I stated that Carney’s over the top bi-partisanship campaign rhetoric left him a lot of room for possibly perfidy when it comes to supporting the President on tax increases for the wealthy. A concerned reader sent along this to correct my misunderstanding:
Here’s Carney’s vote against a Republican plan to extend the tax cuts for everyone: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll545.xml
This is what he said about it:
“I voted today for a Democratic proposal that will extend a tax cut to every single American — regardless of income. For the wealthiest two percent of Americans, only their income in excess of $250,000 will be subject to Clinton-era tax rates. I voted against a Republican proposal to extend tax cuts on all income for the top two percent of income earners because it violates my belief that the tax code should be fair and put our country on stronger fiscal footing.
“In fact, the Republican proposal would eliminate important tax credits for working-class families in order to give large tax cuts to those who need them the least. With the economy still fighting to emerge from the financial crisis, now is not the time to eliminate tax cuts for low- and middle-income families who spend the money, which helps grow the economy.”
The tipster thinks that it makes a pretty airtight case that John Carney is on the record supporting higher taxes for the wealthiest Americans, but does it? Maybe I’m jaded, but I read this sentence (“I voted today for a Democratic proposal that will extend a tax cut to every single American — regardless of income.”) to mean that Carney wants to have it both ways.
It is a very Mike Castle type statement that doesn’t convince me that Carney isn’t trying to create his brand around “Bi-Partisanship Ubber alles!” Why, when tax increases on the wealthy are very popular?
Is this solidly blue state, why does keep his Democratic light under a bushel basket? Why, in 2012, does he not see that Republicans want nothing to do “bi-partisanship” unless you mean the type of bi-partisanship in which Democrats accept all the bullshit Republicans care to dish out? Why does he not see that his over-willingness to “wear a path across the isle” waters down good policy and strengthens the hand of people who openly say that they want the President to fail?
John Carney has an opportunity to establish his identity among voters as a guy who gets it. Unfortunately he seems more concerns with courting the favor of Tom Carper and guys like Mike Castle and Pete DuPont than he does in trying to relate to the hardworking Democrats who sent him to Congress.
In a scene reminiscent of the summit meeting of mob bosses in The Godfather, Republican House leaders were summoned by evil marshmallow and message-crafter Frank Luntz to hash out a strategy to cope with the defeat of their party in 2008 and the election of the newly inaugurated President Obama, according to Robert Draper’s just published book Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives.
The very people John Carney is trying to cozy up with in Congress were present at that meeting:
Attending the dinner were House members Eric Cantor, Jeb Hensarling, Pete Hoekstra, Dan Lungren, Kevin McCarthy, Paul Ryan and Pete Sessions. From the Senate were Tom Coburn, Bob Corker, Jim DeMint, John Ensign and Jon Kyl. Others present were former House Speaker and future – and failed – presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and the Republican strategist Frank Luntz, who organized the dinner and sent out the invitations.
The Luntz plan worked because there were enough Democrats in Washington who worshiped at the alter of bi-partisanship so ardently that they were easily played by a ruthless and frankly, traitorous GOP. I can almost forgive them in 2008. Who knew that the GOP was going to be so sinister? Who knew that they were willing to continue to wreck the economy, torpedo the recovery and drag down our nation’s credit worthiness? In 2008, it would have sounded crazy to predict the actions of the GOP.
It isn’t crazy now. We all know what and who we are dealing with on the other side of the isle. We all know…