want them all, but I'll settle for...well, all.
Another important thing, the Presidency cannot allow itself to be taken hostage. I sets a terrible precedent for getting rolled in the future. Now, I don't particularly need for the President to bust balls in public. (My leftward friends do, that's been a source of tension between us).
But at the end of the day, I need to see what the President has gotten in exchange for a Temporary Extension of the Tax Cuts for the Rich.
Show me that list, and I'll show you how happy I am.
But if there's no list, the President is going to have a major problem on his hands, and it won't be from Republicans. He told us during the Campaign that these Tax Cuts were dangerous. For him to turn around, extend them, and get nothing in exchange? Not only is it hard to believe, but its so extreme that it calls into question his ability to lead.
I don't think that's the case, so...wait for the list.
