Class warfare said not to be working for Democrats

Washington Times ^ | 1/26/03 | Donald Lambro

[kattracks]

The White House and its Republican allies say they do not believe the Democrats' class-warfare attacks against tax cuts for upper-income earners carry the political firepower they once did.

Even some Democratic officials argue that such attacks by their party's leaders, pitting lower- to middle-income groups against the rich, do not work and have not worked for several election cycles.

[Deb]

I've started to feel real sorry for Dick Gephardt. Imagine how it must feel EVERY SINGLE ELECTION YEAR to open up your DNC talking points, and there, again , it says...

"#1. The Republicans are proposing tax breaks for the richest 1% of Americans." Rinse. Repeat.

It's not easy being a stinking Democrat. Straight-faced lying and selling out your country everyday is hard work. At first.

[Sabretooth]

Just watch though, the dim-dems will keep trying the same old tired worn out tactics that didnt work before.

Hopefully they will never learn.

[Nick Danger]

I guess it's back to race-baiting, then.

[nopardons]

The Dems have nothing else but race, when class warfare is taken off the table. With Hispanics ( dumb word ) now the leading minority, even race is going to fail them.

[henderson field]

Yeah. After they discovered that "rich," according to Tom Daschle, is $20,000, they changed their minds.

[Torie]

Class does matter less and less in the US, and frankly, in most of the Western democracies as well. Part of the reason is that who has it, and who doesn't, is very fluid. Beyond that, loyalties and beliefs are so cross hatched that any simplistic model simply doesn't get one very far. The divisions themselves are fluid as experiences and fashion change, and these days they change rapidly. That is why I am so humble in predicting the political future. I know too much to know.

[gop_gene]

The Dems have nothing else but race, when class warfare is taken off the table. With Hispanics ( dumb word ) now the leading minority, even race is going to fail them.

When that finally happens (not holding my breath for it to happen soon though), just watch them play their last card, abortion--oops, sorry . . . I mean choice.

[MJY1288]

The Democrats are failing at everything. the days of them having the complete support of the media without any opposition to their accusations are over.

The democrats have been using these tactics for over 40 years and the end result is that they have created a segment of our society that is dependent upon the government (i.e. The democrats) for their survival. Now with the advent of the internet and cable news sources like FOX News we are seeing a change in the overall view of the Democrats and more and more Americans are beginning to see what happens when success is blamed for failure.

[nopardons]

There are more successful Hispanics than blacks. The more education and wealth a minority person attains, the more likely it is that he/she will vote GOP.Blacks used to vote, as one block, for the GOP; that's long since NOT been the rule. Since it takes great courage, for blacks to vote GOP , due to decades of Dem voting patterns, even well educated and wealthy blacks find it hard to break the mold. Hispanics don't have that " baggage ", so you may not have to " hold your breath " all that long. :-)

Yes, infanticide may soon be the Dems' only card left to play.

[Michael.SF.]

no longer fear Democratic assertions that across-the-board tax cuts mostly benefit the wealthy

THE WEALTHY?

I am so sick of that phrase and it not being adequately defined.

My wife and I are both college grads. she works for the local school district with handicaped kids, I am a mid level manager and Engineer (yes, we are poor spellers). We both came from working class roots (her father: a tool & die maker, my father: civil service).

Yet today we are "rich" (upper 10%). ............By Democrat standards, at least (or so it seems).

I do not feel rich, I pay a mortgage, a college tuition fee, I save 12.5% annually for retirement, I pay +/- 30% in taxes ( state, federal property).

Yet, I do not vacation to my "island estate" (or =) each summer, as the kennedys,gebhardts (txs. babs), Pelosi's, Daschles etc. etc., do.

Am I now rich? and therefore...... the enemy of the Democrats?

This above all is why the Democrats are failing....... they have simply lost touch.

[Cindy]

[marsh2]

Take a look at the "red/blue" (Bush/Gore) map for California. The Dems. are representing the suburban/urban rich. The Repubs. the rural poor.

How on earth the Dems. can keep perpetuating the myth that they represent the working poor is a mystery to me. They represent the wealthy elite with a guilty conscience, unions and socialists.

[driftless]

Democrats come very close to stating that it is criminal to be wealthy. Of course this reeks of supreme hypocrisy given that there are millions of super-rich Dems and liberals. That makes them not just stinking Democrats but stinking, hypocritical Dems. How convenient for Ketchup John Kerry with his half-a -billion and other Dem prez aspirants to decry tax-cuts for those "wealthy" people who make 75 grand a year.

[jazzlite]

Your situation sounds very familiar..My daughter and her husband are both college graduates with professional jobs and two small children. I frequently help them with childcare because of the overwhelming costs of living these days. They have a medium priced home with payments low relative to their income and they have to save because they know they will never get social security. I worry about my daughter, who is constantly exhausted but who cannot cut back on work hours because of healthcare costs, and private school costs ( bad public schools in their area.) Her salary goes completely for those things and of course, daycare three days a week. Their lives consist of getting up early (4:30-5:00 a.m.)getting everyone fed, dressed and out the door which is no small task with children, working all day, picking up children, starting homework immediately (at least an hour), going to bed and starting all over the next day. On weekends the laundry, home, car, haircuts, grocery shopping, errands, etc., are taken care of and they attend church most of the time on Sunday. Their vacation consisted of a 3 day trip to FL to visit the other Grandparents. Time for any "escape" activities does not exist. We try to compensate with the children by having playmates in as often as possible and to have family time for playing board games or watch movies together. This is a portrait of the "rich" being demonized by the Democrats. Did I not read the other day that they (the Democrats) are now the wealthiest people in the world and, the Republicans are mostly common folks? My daughter and her family are enslaved because they are responsible and good people who are being taxed out of their livelihood by cruel, heartless, clueless, career politicians. Thankfully, the "class warfare" tool, according to this board, seems to be loosing steam. Perhaps, we can really hope for relief after all.

[Adder]

The Republicans must continue to hammer away at the "tax cut for the rich" charge at every chance they get and not simply hope the people get it. Sometimes, I think the Republican response is weak in that they not only have to fight the Dem "logic" but also have to fight to get their response in a Dem slanting press which is only too willing to parrot anything dasshole and geppy have to say. So the response must be stronger just to be heard. Thank goodness for the likes of Sean Hannity and Rush who have a forum to respond to the lies of the left.
The Dems may have made a long term error by exempting so many of their base from paying taxes: those people in large measure don't vote consistently. Lets hope that strategy continues!

[visagoth]

Have any democrats defined who the 'rich' yet... I mean with REAL numbers?

[Cincinatus]

It's even worse than you describe. It's not simply a matter of the definition of "wealthy" -- it's a flat-out lie.

The "wealthiest" Americans are not those who work hard and draw salaries, which is what gets hit by the progressive income tax -- the "wealthiest Americans" are those with large stashes of cash and securities already in hand and who live off interest or trust income. This category would include the Kennedys, the Kerrys, the Rockefellers, the Corzines, etc. etc. These people couldn't care less about income tax rates -- to them, their income paychecks are monthly chump change. When they want a new car or a new Park Avenuse penthouse apartment, they open the trust fund checkbook and draw on wealth already accumulated and hence, not subject to the income tax.

So the Democrats are being fundamentally dishonest when they whine about "tax breaks for the wealthy." What they really oppose are tax breaks for the producers and the the income earners, or if you will, "tax breaks for the productive" (which are then given to the non-productive.)

[judicial meanz]

That "top 1%" argument by the Dems is losing water because a lot of two income homes are now in that bracket ( about $80,000 year or so) and we are getting slaughtered by taxes and Dem policy.

[Happy2BMe]

Jessie - PUSH THIS!

The Rev. Jesse Lee Patterson (Strikeing Fear In The Heart Of J. Jackson)

Operation BOND

Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson is the most articulate, outspoken critic of the civil-rights establishment in America today. Often referred to as "the other Jesse" and "the antidote to Jesse Jackson," Rev. Peterson is the author of the "National Day of Repudiation of Jesse Jackson" event. As Rev. Peterson likes to say, "It looks like I have a job for life!" Rev. Peterson is also the man behind the Boycott of the NAACP, believing the organization to be nothing more than a tool of the "elite, socialist" Democratic Party.

Jessie - We Got Your Number