Republicans New Stance On Tax Cuts As Defined By Rep. Jeb Hensarling: 'Not All Tax Relief is Created Equal'

It's been the GOP's dominant meme after the 2010 midterm elections: cut government spending dramatically and endlessly cut taxes for the rich and corporations. They preach day after day that that's the only true job creation scheme in which America

It's been the GOP's dominant meme after the 2010 midterm elections: cut government spending dramatically and endlessly cut taxes for the rich and corporations. They preach day after day that that's the only true job creation scheme in which America should consider. They mask it with hazy words that cover up their real intentions like their latest bogus con called the "Cut, Cap and Balance" constitutional amendment. Frank Luntz must be proud to see that one phrase repeated over and over again no matter what further destruction and harm will come to the 98% of working Americans.

Now as Labor Day approaches, Republicans are making it plain that they will not support extending the payroll tax holiday that will be proposed again by President Obama. Never mind that they had earlier called for it and it is in and of itself a Republican idea. The AP got a headline right for a change:

GOP may OK tax increase that Obama hopes to block





And what's the new rationale for the opposition?


Say, what? On Friday, I caught Haley Barbour counting Karl Rove and other conservatives as being part of the "liberal media" who attack Christian politicians like Rick Perry. If that's not Bizarro-world enough, now we have a new definition of what tax cuts are out. It's a brave new world out there in GOPuniverse. It used to be that journalists beat this behavior down, but not really any longer. They've thrown good journalistic techniques aside for the much easier BSDI brand of reporting. (Both sides do it.) I was encouraged that the AP got it right in this instance. Let's see what happens as the speech approaches and passes. And let's face it, the Republicans have been getting away with so much since the madness of the August town halls on HCR that they probably will get away with it with the Villagers' help. After watching David Axlerod on ABC Sunday, are you fired up about moving forward?

Digby writes:


And as for the inevitable critics who say that I'm being cruel and unfeeling by saying that Republicans don't care about the pain of the average person, get a load of this:




Steve Benen has a piece on this story and Kevin Drum adds a different flavor to the debate. John Cole writes : A Tax Cut They Don’t Like

Charles Krauthammer is outraged when Obama tells Americans that Republicans are bad faith player. What they did on the debt ceiling cost this country a lot. I guess the truth does hurt Krauthammer after all.

About John Amato

