"This is progress, making 84 percent of the Bush tax cuts permanent.” - Grover Norquist

[BlueStreak]

9. Everybody, PLEASE understand the big GOP strategy

They strategy is to lock us into a structural deficit and never agree to any tax increases. That means the only option is to cut government programs, and that means the safety net, education and lot of things we value.

Not a single penny of the Bush tax cuts should be made permanent because that just GUARANTEES that we will always run a deficit.

The right strategy was what the Senate passed earlier this year -- a one-year extension of the Bush tax cuts for incomes up to $250,000. As the economy improves, the rest of the Bush tax cuts could be allowed to expire, and that would put us back into a balance or surplus. And that, in turn, would make it impossible for the GOP to keep whacking at our programs.