Well, that last bout of tax cut fight deliciousness is over. It was fun wasn't it? I only wish it had gone on a few days longer. I was SO enjoying the beating The Orange Man was taking along with the public flogging the fascist house GOP was getting. Shame it ended so soon, really.
But I got to thinking: what was UP with that "we want a year" thing? Yeah, yeah, I know they wanted more "stuff" like abolishing the EPA (or something similar) and reestablishing slavery and all, but I'm not convinced that that's all there was to it.
Follow me below the squiggly to hear my theory and what we can do now to prepare for the "next round" in the spring.
Well, The Orange Man and his terrorist colleagues wanted to extend the tax cuts for a year. I wonder why?
Could it have anything, anything at all, to do with the 2012 election season?
But of course.
Having this issue come up again in March is not what they are going to want. It would've been so much better for them for us if the cuts were extended through the November 2012 election.
Sadly for them it is not to be.
In March, the weather will be lovely. Our friends at OWS will reemerge, reenergized and with a new strategy for 2012 but with the same popular message: tax the 1%. This is a message that polls well, even among Republicans, and literally forced the conversation away from deficits and toward income inequality in just two short months. STRIKE ONE.
In March President Obama and other Democrats will be in full campaign swing. We've already heard (like it or not) the president adopt some of the language and position of OWS (albeit a toned down version) He's called publicly for a Millionaires Tax. And America agrees with him. I expect this language to become more pointed and more amplified by March and exacerbated by GOP 1% favoritism in the "tax cut extension" fight of 2012. Say what you will about Obama, but when he wants to make a point, when he's on the campaign stump, he's damned good at it. STRIKE TWO.
In March the GOP may very well have a clear frontrunner in the nominating process. Or maybe not. I, personally, am pulling for NOT. But it doesn't matter. Did you notice how QUIET the GOP candidates were in this round of tax cut debates? (I mean, besides "Mr. $10,000 bet" Romney - quite incredibly - pretending to understand the value of $40, they were pretty quiet on all fronts). That won't be possible in March. And to add insult to (their) injury, "paying for the cut" through a Millionaire's Tax will be a part of the conversation. There will be no way to avoid it. And spare me the "job creator" meme. Nobody's buying that anymore, no matter how many times they say it. Why? How about, "Where are the fucking jobs"? Easiest comeback ever. STRIKE THREE.
Consider that the HOUSE GOP was the main body not wanting to have this conversation in 2012, hence their "desire" for a full year extension. Consider that Democrats would welcome such a conversation in a few short months and be in a much better position to amplify the Millionaire's Tax as a way to "keep taxes low for the middle class". Consider the optics of the GOP fighting against a small tax increase for 400,000 American millionaires in order to "pay for" keeping lower taxes for 160 million Americans. (I'm also fantasizing about Mitt "Mr.-Silver-Spoon-1%er-who-closed business-and-laid-off-thousands-for-personal-profit" Romney having to tread this line, but that's a story for a different day). The Democrats nibbled around the edges with the "400,000 vs 160 million" language this time. But in March, we'll discard pretense. No nibbling at the buffet for appearances sake. No, we'll be loading that baby up. Nom nom nom. Consider that OWS will be back in full swing by March (drawing a clear line to income inequality among other things) and the unfairness that the 1% have built into the system for themselves. For any pathetic Democrats who won't pick up the mantle in a sure-thing battle, OWS will them kicking and screaming. The obstinate GOP will be in a FAR WORSE position on this issue in March 2012 than they ever were in December 2011. And we should position ourselves today to beat them about about the head with it in the spring. Unleash your inner predator. It matters. (And it feels good).
So I say, get ready. HERE'S A PLAN: Write your "Millionaires Tax" blogs. Put them in queue. Write your "Sacrifice 160 million for 400,000" blogs. Put them in queue. Get your media list ready. Be ready to TEACH the idiot stenographers the real issues and call them out when they don't report ACCURATELY. Pre-write your letters to the editor complaining about how the 1% aren't sacrificing but everyone else is. About how unpatriotic it is for everybody to not do "their fair share". About how the GOP seems only concerned about the 1%, maybe because they need their money. (I know, I know. The Dems do too. But fuck that. It will be the GOP fighting publicly to protect the 1% in this election season, not Dems. So call it out). Put it on your calendar to send a letter to the Democratic Party and/or your representative EVERY WEEK until the Tax Cut Debate of 2012 comes up. Urge them to STAND FIRM and not fuck it up. Technically inclined? Set up a "pledge page" where the 99% can pledge to release funds for standing up for the Millionaire's Tax. Imagine 30 million dollars worth of commitments available to pols who don't back down. Write to Plouffe. Write to Axelrod. Write the White House. Tell them "Don't fuck it up". Get your viral video ready. Make your protest signs. Be strategic. Be creative. There's time to get the message and certain keywords and phrases into the google ranks, even before spring. Get involved in your local OWS if you can. Start writing diaries now and spreading the memes about the 400,000 U.S. millionaires whose taxes are ALWAYS low and who seemingly NEVER have to worry that their taxes will go up. Create your charts. Create your drawings. We can act NOW and also be ready ourselves for THEN.
This is going to be a fight, but it could be a damned fun one, come March. We have the chance to knock the block off the GOP and expose them for who they really are. If you enjoyed this last "tax cut debate", (and I sadistically realize I did. Quite.), realize that the one in March could be SO MUCH BETTER and could have a direct long-term ramifications in the 2012 election. And beyond.