“After their massive tax giveaway to the superwealthy and giant corporations in 2017, congressional Republicans now want to raise taxes on middle class families. I won’t let that happen.”
Federal income taxes were due on Monday, and the White House marked the occasion by criticizing “congressional Republicans” for proposing a massive tax increase on the middle class. The plan has provided a rare opportunity for Democrats, who are frequently tagged as tax increasers by Republicans.
But, wait, who are these congressional Republicans? In her daily press briefing on Monday, press secretary Jen Psaki carefully offered a detail that somehow did not make it into the social media accounts: “The congressional Republican plan, however, as Senator Rick Scott outlined … now, led by Senator Scott, Republicans want to raise taxes on the middle class.”
Scott, the junior senator from Florida, is chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and thus part of the Senate leadership. But is it fair to say he represents the views of congressional Republicans?
In February, Scott released a 60-page “11-point plan to rescue America” that offered 128 proposals. In his introductory letter, he noted that “this plan is not for the faint of heart.” That’s for sure — buried on page 34, at the end of a long list of ways purported to combat socialism, was this idea: “All Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount. Currently over half of Americans...
A front-page article with the byline of veteran New York Times opinion writer Nicholas Kristof is the latest poisonous example of what I call the NGO “halo effect.” Headlined “The Silence That Mee...