Greg Sargent:
Labor big: White House, Dem leaders seriously mulling middle class tax cut vote
This is encouraging: One of the most powerful labor leaders in the country just said that he's in direct talks with the White House and Dem leaders about throwing down the gauntlet and holding a vote just on extending the middle class tax cuts -- and that all parties involved are seriously considering it.
AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka told reporters moments ago on a conference call that he's been aggressively lobbying the White House and Dem Congressional leaders to hold such a vote. Liberals are pushing for this course of action -- rather than a fake "compromise" on extending all the Bush tax cuts temporarily -- because it would represent a genuinely confrontational approach, forcing Republicans to choose between supporting Obama's tax cut plan and opposing a tax cut for the middle class.
Asked if he had been discussing this vote with the White House and Dem leaders and whether he'd received indications it's a real possibility, Trumka said "Yes" to both.
"We've made our intensions clear," Trumka said. "We've talked to them. No one that I'm aware of has said it's not good strategy."
It's crazy that we're even debating this. Separating middle-income and upper-income tax cuts has always made the most sense. There's no reason to hold middle-income tax cuts hostage -- unless you're a Republican. There should be a separate vote on each. If Republicans want to pass upper-income tax cuts, let them vote on it. But don't hold middle-income tax cuts hostage. It really is a no-brainer.
Just do it. Stop thinking. Act.
Update: Sen. Jeff Merkeley (D-OR) calls for a straight up-or-down vote.
