First, let’s talk about reality. The US Senate is the most ridiculous legislative body on earth. It has a lot of rules and runs by unanimous consent. It is a major cause of the government disfunction right now. Also, Republicans control the media. They have their own 24/7 media outlet and it is treated by the rest of the media like a legitimate news outlet. Republicans have the ability to get any story they want covered by the media. Here’s the reality:
- Reoublicans have enough Senators to stop any legislation they want.
- Republicans don’t get punished for being nihilists.
- Republicans have stated their top priority – making sure Obama is not re-elected.
Is this really surprising then?
WASHINGTON — Not even 24 hours after President Obama met with senior Republican Congressional leaders and expressed hopes for a “new dialogue,” renewed partisan fury engulfed the Senate on Wednesday, as Republicans threatened to block any legislation until a deal is reached to extend the expiring Bush-era tax cuts, potentially derailing the Democrats’ busy end-of-year agenda.
The blunt threat was made in a letter to the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and signed by all 42 Senate Republicans. And it was reiterated by the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, in a speech in which he accused Democratic leaders and Mr. Obama of ignoring the midterm election results.
That means no START treaty ratification, no DADT repeal, no DREAM act unless Republicans get their way. The rumor is that the vote will be for extending all tax cuts for 3 years. Although the House will vote only on middle class tax cuts and perhaps they have the ability to hold up the House vote on the 3-yr extension.
What’s the alternative? Letting all the tax cuts expire and as many have said come back with the shiny new “Obama tax cuts” in the next session. You know, the session where Republicans control the legislative agenda in the House. The session where DADT will never get voted on, the DREAM act is only a dream and perhaps we can get a vote on START, but there’s a whole group of new Republicans with stupid demands in exchange.
So my question is – what hill do we want to die on? Personally I’d like to see the Bush tax cuts die because I think they’re bad for the economy. However, this is the first negotiation in a while where Obama has something the Republicans want. Is it really so bad to compromise and gain something in return? I guess the problem I’m having right now with the tax cut purity on the left is that it seems to accept the right’s premise that taxes and deficit are the most important issues right now. I don’t agree with that.