Posted on 12/03/2012 8:24:00 AM PST by Sub-Driver
Republican Doomsday Plan: Cave on Taxes, Vote 'Present'
By Jonathan Karl | ABC OTUS News
Republicans are seriously considering a Doomsday Plan if fiscal cliff talks collapse entirely. It's quite simple: House Republicans would allow a vote on extending the Bush middle class tax cuts (the bill passed in August by the Senate) and offer the President nothing more: no extension of the debt ceiling, nothing on unemployment, nothing on closing loopholes. Congress would recess for the holidays and the president would face a big battle early in the year over the debt ceiling.
Two senior Republican elected officials tell me this doomsday plan is becoming the most likely scenario. A top GOP House leadership aide confirms the plan is under consideration, but says Speaker Boehner has made no decision on whether to pursue it.
Under one variation of this Doomsday Plan, House Republicans would allow a vote on extending only the middle class tax cuts and Republicans, to express disapproval at the failure to extend all tax cuts, would vote "present" on the bill, allowing it to pass entirely on Democratic votes.
By doing this, Republicans avoid taking blame for tax increases on 98 percent of income tax payers. As one senior Republican in Congress told me, "You don't take a hostage you aren't willing to shoot." Republicans aren't willing to kill the middle class tax cuts, even if extending them alone will make it harder to later extend tax cuts on the wealthy.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., an influential conservative House Republican, is already on record supporting extending the middle class tax cuts - with or without the upper income tax cuts. On Sunday, he said Republicans should embrace the extension of the middle class tax cuts and take credit for it.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
First, hold a vote extending the Current Tax Rates for everyone. Republicans all vote “Yes!”
Second, hold a vote to repeal all the Current Tax Rates and revert to the higher Clinton Tax Rates. Republicans all vote “No!”
Third, let a Democrat propose raising taxes on the rich. Republicans all Abstain.
That works for me. I’ve been recommending it for a week or two, explicitly, here.
That is where I am at with this. Let all the Bush tax CUTS expire.
Let those that have ran around screaming they were for the “rich only” find out that the 47% that are not paying ANY taxes now are going to be hit and hit real hard when these tax cuts expire.
Let Obama, Reed and Pelosi own it and eat it.
The Republicans need to be prepared to NOT extend the debt limit. With all the new “revenue” generated from the new “taxes” the debt limit should not be extended......./s
If the Republicans want to hike taxes, they should have the guts to say so in an open vote.
Because, deep down, I know that they all want to do this. I know that they are all a bunch of inside-the-beltway tax and spenders, and the only way they ever vote with the people is if we have a hammer in one hand and a club in the other.
If we let them raise these taxes through the back door by voting "Present", we will be giving them exactly what they wanted all along, and further we will be telling them that that hammer and club we have been waving around all this time is just for show. They will never do the right thing again (after arranging to be "forced" into various traps more often then an old episode of The Perils of Pauline)
Then watch people scream, I already know what it will cost us...
go here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2964507/posts
I hope that, at least, the GOP would insist that there be no “sunset” on the middle class tax cuts.
This “doomsday” plan MUST make those cuts permanent.
I want to see all the Liberal Loons scream when the CPA's give them the bad news, for this years AMT, let alone next years.
The money for their boat or vacation will be out the window.
Ditto the loss of income with higher deductibles etc as their company continues to tweak their health care because they can't afford the Obamacare Mandates.
Enjoy your new found Wealth Shared Prosperity Comrades!!!!
I think this would be a great idea, but the media is going to blame everything on the Republicans. When the economy tanks, people will have less money, and the media will blame the Republicans because they didn’t vote to just raise the taxes on the rich.
If only we had even a semi-educated public that would not believe the lies of the MSM, I’d have no problem with this. No matter what happens to the economy, it will NEVER be the Messiah’s fault. NEVER.
Sounds good to me.
Don't you get it? There doesn't need to be a vote on raising taxes on the rich (read small businesses). Under the current law the rates automatically revert back to the Clinton rates. The Dems don't have to propose anything on raising taxes for the rich. It is a fait accompli.
Let let government go over the cliff, pass a bill declaring the country insolvent, and disolve the Union. The Red States walk away and form their own country without any liberal input.
Let let government go over the cliff, pass a bill declaring the country insolvent, and disolve the Union. The Red States walk away and form their own country without any liberal input.
This is irresponsible. Tax bill do not originate in the Senate and the House should not bring up nor vote on any tax bill that originates in the Senate (even if the Senate would have to vote for it again to keep the constitutional illusion).
Instead, the House should pass an extension of ALL ratesand nothing else, send that to the senate, then adjourn (This would need to be done close to the end of the year since Obama has the power to call the House back into session). The Senate would then act or not act.
The republicans in the House of Representatives need to stop planning on playing games, and sieze that power that they hold, the power of the purse. They can starve the beast if they have the courage.
This is the equivalent of a game of tug of war where one side observes that the other is stacked with ringers and is going to pull them right into the mud. So the decide to just let go of the rope at the first pull, yell out “you win!” and let the other side fall on it’s @$$es.
I like it. Very similar also to the intentional walk in baseball. Especially the time(s) Babe Ruth (or maybe it was Gehrig?) was intentionally walked with the bases already loaded.
If we roll over on this, we will never stand up for anything.
When the debt ceiling comes in January, we will find ourselves manuevered into a similar crisis, and we will cave again.
And when President Obama wants a couple Trillion for his next hairbrained scheme, we’ll give him what he wants, just to make the beating stop.
This is it. This is the hill. This is where we make a stand. Either the tax rates stay, of we hit the gas, cliff be damned. Because if we cave here, there is no reason for the Democrats to think we will ever stand firm at any other point.
And in 2014, the Democrats will relieve us of any responsibility when the voters throw out useless Republican Congresscritters wholesale. Why would anybody vote for a representative who will not hold the line when the chips are down? I would rather have a real Democrat than a fake Republican, because at least I know where the Democrat stands.
I think we need to outlaw this voting “present” BS.
Let the middle class continue to get its tax breaks. Leave the scheduled spending cuts alone, and let those happen.
“to express disapproval at the failure to extend all tax cuts, would vote “present” on the bill, allowing it to pass entirely on Democratic votes. “
By voting present Republicans are TOTALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR PASSING IT!!!!
Agreed. That is a real plan. The Reps vote to extend the tax cuts (and make them permanent) and then go home. The Dems cannot blame the Reps for increasing taxes on the middle class and the Dems will then be placed in the position of preventing tax cuts for the middle class because they want to hold tax increases for the “rich” hostage at the expense of the middle class. The ball is then in their court.
If even one Republican votes in favor of the bill, the Democrats will then say it passed with "bipartisan support" , allowing them to spread the blame around when the s*** hits the fan.
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