Replies

-— Instead, the House should pass an extension of ALL ratesand nothing else, send that to the senate, then adjourn -—

Yes.

Otherwise, this is the Cave Plan.

If we un-link the tax rates, we have given away all there is to give. What leverage would we have, after that?

And don’t spin me a fairy tale about the Debt Ceiling. Been there, done that. They know we’ll cave there, because have done so in the past, over and over again.

To put it another way, let's stop playing Checkers and start playing Chess. We need to start thinking a few steps ahead, and see where this plan will leave us.

If we un-link the tax rates, we will be left with the Middle Class tax rates, which will sunset, and the Upper Bracket tax rates, which will no longer sunset. So there will no longer be the bi-Annual pas de deux where we get to hold a gun to each other's heads. Instead the Democrats can just come out and say that the eeeeevil rich still aren't paying enough, because we still have deficits, and they can hold a gun to our heads while we stand around with our hands in our pockets, over and over again. The great majority of voters will see that they are getting something for nothing, and will whole-heartedly endorse this approach.

We will have no leverage on spending cuts or entitlement reform. The Democrats will already have everything they want. Why should they deal? (And if somebody says they will deal for the good of the country, I shall fart in his general direction). We will be at the point where the majority of voters are voting themselves money from the Treasury.

And then we will be at the point so well described by that eminent philosopher, Cpl Dwayne Hicks: "That's it man, Game Over man, game over! What the **** are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do? "