Democrats' New Worry: Their Own Rich Voters (blocking health care reform)

[Frank Booth]

A group of Democrats elected in recent years from some of the country's richest congressional districts have emerged as a stumbling block to raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for President Barack Obama's ambitious health-care overhaul just as the plan has begun to meet increasing resistance over its cost.

Friday, two freshmen representatives -- Dina Titus, from suburban Las Vegas, and Colorado's Jared Polis, representing Boulder, Vail and some of the tonier suburbs of Denver -- joined Republicans to vote against Mr. Obama's top-priority health-care overhaul when it faced a vote in their House Education and Labor Committee. One reason was a one-percentage point-surtax on couples earning between $350,000 and $500,000 -- gradually increasing to 5.4 percentage points on earnings more than $1 million -- to pay for it.
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Also on Friday a busload of freshmen Democrats went to the White House to plead their case against sharp tax increases with the president and his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. The organizer was Rep. Gerald Connolly, the president of the freshman class whose Northern Virginia district is the richest in the U.S. as measured by median household income.

"There could come a time," said Rep. Michael McMahon, a freshman Democrat from New York City's borough of Staten Island, when Democrats are in open rebellion. "We will certainly see in the next few weeks where we are going."

more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124804459318663479.html#mod=whats_news_free?mod=igoogle_wsj_gadgv1

Friends like these . . .

[villager]

1. Perhaps the Democrats "poor voters" ought to rise up

... to give the elected class some new worries...

[QC]

2. Lay down with dogs, get up with fleas. n/t

[lindisfarne]

3. We can do just fine in the House without a few. In the senate, we need 60 to prevent filibuster

but only 50 to pass a bill.

[Sebastian Doyle]

4. It's time these goddamn tax dodging leeches pay up.

Roll back the tax "cuts"* to the Eisenhower era levels


* - it's not really a tax cut when they don't pay shit in the first place, with all the loopholes. Which also need to be closed, before the tax "cuts" are rolled back.

[imdjh]

5. They pay a hell of a lot more than I do, but that's not the point.

If they would get on board for single payer, they would pay their health insurance tax into the program through which they also get their health insurance.

That's the approach. This "ill gotten gain" and "evil rich people" shit is not only inaccurate, it's counter productive.

[leftstreet]

6. ROFL hoisted by their own Limousine Liberals

:rofl: