Will Barack Obama's Tax Gambit Work? >
President's Tax Plan Protects 98 Percent of Americans
It's common sense vs. the GOP and the Cayman Islands vote
July 11, 2012
About Brad Bannon:
Brad Bannon is president of Bannon Communications Research, a political polling and consulting firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups, and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns.
This is hard for me, but it's time to admit the GOP is right. I am a class warrior and so is Barack Obama. I enlisted in the class war years after Mitt Romney's budget buddies, the bankers and billionaires, declared war against working families. I'm late to the fight, but better late than never. To use an expression my kids used back in the day: The GOP believes the Koch brothers rule and working families drool.
Let's take a close look at President Obama's new tax proposal. The president has asked Congress to approve his plan that would prevent 98 percent of Americans from paying higher taxes next year. If you listen to Republican criticism of the presidential proposal, you would think he just asked Congress to abolish motherhood and apple pie. GOP opposition to this tax cut proposal illustrates the fact that Republicans care more about hurting the president than they do about helping middle-class Americans.
[See a collection of political cartoons on Mitt Romney.]
Why is the GOP so hostile to a tax break for a large majority of Americans anyway? Aren't Republicans supposed to be in favor of tax cuts? The opposition to the president's tax cut plan reveals the stark difference in the economic philosophies of the two parties. The GOP believes that the best way to stimulate the economy is from the top down. The president believes that growth comes from the middle out.
Republicans will go to any length to protect the big businesses and big business people who fund their conservative super PACS to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Mitt Romney will also go to any length to protect his money. The Romney campaign mantra is "I believe in America" when it should be "I believe in America and bank in the Caymans."
If congressional Republicans kill the president's proposal, 98 percent of Americans will pay higher taxes next year. The GOP doesn't care. The party wants Barack Obama gone, even if it makes Americans pay the price.
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- Other Arguments
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#111224
No — Other Democrats understand Americans can't afford a tax increase
FORD O'CONNELL, Republican Strategist, Conservative Activist, and Political Analyst
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#27522
No — Americans are too smart to let Obama burden those who would supply jobs
STEPHANIE SLADE, Project Director at The Winston Group, a Political Strategy Company
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#34621
No — The Obama campaign is trying to deceive voters
LARA BROWN, Author of 'Jockeying for the American Presidency: The Political Opportunism of Aspirants'
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#52132
Yes — Americans understand that some have to pay a little more
PENNY LEE, President of Venn Strategies, a Government Relations and Public Affairs firm
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#51526
No — Obama is using Romney and super rich to distract from the economy
MATT MACKOWIAK, Republican Consultant and President of Potomac Strategy Group
