White House silent on whether Obama tax pledge still stands

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Daily Caller:

A growing number of Democratic lawmakers have begun to make noise in recent days about raising taxes on the middle class and discarding President Obama’s promise not to increase the tax burden on those making $250,000 a year or less.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is the most prominent. But another member of the House Democratic leadership, Rep. Xavier Becerra of California, also indicated that a middle class tax increase might be inevitable, as have three senior Democratic senators: Dianne Feinstein of California, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, and Tom Harkin of Iowa.

Meanwhile, the only noise from the White House on the matter is a loud silence. Asked to comment on whether the president’s pledge not to raise taxes on the middle class still stands, the White House declined.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried Thursday to tamp down speculation that her party might be planning to let tax cuts instituted by former President George W. Bush expire for the middle class, explaining why she was in favor of keeping them.

“They do inject demand into the economy, and they do grow the economy, and they end up reducing the deficit,” said Pelosi, California Democrat, at her weekly press conference. “So I put my money on middle-income tax cuts.”

“But that doesn’t mean that everything shouldn’t be subject to review, and I salute Mr. Hoyer for his statement,” she said.

Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland, broached the subject of the middle class tax cuts on Tuesday while discussing Obama’s plans to let the cuts expire for those making more than $250,000, and the nation’s growing deficit and debt.

“As the House and Senate debate what to do with the expiring Bush tax cuts in the coming weeks, we need to have a serious discussion about their implications for our fiscal outlook, including whether we can afford to permanently extend them before we have a real plan for long-term deficit reduction,” Hoyer said.

That same day, the three senators all questioned the $250,000 threshold.

“You could go lower, too — why not $200,000? With the debt and deficit we have, you can’t make promises to people,” Feinstein said.

Dorgan, who is up for reelection this fall, said: “I don’t think there’s any magic in the number, whether it’s $250,000, $200,000 or $225,000.”

“I’m not hard and fast on $250,000,” Harkin said. “Quite frankly, it could be somewhat lower than that.”
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Remember, it's for the small people.

[kevindavis]

Don't blame me I voted for McCain.. Elections have consequences..

[AceRimmer]

Get on the phones to your Senators if you have a GOP one. The left is going to throw everything it can at the American people in the next 4 months before the midterms. They already know they're likely to lose the House and the Senate is now in reach for the GOP. Get ready for Cap'n Tax, Card Check, and most of all: Tax Hikes in the next 2 months. Pelosi and Reid are going to do a kamikaze, ram-it-down-our-throats style legislative marathon to try and pass the most leftwing part of Obambi's agenda before they lose power.