Earlier this week, New York Times columnist David Brooks offered a scathing rebuke of congressional Republicans’ stand on the debt ceiling, saying the GOP is undermining their its position by not budging on raising taxes.
Later in the week, Brooks got accolades from those on the left, including a mention from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on the Senate floor, for being a reasonable “conservative.” But the designation of conservative isn’t accurate according Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer. On this weekend’s broadcast of “Inside Washington,” Krauthammer took issue with Brooks claiming to be a conservative.
“Well forgive me, but I have to correct your copy again, ‘conservative columnist,’” Krauthammer said. “He’s a great columnist but he’s not a conservative — I think he’s a moderate. He’s a moderate – he’s open to all views.”
On the issue of taxation, Krauthammer varied from Brooks saying that House Republican leadership, including Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor were handling it correctly by focusing on tax reform as a means of generating more revenue for the government.
“I think what the Republicans are doing on taxes is correct,” Krauthammer said. “What they are saying if you hear Cantor or Boehner – ‘We’re ready for tax reform, which was done in the mid-80s. It was the most successful piece of legislation. You cut out the loopholes and you use the money to cut rates. You get fairness. The rich don’t have advantages by having their lobbyists create loopholes and exploit them. And you stimulate economic growth because the loopholes in of themselves are distorting economically and the low rates encourage economic activity. That’s what Republicans have been asking for – to eliminate loophole here or a loophole there, which in the end amount to absolutely nothing.”