Extend the Bush Tax Cuts

Bush Tax Cuts Roil Democrats – Martin Vaughan and John D. McKinnon, The Wall Street Journal
It seems to be sinking in on some Senate Democrats that raising taxes, even (I would say especially) on the wealthy is a bad idea during a recession. Kent Conrad and Ben Nelson have joined Evan Bayh in backing an extension to the Bush tax cuts. The expiration of the Bush tax cuts is a “ticking tax bomb,” that will hurt America’s small and large businesses, anyone looking for a job, and especially seniors and retirees. It’s bad enough Democrats would even consider raising taxes to fund their outrageous debt driven transformation of American government, but to consider it during a recession when most people are hurting badly is heresy. ALERT: Don’t be surprised if these same Democrats arguing against an increase in the income tax rate come out in favor of a Value Added Tax. The VAT is a much more covert tax and Democrats are poised to create one for Americans in the lame duck session. – Dick Young

The Liberal Dilemma – Daniel Henninger, The Wall Street Journal
Daniel Henninger is on the money when he says that David Obey is taking money from the president’s Race to the Top school reform program and giving it to teachers’ unions because “Race to the Top doesn’t make campaign contributions.” And while Mr. Obey may be retiring this year, he and his Appropriations Committee cohorts surely want to protect the union donation machine that has kept them in power for so very long. Out of $58 million in campaign contributions by two teachers’ unions over the past 21 years, one gave 92% to Democrats, the other 98%. Is it any wonder Democratic congressmen are willing to tax the daylights out of private sector Americans so they can give their public sector union bosses a free ride? – E.J. Smith

Why the ObamaCare Tax Penalty Is Unconstitutional – Kenneth Blackwell and Kenneth A. Klukowski, The Wall Street Journal
It is no surprise that the president has been flip-flopping on the health care mandate. It isn’t defendable from any standpoint. First he said it wasn’t a tax. Then when he realized that this would make it absolutely unconstitutional, he had a revelation and realized in fact that it was a tax. That leads to yet another flip-flop (Read: lie) in that if it is a tax, the president has broken his promise of not raising taxes on the middle class. The health care mandate will surely fall most heavily on the middle class. Obamacare will roll the poor into Medicaid, and the rich will easily afford the new mandate, but the middle class will be left hanging, forced to spend money they may not have, or be penalized by the IRS. The Supreme Court should throw this mandate out, as all it was in the first place was a gift to the insurance industry. – Dick Young

Obama’s Poll Numbers Down, Imaginary Racism Up – Ann Coulter, Human Events
Liberal “journalists” are using allegations of racism to distract from the president’s poor performance. This is a nuclear weapon being used to swat flies. Randomly picking conservative writers and calling them racist with no proof whatsoever seems to be the weapon of choice for a group of liberal journalists, colluding to cover the president’s back. As Tucker Carlson outlines in the video below, these same journalists wanted to take Fox News off the air, simply for disagreeing with the president. – Dick Young

Christie Signs Property Tax Cap – Mark Impomeni, Human Events
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is on his way to delivering on his campaign promises, unlike the current administration in Washington D.C. Christie has signed a property tax cap into law in New Jersey that limits increases to 2% annually. Christie had pushed for a much tougher cap, but the Democratic majority in the New Jersey congress wouldn’t allow it. Christie is doing the best he can, and the best that can be expected of him given his adversarial legislature. – Timothy Jones