Lobby for filibuster reform, not tax hikes for the rich
by David Atkins
Several progressive organizations are gearing up right now to pressure lame duck Republicans to accept tax increases on the wealthy. Sounds great, right? Except it isn’t.
As Digby and I have been saying for a while now, minor tax rate increases for the wealthy in exchange for drastic social safety net cuts are not a good trade. Eliminating loopholes for the rich is an even worse trade, as they’re ridiculously easy to reinstall.
And we all know the Republican House isn’t going to pass tax increases on the wealthy without major cuts. We also know that the Obama Administration is desperate for a Grand Bargain. We know that when conservative Republicans push back against Grover Norquist on tax increases, it’s because they know a good deal for them when they see one. And a good deal for conservative Republicans is a bad deal for the American people.
In fact, the only salvation from this fate is Norquist and his tea party allies holding the line against tax increases, allowing us to cross the artificial fiscal Rubicon and demand straight-up middle class tax cuts.
So I don’t see any good reason to tell Republican House members to support tax increases on the wealthy. Precisely the opposite.
If activists want to lobby Congress, far more important is real filibuster reform. Jonathan Bernstein has a great post about it: it’s actually really easy to write filibuster rules that will prevent the minority from doing much more than stalling legislation. The only question is whether the Senate will have the guts to implement those rules.
That’s where the activism need to be right now, not on taxes.
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