Senate Dem leader: We’re taking the middle class hostage
Let it be noted that the first “hostage taker” reference in this year’s debate over extending the current income-tax rates should be applied to Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, who made clear in a speech Monday at the Brookings Institution that she and other Democrats will make the middle class pay if they can’t raise taxes on “the rich.”
Murray is the fifth-ranking Senate Democrat, so I take her remarks seriously.
Here are the first two “key excerpts” from the speech as listed on a press release from Murray’s office (these and the entire speech are available here):
… if Republicans won’t work with us on a balanced approach, we are not going to get a deal. Because I feel very strongly that we simply cannot allow middle class families and the most vulnerable Americans to bear this burden alone.
and
So if we can’t get a good deal, a balanced deal that calls on the wealthy to pay their fair share, then I will absolutely continue this debate into 2013 rather than lock in a long-term deal this year that throws middle class families under the bus. And I think my party, and the American people, will support that.
Got that? Murray and her party don’t want the middle class to get thrown under the bus alone, but they are perfectly willing to throw the middle class under the bus so long as “the wealthy” are down there, too. That, in their view, is better than the status quo.
Before sticking to that position, Murray might want to brush up on recent evidence about what the American people will support (note in particular the breakdowns for groups such as 18-to-29-year-olds, Latinos and those earning less than $50,000 a year).
– By Kyle Wingfield
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161 comments Add your comment
Inside Out
July 18th, 2012
3:45 pm
@@,
America has ALWAYS been divided!!! The difference is that now the have nots have a means (The internet, social media outlets) to express their dis-satisfaction with the degree of the divide…..
Pizzaman
July 18th, 2012
3:46 pm
Where is Tiberius when you really need him. I ask again, and will continue to ask, what are the facts? How will Mitt pay the bills w/o raising taxes? How will Mitt create jobs? How will Mitt change the ACA? How will Mitt do anything he is currently claiming he will do? My guess. He has no idea and won’t have any plan in place until well after he’s elected, if … …….!
Frontman
July 18th, 2012
3:46 pm
DannyX, you may want to check the methodology on that Pew survey. Phone numbers were picked at random. Land lines accounted for 60% of the survey results, and when there was an answer on a land line, the Pew researcher asked to speak to the youngest person in the house age 18 or older. There is some other mumbo-jumbo in the methodology about weighting of the samples based on all kinds of junk. In short, sounds like a climate change paper to me. Also, only 58% of respondents were able to identify Obama as the one who wants to raise taxes on those making more than $250K. This makes it pretty clear that the sample was a dim-bulb sample as well. Then again, that may explain the 44% number thinking that raising taxes will help the economy…
stands for decibels
July 18th, 2012
3:48 pm
HD, thanks, I stand corrected.
That was 1835, so it’s been 177 years, not two hundred-plus.
Dusty
July 18th, 2012
3:49 pm
Ah that Ray of sunshine,
So sorry I judged you wrongly. I DID??? When it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and puddles like a duck, I assume it is a ducky Democrat. R U sure your name is not Donald?
——————–
ah BRUNO, el capitino and sweet tomatoE of medicine, I luvs U 2.
Ann Romney
July 18th, 2012
3:51 pm
What an outrage, trying to reduce the deficit by increasing taxes and cutting spending….doesn’t Sen. Murray know that she should be lowering taxes and increasing military spending like my husband proposes?
Now excuse me while I finish my taxes…..I have more equestrian training expenses to deduct.
Jefferson
July 18th, 2012
3:52 pm
Bruno, Sorry but I’m one who thing the court knows more than you. You don’t have to get all mad about it.
Jefferson
July 18th, 2012
3:52 pm
s/b thinks — love the edit feature.
@@
July 18th, 2012
3:53 pm
YOU’RE BOTH WRONG. End of discussion.
jay taking the easy way out.
Alrighty din! Reminds me of another jay, I know.
America has ALWAYS been divided!!! The difference is that now the have nots have a means (The internet, social media outlets)
Probably why they’re not securing their own fortune. From what I’ve been told, paid bloggers don’t make that much.
stands for decibels
July 18th, 2012
3:54 pm
I have more equestrian training expenses to deduct.
Hey, I’ll be rootin’ for your steed, week-after next. Politics ends at the water’s edge.
I demand to see Cheesy Grits Birth Certificate- Long Form Please
July 18th, 2012
3:56 pm
Alll I’ve got to say about Isakson and Chambliss, is this: If you don’t like them they must be good.
Yeah Chambliss is a real sweetheart.
He constantly called a man ( Max Cleland ) who lost both legs and his arm in Vietnam Un-American so he could get elected.
Meanwhile Chambliss didnt serve at all.
Of Course Georgia voters fell for it.
Bruno
July 18th, 2012
3:58 pm
ah BRUNO, el capitino and sweet tomatoE of medicine, I luvs U 2.
Thanks, sweet Dusty.
Now if I could just get @@ to be nice to me, I’d be in blog heaven.
Hillbilly D
July 18th, 2012
3:58 pm
America has ALWAYS been divided!!!
That I’d agree with. The only time this country has been united for any length of time was WWII, in my opinion. And that just lasted a few years.
ah BRUNO, el capitino and sweet tomatoE of medicine,
Is that name-calling. Perhaps we need a ruling here.
Dusty
July 18th, 2012
4:05 pm
DannyX, 3:44
A poll! A poll! My kingdom for a poll! So you found one. I could probably find a half dozen that prove Obama has wrecked the economy, bankrupted the nation and now whispers to Russians. Wanna bet?
So Democrats love Obama (yah..free food, homes & healthcare!) and Republican sigh (the debt! the debt!).
So sorry, Danny X, but polls are like the weather. The forecast is sometimes wrong!
Michael H. Smith
July 18th, 2012
4:06 pm
Those old jackboot fascist democrat hostage takers, how dare those Marxist! They want to throw America and the American middle class under the bus, pull the plug on granny and push Bill Clinton’s welfare reform as we knew it over the cliff.
@@
July 18th, 2012
4:07 pm
Bruno:
Now if I could just get @@ to be nice to me, I’d be in blog heaven.
Growing up, my Dad and brother offered this advice when it came to boys. “Always leave ‘em wantin’.”
(ISH)
1961_Xer
July 18th, 2012
4:07 pm
Republicans think the country needs more rich people. Democrats think the country needs more poor people.
Not quite.
Republicans think that the pool of money can grow, and that all those with the ideas/work ethic/business plans/etc to be rich can become rich.
Democrats think that the pool of money is fixed in size. You only “need” so much money. After that, you don’t “need” anymore, and for you to keep more means that other Americans and/or citizens of the developing world won’t have enough to meet their needs. They believe that once each person’s “need” is met that producing anymore harms the planet and should immediately stop.
Jim
July 18th, 2012
4:09 pm
This backwards! Republicans will not allow the middle class the tax break unless the very rich receive the tax break as well. If you have been following this discussion, you know it is obvious. Please do not misrepresent/cloud the positions of Democrats and republicans. Shameful journalism.
DannyX
July 18th, 2012
4:13 pm
“So sorry, Danny X, but polls are like the weather. The forecast is sometimes wrong!”
Dusty that is not very nice, I’m sure Kyle worked very hard on this current blog post. Why the disrespect for Kyle?
Michael H. Smith
July 18th, 2012
4:15 pm
Speaking of bankrupt I hear another city in the Socialist State of California is on the verge of having to declare insolvency or default on their bonds. Guess they’ve ran out of other people’s money to pay those union pensions, aye Kyle?
Then again perhaps the remainder of the John Galt society of Compton, Marxifornia all left the country taking their money with them to Central America.
Dusty
July 18th, 2012
4:16 pm
Hillbilly D, 3:58
Are you trying to get me moderated, evaporated and exasperated when I only want to be tolerated? Sob!! Will there be no justice in the Kingdom of Kyle!
But I forgive you. Just don’t tell Bruno that I luvs U 2.
Hillbilly D
July 18th, 2012
4:17 pm
The only polls that really matter are held the 1st Tuesday in November of even numbered years. The rest of them are just killing time.
Get Real
July 18th, 2012
4:18 pm
E&Y has already indicated what would happen if we raise taxes on $250K and up….go ahead…make the recession much worse than it is..
@@
July 18th, 2012
4:19 pm
Since the constitution within some cities prohibit bankruptcy, others are using “fiscal emergency” as a means to unburden themselves from the largesse of their public unions.
MarkV
July 18th, 2012
4:23 pm
I hope the Democrats in Congress will steel their spines and not cave in to the Republicans’ extortion this time.
Dusty
July 18th, 2012
4:27 pm
Danny X, 4:13
Speak not a harsh word against our Brother Kyle. After all, he PUTS UP WITH US EVERY DAY, That’s more than a mother can do most of the time. .
So he has a little weakness for polls. Well, it’s not as fattening as chocolate and more interesting than a picket fence. So calm yourself. Stand tall. The best is yet to come. President ROMNEY!!
JDW
July 18th, 2012
4:27 pm
@Bruno…I responded to your last post downstairs…
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
July 18th, 2012
4:30 pm
DannyX citing polls on how Americans feel on issues just proves that years of government education doesn’t really make people smarter.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right
July 18th, 2012
4:31 pm
And nice hyperbole, Kyle.
Kyle Wingfield
July 18th, 2012
4:31 pm
Sorry, folks, been writing tomorrow’s print column…
JDW @ 1:56: Where? Really?
“So if we can’t get a good deal … then I will absolutely continue this debate into 2013 …”
Tax rates go up Jan. 1. “Continue this debate” = everyone’s taxes go up.
Kyle Wingfield
July 18th, 2012
4:33 pm
Debbie @ 2:31: “a predominantly republican district”? As a senator, she represents the entire state of Washington — which, last time I checked, was not a GOP stronghold in the least.
Thomas Heyward Jr.
July 18th, 2012
4:34 pm
One Federal thug out of 10,000 American citizens can not take ANYONE hostage.
.
The sooner you Obama/Romney pansies figure this out………the quicker we can put these goons behind us.
.
Maybe the wimps in Brussels meekly obeyed.
This is America.
.
Molon Labe.
Jefferson
July 18th, 2012
4:35 pm
Tax increases are not that bad, I lived thru Pres Reagan’s, Pres Bush’s, President Clinton’s and the country didn’t turn into a pumpkin.
Kyle Wingfield
July 18th, 2012
4:37 pm
DannyX @ 3:28: Yep, saw that one. It says that a narrow plurality thinks a) raising taxes would not help the economy, and b) would not make the tax code more fair. (After all, if you think it will have no effect, you don’t think it helps or makes things more fair.)
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 18th, 2012
4:48 pm
Bruno- I understand all that very well, my comment was to remind everyone that with 26 or so dummycrat seats in play versus 6 Repug, the Senate is pretty much a foregone conclusion. That’s why Murray is shrieking hysterically.
Last chance to raise taxes, hahaha.
Stick in her a jar and put her on the shelf.
BW
July 18th, 2012
4:51 pm
Seems like everyone from both sides are in a hurry to see who can point out the most “outrageous” thing one side has said….all for what? Does this actually solve any problems or show a way forward? So it’s either my way or the highway….we’ll see if that actually holds up after the elections in November because we both know that if the current status quo Congress composition remains that both sides will be compromising to avoid the sequester and tax rate battle. By the way Kyle, equating (falsely I might add) Patty Murray’s statement with extremism pales in comparison to the witchhunt that the esteemed representative from Minnesota and our own Lynn Westmoreland are leading on Huma Abedin. If I were unbiased and had to make a call on which was more extremism, it wouldn’t even be close.
BW
July 18th, 2012
4:53 pm
I Report
I’ve seen as many as polls showing the Senate switching hands “a foregone conclusion” as I’ve seen of those giving Mitt enough electoral votes to win….not one.
@@
July 18th, 2012
4:55 pm
Andy:
Read your last sentence.
===================================
FYRE!
This comment got the lowest score on the AJC’s vent (which I didn’t know they still had).
“You guys can be so mean!”
Just so you know.
@@
July 18th, 2012
4:55 pm
Oops!
Reporter.
Bruno
July 18th, 2012
5:05 pm
Just don’t tell Bruno that I luvs U 2
Didn’t know you were a big Bono fan, Dusty. Or maybe you like the Edge……
PB got me good a few days ago when a Duran Duran song came on the radio. She asked me in a serious voice which Duran was my favorite…….
Just saying..
July 18th, 2012
5:06 pm
My goodness, Kyle. I guess this method of “negotiating with the another Party is…is…
truly unprecedented.
Lynnie Gal
July 18th, 2012
5:11 pm
Kyle, you and all worshippers of the wealthy that are begging for more tax cuts for millionaires are the same idiots who are running around scaring people about the deficit and government spending for the elderly and poor! You can’t have it both ways–either the deficit matters or it doesn’t. It doesn’t seem to bother you so much when it comes to tax breaks for millionaires.
Bruno
July 18th, 2012
5:13 pm
Well, we still haven’t gotten Kyle to crack and reveal his taste in music. PB has him pegged for a Trent Reznor fan, but I’m thinking more like Amy Grant. Not that there’s anything wrong with Amy Grant…….
For Dusty and @@, and any other ladies here (are there any other lady bloggers on board??). “Northern Sky” by the late, great Nick Drake:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3jCFeCtSjk
md
July 18th, 2012
5:15 pm
“Reporter–The Repubs are going to have to win the House, Senate AND the White House if we have any chance of repealing ObamaCare.”
I don’t agree Bruno…..Obama has shown the way……all that needs to happen is for Romney to get elected. Then, he can unilaterally decide not to enforce the hc law……….
JDW
July 18th, 2012
5:15 pm
@Kyle…”“So if we can’t get a good deal … then I will absolutely continue this debate into 2013 …””
Of course she should…if the Republicans are obstinate enough to turn down a tax decrease for 98% of the population she should keep trying into 2013.
If the Republicans choose that course I suspect they shall pay dearly…as do they…
Just saying..
July 18th, 2012
5:20 pm
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin…
July 18th, 2012-2:03 pm “The Senate won’t belong to the dummycrats in November so let this lib blow.
Give her the microphone.”
The next Congress is sworn in in November? Who knew?
Dusty
July 18th, 2012
5:29 pm
Beautiful music, huh? Sounds like thunder to me. AHHH IT IS THUNDER! I’d better get going here. Maybe the lightning will hold off while I tell you about Michelle Malkin’s new piece on the Banks of Obama. She is really “burning ‘em up” as she mentions” lots of Obama skeletons in bank vaults around the country but mostly in Chicago.” OBAMA’S FAT CATS she calls it.
Just read the NATIONAL REVIEW. Tells you a lot about the whole Big-O gang getting rich in a hurry mostly at taxpayer expense. And it is all factual!
Check it out….ooooo…..ZAP! ________________________!!!!!
Bruno
July 18th, 2012
5:29 pm
Then, he can unilaterally decide not to enforce the hc law……….
I wish it was that simple, md. Somehow I don’t think the IRS is going to be giving me any breaks.
md
July 18th, 2012
5:41 pm
“you and all worshippers of the wealthy that are begging for more tax cuts for millionaires are the same idiots who are running around scaring people about the deficit and government spending for the elderly and poor! ”
Last I checked, the choice was tax cuts for everyone or tax cuts for everyone……..seems folks are starting to believe their own imaginations when the word “more” starts getting flung around…….
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 18th, 2012
5:43 pm
You know what I meant, @@.