Conservatives Attack Tax Deal as Vote Nears

[ProSense]

Conservatives Attack Tax Deal as Vote Nears

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR

Even as it nears a critical vote in Congress today, the compromise tax deal worked out by President Obama and Republicans on Capitol Hill has some new enemies.

Conservatives.

Last week, the agreement was assailed by liberals who accused the president of giving away the store by agreeing to a temporary extension of tax breaks and reductions in the estate tax, both of which will benefit the wealthy.

But with a critical procedural vote scheduled for Monday afternoon in the Senate, some Tea Party activists and other conservative pundits are attacking it from the other side.

A group called the Tea Party Patriots is circulating a petition accusing Republican lawmakers of cutting a bad backroom deal with the president that violates the principles that Tea Party candidates campaigned on in the midterm elections.

“’The Deal’ revives the death tax, an immoral ‘vampire tax’ that sucks the blood from the dead, ruins family businesses and double taxes savings that were accumulated over a lifetime,” the petition says. “‘The Deal’ spends billions and billions of dollars that the country does not have in order to prevent a tax hike that the country voted against.”

Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio host, said the tax deal “should not happen.” On his show Friday, Mr. Limbaugh blasted the Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill for giving in too much to Mr. Obama.

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[emulatorloo]

1. DeMInt is pissed because he wants to turn unemployment into a "Loan Program"

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2010/12/demint-a-no-on-tax-deal.html

He doesn’t like the fact that the tax cut extension is temporary and he doesn’t like the extension of unemployment insurance.

“I don’t think we need to extend unemployment any further without paying for it, and without making some modifications such as turning it into a loan at some point. It then encourages people to go back to work,” DeMint said. “The biggest problem I have, Hugh, is we don’t need a temporary economy, which means we don’t need a temporary tax rate. A permanent extension of our current tax rates would allow businesses to plan five and ten years in advance, and that’s how you build an economy.”

Even the estate tax provision – which has enraged liberals because it would cut the scheduled increase in the estate tax from 55 percent to 35 percent and only apply it to estates valued at over $5 million – doesn’t satisfy DeMint.

“It raises the death tax,” DeMint says, presumably because this year, in an anomaly, the estate tax is zero percent.

[Renew Deal]

7. Unemployment is a loan program.

The money is loaned to the governent and the people that need it get it back when they need it.

[DBoon]

15. a clever way to bring back indentured servitude, right?

nt

[emulatorloo]

16. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. eom

[Cirque du So-What]

2. There's no pleasing these fuckheads

Ironic that they're accusing the repugs of capitulation to the Democrats...not to mention psychotic.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Hallmark of a "successful" negotiation: Nobody's happy with the result.

This wisdom came from my mother, who was the president of the Board of Education and had to negotiate every year with the teachers' union for salaries. Both the Board and the Union hated what they walked away with, so neither side could claim "victory".

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Most of the hypocritical repukes are thrilled with the deal...

[BrklynLiberal]

4. The ultimate irony would be if this tax deal was killed by the RWingnuts

after so many of the Dems caved and were willing to vote for it...

[Recursion]

18. How would it be ironic?

It would mean the GOP woke up to how much we got out of it compared to what they got.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

6. Chuckle.

But not only conservatives.

Valiant effort. :thumbsup:

[jenmito]

8. Rec up to 0. Sorry to see so many here are unrec'ing this thread-probably because

they're ashamed that they agree with the likes of Rush Limbaugh.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. Bump For The Drugster's Acolytes

.

[Arkana]

10. Shock and awe, they're arguing that the GOP gave up too much.

The argument sounds all too familiar.

A good compromise leaves everyone mad.

[hughee99]

11. Bad compromises often do too. n/t

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. That Doesn't Make Sense As A Factual Matter

If it's a bad compromise that means one party benefited at the expense of the other and the party that benefited would be happy.

That's just common sense...

[hughee99]

13. I disagree,

In congress, there are often bad compromises in which no one really gets what they want, but they pass them anyway so they look like they're "doing something" about an issue.

The health care bill was one, and I expect the resulting bill from the "cat food" commission will be another.

The fact that everyone is unhappy doesn't necessarily mean it was a good compromise.

[Kali]

17. not really

the laws of unintended consequences can easily result from bad compromises where everybody loses.

a bad compromise CAN be one-sided, but just the word compromise means sides are losing things, there can easily be bad compromises where both (all) sides lose more than they gain.

[Phx_Dem]

14. Interesting to see progressives and teabaggers, including Limbaugh, in agreement!

:puke:

[Union Scribe]

19. Actually, you're the one in agreement with them

Because you think that the GOP gave up a lot in the compromise. Despite the fact that you have called progressives teabaggers in at least a handful of posts in the last 24 hours, you and they are the ones in agreement that this compromise favors Democrats. Critics like me don't think the GOP gave up nearly enough.

[sciencewins]

20. I can understand the Progressive Anger, but its Baffling why Conservatives

It's very strange. I see the death tax is mentioned as one reason but if i recall the estate tax has always been around and the super rich just wanted it eliminated.

From what i gather it seems the rich and the brainwashed (tea party) are just getting greedy...they want more..MORE!

As it stands progressives have legitamite reasons for being upset: social security cuts (and worst of all, set up for a fight to reform it in 2 years to keep those tax cuts in place), estate tax, tax cut for wealthy, deficit ballooning, etc.

[sciencewins]

21. Maybe it's a Clever Strategy by the Conservatives?

Maybe the conservatives are faking anger (crocodile tears) so as to balance the anger of the progressives and show that the bill is indeed bipartisan so it can ease the left anger and be able to pass? It would be a smart strategy since the left are very angry with it and the House is more likely than the Senate to not pass it unless something changes their mind: A) Sweetners or B)The Right show they hate the bill too with as much anger as the Left or C) Both A and B

[tularetom]

22. This issue is causing a dilemma

for those who make their decisions based on who favors or opposes a particular issue or policy.

Many were heartened when Pelosi was able to muster opposition among her caucus to this tax compromise and some were overjoyed when Bernie Sanders staged his mini filibuster attacking it.

But then to learn that Rush Limbaugh also opposes the "deal" just confuses the matter. Should we be for it? If we're against it we'll be in agreement with Rush Effing Limbaugh. Can't have that can we? Now we'll actually have to educate ourselves about the particulars of the proposal instead of taking a stance based on personalities.

Me? I grudgingly support it. I just hope the President has devised Plan B for when his buddies "across the aisle" turn on him and begin attacking him as a "tax and spend liberal" for extending unemployment benefits. This will be thrown back in his face big time for the next two years, especially if unemployment remains high.