Channeling Ronald Reagan, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence declared in the latest weekly Republican address that “Washington, DC, doesn’t tax too little, Washington, DC, spends too much.” He continued, “Speaker Nancy Pelosi should call Congress back into session immediately and allow an up-or-down vote on preserving all current tax rates.” Of course, Pence is referring to the Bush tax cuts, which are set to expire in 2011. And now that Congress has been called into recess early so incumbents can campaign for their reelection, there will likely be no vote to extend the cuts. The effects of this are two-fold.
The Democrats are afraid. That much is obvious. This is the toughest election cycle the liberals have had in ages and when given the choice between expressing support for a policy of a president they vilify and putting themselves on record as being for higher taxes, they’d rather scurry home with their tails between their legs. This decision has exposed Nancy Pelosi and her minions for what they are: cowards. As Pence said, “The prosperity of the American people is more important than the political fortunes of any politician or any political party.”
But beyond the political ramifications, the need to oblige Mike Pence and call Congress back into session extends to the well-being of our nation’s economy. If Congress isn’t called back into session to extend the Bush cuts, taxes will be raised on nearly every American — not just the top 2% that the Democrats want you to believe are getting the relief. Given the ongoing recession (don’t kid yourself, for all intents and purposes we are still in a recession), this is akin to kicking the American people while they are down — with steel-toed boots, no less.
So it’s no surprise that later in the address Pence invoked the plight of the recently rescued Chilean miners: “This week, the world rejoiced as 33 miners emerged safely from months of dark captivity in a deep Chilean mine. Today, many Americans feel trapped under the weight of historic spending and government mandates.” I’d like to add that Americans also feel trapped under the weight of the thoughtlessness of their so-called leaders. Their insistence on taking the politically expedient route instead of the right one is perhaps the heaviest thing of all.
Many will accuse Pence of playing politics with taxes, but we know better. It isn’t the Republicans doing so. Rather, it’s cowards like Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats who won’t extend relief to the American people and expect us not to notice.
Brandon Kiser is a Kentucky conservative student and political blogger. He is founder, editor, and chief blogger at The Right Sphere, a hub of conservative blog updates and news.