This headline might as well read "Democrats inch closer to lighting themselves on fire." HuffPost's Ryan Grim:
Democrats Look To Punt On Tax Cut Debate
Senate Democrats are looking to punt the tax-cut debate past the November elections, facing pushback on voting from Democrats facing election in 2010, senior Democratic aides say. The party will gather this afternoon for a caucus-wide meeting to set the pre-election agenda, but it appears increasingly unlikely that it will include the much-hyped tax-cut vote.
The White House has been pushing hard for such a vote, circulating polling showing that a majority of Americans, including wide margins of independents, support extending the middle-class tax cuts. Ultimately, though, Democrats up for election feared an assault from the GOP that the party was raising taxes on "small businesses," even though a vanishingly small portion of those who would face a tax hike are real small businesses. But, in an age of 30-second commercials, it only takes one to stare into the camera and lament the effect of the tax change on hiring.
Let's just hope that this story is wrong, because if it's true, not only does it increase the likelihood that Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy will forever be joined at the hip with tax cuts for the middle-class (otherwise known as the hostage bait), but it also will likely lead to bigger Democratic losses this fall. After all, who in their right mind would want to cheer for a team that refuses to take the field?
If Democrats do pursue this transparently cowardly attempt to duck the issue, the one silver lining is that amidst the electoral carnage, many of the Blue Dog and conservative members who are responsible for leading the charge to the sidelines will lose their seats.
I use the word "if" because there is still time for Congressional Democrats to follow the path charted by the White House and President Obama -- a path which not only would result in by far the best policy outcome for the country, but also could rescue the Democratic majority ahead of the midterms. In fact, all available evidence suggests that strategy is working. Democrats in Congress should continue to let it work. If they don't, when they lose, they'll have nobody to blame but themselves.
Unfortunately, we're the ones who will end up paying the biggest price.
Update: TPM reports the same story with a bit more detail:
"Absent a stunning turn of events, we're not going to do tax cuts before the election," the aide told TPM.
The aide said it's already a winning message without a vote since Obama and Democrats have framed the debate as the Republicans being for the rich and Democrats wanting to help the middle class. Others have made similar arguments, but several lawmakers have said they think a vote is the only way to score a political victory. The senior aide doesn't think so.
"We have a winning message now, why muddy it up with a failed vote, because, of course, Republicans are going to block everything," the aide said.
Actually, absent a stunning turn of events, Democrats just cost themselves a bunch of seats in the House and the Senate.