How hard will Obama fight for tax increases? Obama aide dodges question

[Enrique]

Lew doesn't answer the question about Obama fighting, he just repeats the case Obama made for increasing taxes.

Well, making the case is not what we need. Polls show huge support for tax increases on the wealthy. The case has been made. Obama made it already last year and everyone applauded him and made it clear, yes, that's what we want. Even some big time conservatives gave him cover to end the Bush tax cuts. Bernancke, David Stockman, George Voinovich.

No, we don't need any more convincing. What we need is for him, the President, to fight AGAINST the people that don't want the tax increases. Lew doesn't even mention those people. How will Obama DEFEAT them? Because of course they're not going to give him those tax increases. The thought of them doing that is absurd.

Lew seems to be giving a preview of how this will end up: Obama will keep saying how much he wants it, but end up not fighting for it. The GOP of course will hold hostages. Why wouldn't they?

http://www.npr.org/2011/04/14/135396747/obama-plan-cuts-health-care-raises-some-taxes

(...)

INSKEEP: How hard is the president determined to fight for tax policy changes that will be characterized and in fact are already being characterized as tax increases?

Mr. LEW: You know, I think he said very clearly that we should increase taxes on certain people, himself included. If the choice is whether people who are earning millions of dollars a year should be spared from paying taxes at a rate that was the rate that prevailed when we had the longest period of economic growth in our country's history versus cutting old people off from health insurance or not building the infrastructure we need for the next generation or not educating the next generation, that's the kind of choices that a great country should make, you know, and we think it should be made in favor of raising taxes where it's appropriate.

And it's not raising taxes to a level that would be punitive. He was very careful in his speech to make it clear that he's not saying that the people who are in those income brackets are doing anything wrong. In fact, what he said in the speech was he's not hearing that many complaints from the people in those income brackets. It's the political process that can't get its hands around this problem.

INSKEEP: Jack Lew is the White House budget director. Thanks very much.

[ClarkUSA]

1. This is a bullshit conclusion via the usual negative word parsing.

[Enrique]

4. it's necessary to parse Obama

otherwise you believe things like this (OP failed to parse Axelrod):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x434904

[ClarkUSA]

5. The OP is ludicrously parsing Lew's reply, which is perfectly adult and lucid.

[rug]

7. Lew gave a bullshit answer.

[ClarkUSA]

11. Lew gave a substantive explanatory answer to a bullshit "gotcha" question.

[rug]

12. Bullshit is a substance.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dkf]

3. I hate to see what he would have to give up to get a tax increase.

I think you are right it is not feasible with the house as it is. I've often thought he would need to wait and let the Obama tax cuts expire and then it's raise em all or none.

[jenmito]

6. "Plouffe reiterates that President Obama will not renew the Bush tax cuts"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=433&topic_id=653600

[rug]

8. "President Obama on Wednesday will make clear that he opposes any compromise that would extend the

Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy beyond this year".

9/7/2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/us/politics/08obama.html

[ClarkUSA]

13. So what? Republicans were holding the middle-class tax cuts hostage as well as UI extension.

President Obama did the right thing then.

[rug]

14. And now they're not?

Glad they're no longer the avaricious pigs they were in December.

[ClarkUSA]

16. Before making baseless predictions, I'll see how 2012 shakes out in Congress.

Unlike others, who seem to know the future... :sarcasm:

[rug]

18. Nobody knows the future but it's foolish to ignore the past,

especially when it's less than four months old.

[ClarkUSA]

19. The past looks good to me. Republicans thought they'd been outfoxed by Pres. Obama then...

... and it's obvious they were this time, too.

[rug]

23. They were outfoxed into renewing Bush's tax cuts.

[ClarkUSA]

24. They were outfoxed into voting for another stimulus plan aka. the 2011 payroll tax holiday.

The amount via the payroll tax holiday is larger than the first stimulus plan. Check DU GDP archives around that time and see what the headlines were. Enough of them were about Republicans bemoaning this fact.

[xchrom]

9. Mustn't be too specific - wouldn't be prudent. Nt

[msongs]

10. his actual behavior shows he did not fight at all for expiration of tax cuts for wealthy nt

[ClarkUSA]

21. He fought to preserve the middle-class tax cuts AND for the UI extension the GOP held hostage.

You keep conveniently forgetting about the unemployed and the middle-class whenever you spout such nonsense.

[GameOn]

15. well when he makes a speech like that, he has to fight for it. He put himself out the ledge now. nt

[golfguru]

17. Don't hold your breath

He will cave to house republicons.

[ClarkUSA]

20. Is that what you're hoping for? Because it didn't happen with the budget battle....

... and it won't happen after the 2012 elections.

[FrenchieCat]

22. Better question is how will you continue to fight against Obama?

and what will the result of such yield you?

The answer is here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=653886&mesg_id=653886