MEMO TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Dear Mr. President,
I was among those who wrote you as a Senator years ago to ask you to run for President. I supported you and voted for you for President. But I cannot support you further if you extend tax cuts for the wealthy.
It would be foolhardy to take a deal with the Republicans to extend tax cuts for a couple of years.
They just want to kick it down the road to election time when they will mop the floor with you.
If you give in in any way you will lose the tenuous credibility Democrats now have on the deficit. Right now the Democrats can point to this and say the Republicans don’t care. If the Republicans can point back and say “this was so important even the Democrats made an exception” then the card is lost. Do not borrow money to add to the deficit in order to continue the subsidy of the wealthy. Not even for two years.
If the tax cuts just completely expire, the middle class and the poor will survive. They won't have an easy time of it. But they’re used to sacrificing for the cause. It's their daily stock in trade. And the tax cuts at that end aren’t that big anyway.
Call on voters to understand why you didn’t compromise—not because you thought they should have to do with less, but because the Republicans put too high a price on the proper action. With the savings as these lapse, you can create a great many programs to help the poor through any consequential rough patches.
After the cuts expire, make your own tax cut package to your own liking, and get the Congress to vote on it. It will be fun watching Republicans vote against tax cuts just to spite you.
If you instead give a dramatic windfall to the rich, it will just go back into TV ads against you. They won’t thank you, you can be sure of that.
Have the courage to risk your image. Make that sacrifice. Stop worrying so much about what you promised people to get elected and worry about doing the right thing. The worst thing that could happen to the US is not you breaking a campaign promise. There are more important things. Stand for them.
And anyway, if you even think it breaks a campaign promise, you’ve given into Republican spin on this. This is Bush’s doing. He dodged deficit scrutiny under the Byrd act by using reconciliation. Make that point. Do not make this your tax cut for the wealthy that you’ll be forced later to give up.
Call the Republicans’ bluff. Let the tax cuts expire if they won’t give you the extension of just the cuts for the poor. Do not give in. They expect you to give in. They revel in seeing you defeated. Don't give them the satisfaction.
For once, the balance of power is on your side. Use it. Make them have to explain to the people why they voted as they did. By allowing a compromise, they won’t have to and you’ll be in a bad state later. Show some political savvy.
Compromise on this is not only economically foolish, it is politically foolish. They say at the poker table if you don’t know who the fool is, it’s you. Do you know who the fool at this poker table is, Mr. President? Frankly, I have lost confidence that you do.
Sincerely,
Kent Pitman
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Copyright © 2010 by Kent M. Pitman
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Comments
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A true oligarchy can be managed by even fewer. Many of them are simply being appeased in the time needed yet to set a much darker system in place.
The extension is a ruse for what lies ahead. It must be stopped.
The reason Obama is just going to sign it all away is because he's really a Blue Dog. If he had any balls, he would let the process play out and then veto the bill. No chance of this ever getting 67 votes to pass after that. Then the Republicans would wake up and take notice. That is what Clinton had to do to get anything done.
As you stated, people forget that those tax cuts were passed using reconciliation.
And screw the economy. The economy only works for the rich anymore. They'll just find a way to pocket the savings. They aren't interested in creating jobs. They are sitting on a trillion dollars right now and they won't use it.
Proud, thanks. I did send a similar note yesterday at the contact address above. I've revised it some and will probably re-send it today or tomorrow. But really, you should send your own. It's said that personal messages have greater impact than a big petition with a lot of signatures.
Designanator, Obama's practice of pre-compromising (unilaterally making concessions) drives me nuts. See my other recent posts Political Fumbling and Boardwalk Empire 2.0 and The Entitlement Class for discussion of the trickle-down issue.
Chuck, there's a URL there you can click on to get to the White House to send your own. Feel free to cut&paste from mine or make your own. That will mean two chances to win.
Jane, you might be right. Still, one must behave as if there is a chance. It's why I think the Democrats should “primary him” though.
Tom, you're a good writer. Click on the URL and send your own (copying as liberally, or conservatively, as you like from my post—just so you feel like you're making good progress).
Tim, you've probably seen my instructions to others. Maybe someone will make a petition. You could contact Credo or ActBlue if you have more time than me. Tell them they can borrow text from mine (though some of it needs to change). But meanwhile just send a personal note.
Scanner, sounds like the text of a note you could yourself leave in their email box. Go for it.
aka, I agree. Get on board and send some feedback like I've been suggesting for others above. The URL is in the post.
Razzle, maybe if you send such a memo he'll read yours. :) Help up the chances by sending something personal yourself.
Michael, I know your situation is not great, so you should add some personal details of your own but send such a message. It should matter much more coming from someone who's on the worst end of it still saying “I can bear it.”
Don, the whole point is that lapsing can be done without compromise. It just happens. The compromise is making trouble where none existed. Then when it has lapsed, the Republicans have lost their bargaining chip. At that point, you just start proposing tax cuts that happen not to help the super-wealthy become the ultra-wealthy and let the Republicans say “sorry, I won't do it.” ... And, incidentally, I'm not opposed to helping the wealthy create jobs. I just don't want to help them because they might create jobs. That kind of maybe isn't good enough. Rewarding performance is what I want. They'd ask no less of someone of less means asking for a government handout.
Lezlie
I just hope all of us who are frustrated and writing about it on Open Salon - will forward what we write to the White House!
Daughter, he just funded the entire election season of anti-Obama ads.
The Republicans are like the dog who chased after the car. Now that they've caught it, they'll have to figure out what they're going to do next because they put so many eggs into the deficit basket, and they just managed to piss away $700B. There might be some fear that the Rs will be left holding the bag for all of the economic wonderfulness that will be created in the next two years.
If I were a big, fat Republican hypocrite, I'd be worried, too.
Lefty, there's comfort in numbers. They're hypocrites but the Democrats have joined them in the name of bipartisanship, thus nullifying the criticism.