Republicans in Congress are pushing to continue Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans, at the same time that they’re opposing extending unemployment insurance for people struggling to find work. Democrats have started to talk tough, but have also given signals they might cave without a real fight. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Please take a moment to demand that your representative, senators, and the President stand strong and oppose these tax breaks for the rich:
Many in Congress are working to extend tax cuts for the middle class, but Republicans have said that they'll try to block tax cuts for the middle class unless Democrats agree to pass tax cuts for the very rich as well.1 Of course, Republicans don't want to look like they're looking out for the richest Americans, so they want to vote on both tax cuts at the same time.
Democrats shouldn't fall for it. Hundreds of thousands of people have stood up and called on Democrats in Congress to stand strong. Democratic leadership in the House appears ready to fight,2 but the White House and leaders in the Senate are wavering. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has floated the idea of multiple votes (with one of them still attaching middle and upper-income tax cuts together),3 and the White House has said it might be open to "compromise"4 — in other words, giving in to the Republicans' demands without forcing them to defend their position to the American public.
This discussion about extending tax cuts to the rich is happening amidst talk of making cuts to all kinds of programs that help the economy and protect the most vulnerable people in our society — because "we can't afford" those programs. The fact that the same politicians making that argument would support massive tax breaks for the wealthy shows that they're not really concerned about cutting spending or reducing the deficit — rather, they appear to be interested in protecting the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.
The battle around these tax cuts is a perfect opportunity to point this out. If we learned anything from this year's midterm elections, it's that Democrats need be bolder in fighting for everyday people and exposing the hypocrisy and greed represented by Republicans, conservative Democrats, and the wealthy corporate interests that dominate our government.
If Democrats cave to Republicans on this issue — even though a large majority of people are against extending tax cuts for the rich — it will show that Democrats have taken exactly the wrong lesson from the election. And it will demonstrate again that neither party can be counted on to stand up for the needs of working people when it really counts.
Democrats who oppose these tax cuts for the rich need to know that we'll have their back if they fight. And the conservative Democrats and Republicans who want to keep handing more and more of our country over to the rich — while the rest of us are struggling — need to know that they'll be called out and face actual consequences come election time. Please join us in calling on Congress and the White House to reject tax cuts for the rich:
Thanks and Peace,
-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Natasha, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
November 23rd, 2010
November 23rd, 2010
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