Here's a welcome development: in the face of GOP obstruction, Democratic Senators are holding their ground on middle-class tax cuts.
Following several hours of floor speeches hammering the GOP, a handful of Democrats including Sens. Bob Menendez (N.J.), Charles Schumer (N.Y.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Jack Reed (R.I.) and Jeff Merkley (Ore.) attacked Republicans in a press conference, repeatedly using the word “hostage” to characterize the status of middle-class tax cuts.
“Do you allow yourself to be held hostage and get something done for the sake of getting something done, when in fact it might be perverse in its ultimate results? It’s almost like the question of do you negotiate with terrorists,”
Menendez said when asked whether he and other Democrats would accept a compromise with Republicans.
“The majority has a responsibility to get something done, but [also] to get something done that is good for the country,” he added.
McCaskill likewise lambasted Republicans, accusing them of putting the wealthy ahead of the middle class and warning that if Republicans win the debate over tax cuts “it really is time to take up pitchforks.” Both Menendez and McCaskill are up for re-election in 2012.
To win this battle, Senate Democrats are going to need the active support of the White House, which today took a baby step in that direction when Joe Biden backed the House tax cut plan.
Iowa Senator Tom Harkin said the stakes for the White House were enormous:
"I just think, if [Obama] caves on this, then I think that he's gonna have a lot of swimming upstream [to do]," said the Iowa Democrat, a unabashed progressive who has been less reticent than most in criticizing the White House. "He campaigned on [allowing the rates for the rich to expire], was very strong on that, and sometimes there are things that are just worth fighting for."
And if he decided to compromise away from that, a reporter asked the senator.
"He would then just be hoping and praying that Sarah Palin gets the nomination," Harkin replied, insinuating that there would be few other Republicans that Obama could assuredly beat in 2012.
As everybody knows, the only way middle-class tax cuts can pass the Senate is by getting Senate Republicans to back down from their filibuster threat.
At least thus far, the Obama administration's position has been that the best way of getting Senate Republicans to back down is by caving into their demand that we extend Bush tax policy in exactly the same form as it is today.
But what we're seing is that Menendez is right when hey says negotiating with the GOP is like negotiating with a terrorist -- even when President Obama says he's willing to cave to their demands, the GOP takes a step back and says "that's not enough."
But as these Democrats are saying, there's another way to get Republicans to back down, and that's by taking the fight to them. If Republicans feel so strongly about tax cuts for millionaires that they'll block tax cuts for the middle-class, then make them do it -- and make them do it every day if necessary. Unless Republicans fear that they will pay a political price by refusing to compromise, then they'll never compromise.
Right now, the White House has made it clear to the GOP that it doesn't believe that it has an acceptable BATNA -- a best alternative to a negotiated agreement. Meanwhile, the GOP thinks it has a perfectly acceptable BATNA -- sitting back and obstructing while Democrats fight amongst themselves and take the blame for tax cuts expiring. Obviously, when one side doesn't believe that it has a BATNA and the other side is just fine with it's BATNA, you're never going to get a deal.
What needs to happen is the White House must realize that it actually does have an acceptable BATNA -- that if the tax cuts aren't extended, at least it will be Republicans who are to blame. That will require them to show more support for House and Senate Democrats who are pushing to extend the tax cuts -- and it will require them to hold Republicans accountable when they block the tax cut plan from coming to a vote. The net result of that will be to make it clear to Republicans that they are in fact overestimating the value of their BATNA because they actually will be forced to pay a political price for obstruction.
Then -- and only then -- will a genuine agreement be possible.