Whether they call themselves "New Democrats" or "Problem Solvers" or "Blue Dogs," it seems there will always be a collection of House Democrats for whom no Republican is odious enough not to try to work with. Case in point: Donald Trump.
Even as congressional GOP leaders largely embrace a partisan path on taxes, White House officials have been wooing 15 to 20 centrist House Democrats since early summer. The Trump administration is all too aware of congressional Republicans’ struggles to come together on a range of hot-button issues—from health care to government spending—and tax reform is littered with political minefields for the party.
Why any real Democrat would want to make that any easier for Republicans—particularly these Republicans is a mystery. Or maybe not so much:
More than most other minority members, “centrist Democrats are more focused on doing what can be done to lower the corporate rates and the rates for [small businesses],” said Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), who is working on a list of Blue Dog tax priorities and red lines to be delivered to the White House.
Oh, right. Corporate tax rates are too high. They're not really Democrats. The White House is focusing on House Democrats because the package will initiate in the House. Meanwhile, on the Senate side, Democrats are getting the usual "fuck you" from Mitch McConnell.
Indeed, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made clear just last week that Republicans will pursue a partisan bill. The sweeping bipartisan tax overhaul of 1986 is unlikely to be repeated this go-round, McConnell said as he announced plans to use the simple-majority budget reconciliation process to overcome a likely Democratic filibuster.
And one of the big targets among Senate Democrats for Trump wooing has made clear they're not interested if any "reform" includes a tax cut for the top 1 percent. When even Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) can draw a line in the sand like that, you have to wonder what in the hell is going on in the minds of the Blue Dogs.
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