You go ahead and shoot that hostage, Democrats.
Let me sum up this New Geography article (via Instapundit):
- Top states with most $250K households: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Washington DC.
- Top metro areas with most $250K households: Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, San Jose, Washington DC.
- States with highest average housing values / mortgages: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, Washington DC.
- Metro areas with highest average housing values / mortgages: Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco.
- States with the highest percentage of people taking itemized deductions: California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Washington DC.
You notice the trend? That’s right: there’s a lot of blue there. If we call the Democrats’ bluff and they refuse to stop tax hikes from coming through next month, then there’s going to be one heck of a headache throughout Blue America. If we insist on capping the mortgage deduction at something that our base considers reasonable then the results from that are going to splash all over the Northeast and Left Coast. And if we stop letting Blue America get away with claiming their state/local taxes as a deduction then there’s going to be Hell to pay in Democratic-controlled state legislatures across the land.
In short: the Democrats may be bluffing. And they may not be bluffing. Either way, it’s no skin off of my nose if the Democrats want to gut-shoot their own core geographic constituency. In fact, I consider it to be something of a teachable moment.
Moe Lane (crosspost)
*SHOOT*. *THE*. *HOSTAGE*.
.
Mew
Shoot the hostage and add the hollywood tax for good measure
So part of me wishes that Boehner would instruct the Republican House caucus to vote present on the tax increases, and let the Democrats get whatever they want, with zero possible blame to be attached from the ensuing economic carnage. Since I think that carnage is basically inevitable at this point, we should just get it over with and let it be clear which party’s policies are at fault.
Ok, say we “go over the cliff”. This is what will happen. O will gladly accept the higher rates, and gladly start blaming the R’s for not passing “middle class” tax relief like he wanted while simultaneously pushing stimulus spending to counter the negative effects of the higher rates. The MSM will allow no other narrative to be told.
There will be no teachable moment, because no-one is doing the teaching. There will only be economic disaster and blame. And as the economy gets worse due to gov action, it will get more dependent on gov “stimulus” money to maintain the illusion of growth or whatever passes for growth at that point.
And the next two years will be more of the same. Each debt limit increase will be the same “cliff” scenario. As the economy gets worse the WH will have increasingly crazy leftward demands tacked on with bump. And with each negotiation loss for the R’s, the carrot of “just get rid of the debt limit” will get that much sweeter. And if O finally gets unlimited borrowing power, then the he gets the ability to fund anything he wants without congress (any hope of preventing Federal Health Insurance exchanges in states that didn’t implement one will evaporate). Oh, there will be lawsuits about that, but with any luck for him, he’ll Rogers will allow it or he’ll have appointed a legit lefty SC majority.
And if by some miracle, the economy actually improves (probably due to frakking by energy sector) O will get all the praise and credit for his “forward thinking” policies and push for even more.
Obama is our Chavez.
Aruges, that .. doesn’t hold up.
.
Obama’s a lame duck. He’s got four years to go, but he can almost be ignored…
.
Better, two of the Dem traditional blocs – unions and urban blacks – are about to come into conflict *because* the economy is going to continue to suck
.
Keep in mind, they can only run the printing presses so fast or inflation is going to get back to Carter-era levels .. 17% interest on Federal bonds give you an idea? ..
.
If inflation gets too far out of hand, larger pieces of the economy will drop underground… and the grasshoppers will continue to starve.
.
Look, going off the cliff is not good, but .. given that Obama did win, I think the country has not yet re-learned the lessons of 1977-1978.
.
Mew
Though I agree that “Blame Bush” will be replaced with”Blame Congress” and the media will push it. Polls are already showing that we are losing the arguement. I agree with the let it burn position, I just think we are in a lose lose proposition.
Got your marshmallows and sticks? I do, an a vacation of unknown duration to sit by the campfire and make smores 😉
LET. IT. BURN.
Spegen, do you see how to win? I don’t…. in the short term. In the longer term, though .. can’t lose.
.
Mew
He successfully got re-elected so his voting coalition won’t be ignored, at least by his party.
.
The term “unions” used to mean “trade unions” which depended on the continued success of private business. It no longer means that. Now it means “government employee union” which don’t give a damn about private business. Look at California and Illinois.
.
Blacks are sadly under the sway of their leaders who haven’t shown any real desire to improve their situation (else they wouldn’t be necessary anymore) and their allegiance to the first black president (no one thinks of him as half blak because he’s in lock step with Rev. Wright and Jackson).
.
Inflation is a stat that can be manipulated. And it has been. Inside the US inflation has been kept in check as a stat by the Fed. The value of the dollar vs. other countries currency as fallen dramatically, but no one hears of that or cares because it doesn’t affect them. I figure the illusion can be maintained longer than we hope. People want to believe it can.
.
Even if things go to hell again, what makes you think the Republicans are capable of placing blame where it should be? Historically, when has that ever happened absent a man like Reagan? We don’t have a Reagan.
.
I’m saying that without a person in leadership willing to challenge and educate in a fashion people will listen to, there’s no one to teach them that lesson, and they will fall for whatever claptrap Obama and the complicit media concoct to deflect blame. 2014 will not be another 2010 absent concerted and effective efforts to combat Obama’s advances at every stage. The House Republicans are the only ones who can do that, and they just simply won’t.
.
People supported R’s in `10 to stop Obama because they had no power and had no culpability in damage that followed. There is no way for the R’s to stop the damage that’s coming now, damage that will come from due to a deal they themselves cut last year, so they will get blamed for it. They voted for it.
.
We can only hope that Obama makes enough of an ass of himself in the next 2 years that people set that aside. Given the results of last election, I’m not optimistic.
.
Reid is going to gut the filibuster. The courts won’t care. Obama will get to pack the executive agencies with whoever he wants and we will have regulatory rule with unlimited funding unchecked by congress.
.
Pack up the cats. We are doomed.
.
I want to be wrong. I pray for it, but until providence supplies the needed miracle, I don’t see how we avoid the coming disaster or even profit from it.
I agree with the let it burn crowd. In fact I’m with the “If we’re going to have a New Dark Age Let’s Start Now!” crowd!
Moe, you and I both live in high tax, high property value Maryland, so it is skin off both our noses.
If not this cliff then the next one. Obama will never negotiate. Might as well get it over with and embrace the pain.
I just wish that the Republicans would repeat over and over again that higher rates punish high paid workers and have little or no affect on the wealthy. You do not become of of the multimillionaires based on your wages.