Mark Shields Offers 'Correction' -- Obama Doesn't Want Tax Hikes on the Rich, Just an End to 'Artificially Reduced' Rates

[Rheo]

News Busters:

On Friday night's NewsHour on PBS, liberal commentator Mark Shields felt the need to offer a “correction” to less-liberal commentator David Brooks when he said President Obama “wanted to raise your taxes” if you make over $250,000. He didn't want to “raise taxes,” said Shields, but just “return it to where it was” under Clinton. They're now "artificially reduced" for the rich. Brooks shot back “I was just reporting the facts.”

Shields also trotted out the line that we haven't had any “shared sacrifice” (also code for tax hikes) in the new century, as if no one has federal taxes deducted from their paycheck. Brooks agreed on this point, that “serious” people should let go of their tax shelters so they can share sacrifice like soldiers. Brooks began the squabble by saying liberals don't quite trust Obama right now:



BROOKS: I mean, you got Marines and soldiers in Afghanistan sacrificing for their country. And you're not willing to give up your mortgage interest deduction or see a little raise in your capital gains tax? I mean, that is the country -- that's the question the country really has to ask. And I would say it's up -- it's not -- the change isn't going to happen in Washington. There has to be a change in the country of voters saying, yes, I hate this, but I'm willing to do it, or else the politicians will go nowhere near it.

Brooks could have just as easily said you have soldiers abroad, and you won't sacrifice your public-broadcasting subsidies? Oops. That would be the end of his NewsHour tenure. What was amazing is that they all talked about how the public needs to have a "surge" of pro-tax-hike opinion, as if the Tea Party didn't demonstrate a surge for spending reduction, not tax hikes:

BROOKS: And so there has to be some surge in the country first of people saying, yes, we're serious about this.

LEHRER: But how can there be a surge without an election? It is not going to happen then before 2012.

BROOKS: No. Well, social movements arise. We had the Obama movement arose. The Tea Party movement arose. People got organized. Institutions formed.

LEHRER: So, it could happen?

BROOKS: And they changed the political dynamic. We would have to have a significant change in the political dynamic before politicians of either party will touch this.

[Valin]

Class envy is alive and well.

[SrWoodchuck]

Rheo! Thanks for the post.

 

They're still in the "denial" stage.

[Valin]

Rheo! Thanks for the post.

 

They're still in the "denial" stage.

 

 

From Denial to....the east fork of sh*t creek

[NCTexan]

They're still in the "denial" stage.

 

[Pepper]

 

They're still in the "denial" stage.

 

[AceRimmer]

I think Obambi has moved to the Bargaining stage, but Pelosi is still stuck in 2nd gear...