Fact: White House wanted a vote on the middle class tax cuts BEFORE the election.

[Clio the Leo]

In defense of White House on Bush tax cuts
By Greg Sargent

With everybody beating up on Obama's handling of the Bush tax cuts fight, it's only fair to note one crucial thing in the White House's defense: It isn't Obama's fault that Congressional Democrats punted on holding a vote on just the middle class tax cuts before the election. Indeed, the White House appears to have wanted just the opposite.

As many commentators have noted already, the failure to do that vote left Dems with precious little leverage in the current lame-duck showdown over the tax cuts. As David Leonhardt argues today, Dems "had their chance to win on this issue." Before the election, forcing Republicans to vote on just the middle class tax cuts would have thrown them on the defensive. Now they can basically run out the clock.

It's important to remember that the White House is not to blame for this. My understanding from the reporting I did at the time is that White House officials repeatedly signaled to Dem Congressional leaders that they wanted the vote to happen. Nancy Pelosi, too, wanted it to happen. But she and Steny Hoyer ultimately deferred to moderate Dems who feared such a vote would allow Republicans to paint them as tax hikers. Dem leaders also worried that they might lose the vote, though it's unclear why this should have mattered: It still would have forced House GOPers to make a tough choice before the election.

It's also key to keep in mind that when the possibility of the vote was still hanging over the elections, Dems were on the offensive. They were winning. As Ezra Klein reminds us, Republicans were clearly caught in a bind. House GOPers like John Boehner and Dave Camp were actually saying they might vote with the Dems. That was a clear signal that Dems held the cards at the time. Yet they punted anyway. Now Republicans are in a stronger position: Dems have been "shellacked," Republicans are no longer facing an election, and the tight timing of the lame-duck session has given the GOP more leverage.

You could argue that the White House could have been more vocal about their desire for a pre-election vote or pushed Dem leaders harder to make it happen. But the White House was right to grant Congressional leaders the leeway to chart their own course. And at a certain point, it's tiresome to hear Dems blame the White House for their own lack of spine or leadership. Amid the roar of criticism of the White House, let's keep in mind that they aren't to blame for a key aspect of the Dems' current predicament.
By Greg Sargent | December 2, 2010; 3:33 PM ET

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/12/in_defense_of_white_house_on_b.html

Personally, I think the problem is that Dems never HAD (and never will have) the votes to ONLY pass the middle class tax cuts, but what'ev.

10/29 - "White House considering 'decoupling' top-tier tax cut"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/29/AR2010102906927.html?hpid=topnews

[Enrique]

1. Greg Sargent, Ezra Klein, Steve Benen, Matt Yglesias all sound the same

their job these days seems to be explaining how nothing is Obama's fault.

[wndycty]

3. Question, if something ISN'T OBAMA'S fault why should he take the blame and. . .

. . .why shouldn't folks who know what is going on defend him?

[MadMaddie]

5. Because the truth doesn't matter to some folks

that's the bottom line.

[peace13]

8. It's pretty clear that some folks around here want Obama to take the blame

for things he didn't say or do. They don't seem to like the idea of actually quoting the man or posting a link to his actual remarks either. Very sad but Obama has broad shoulders and it will all work out in the end. I have given up on trying to figure the underbelly of DU out these days.

[young but wise]

4. ......

And your job is to claim everything is Obama's fault.

[Raine1967]

6. If so many people sound the same--

maybe you should get a clue.

[Schema Thing]

2. And if they had, there would be at least a few more of them in congress next year.

[progressoid]

7. We have a failure of leadership on all fronts.

We are now having a vote on middle class tax cuts with the same Senate, House and Whitehouse that we had before the election.

[frylock]

9. sounds rock solid..

My understanding from the reporting I did at the time is that White House officials repeatedly signaled to Dem Congressional leaders that they wanted the vote to happen.

were "White House officials" using semaphore? why not pull the congressional leaders into a private meeting and state in no uncertain terms that you want it FUCKING done? why does everything have to be so damn nuanced with this crew?!

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

12. Because the very people the delayed the vote for were running against Obama.

The concept of leverage seems entirely lost on a great number of people.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

10. I had forgotten about this, but yes he did. What worries me is that since the election,

he seems to have interpreted the defeat of the Democrats as somehow Americans supporting the Republican agenda. Hell less that half of all Americans even know that the Republicans regained congress of the House. And many more Americans don't support the Republican platform, no matter how many time they repeat the lie.

I'm so serioius on this. For me, this tax cut issue represents the cornerstone of the Democratic Party platform. If he caves on this in any fashion, I'm done with him! PERIOD!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

11. ETA: Another thing that frustrates me about Democrats in general.

They are ready to lay down without even trying. I am fully convinced that had they forced this vote before the elections, some of the House seats may have been saved. I am absolutely convinced of this fact.

The greater point is this: the Democrats--many of those same Blue Dogs--were going to lose anyway. And those who voted against the measure today ALREADY lost their seats. So why not go out with a bang? Why not go out and do the right thing?

This is my problem with Blanche Lincoln and those like her. Do the fucking right thing! You're losing anyway, go out with a bang. Go out and go down FIGHTING!!

It's so frustrating and infuriating dealing with these people.

They are 100% spineless!!!

[TwilightGardener]

13. Failure of all involved. Acknowledge it, suck it up, make the best of

a bad situation, and move on. They allowed themselves to be outmaneuvered and backed into a corner. It is what it is. What it ISN'T, to me, is a reason to give up or wallow in despair.