Biden: Hold Line on Taxes in 2012, 'Inevitability' of National Consensus on Gay Marriage

[jefferson_dem]

House to Hold Line on Taxes in 2012; 'Inevitability' of National Consensus on Gay Marriage; Air Bases May Remain in Afghanistan Past 2014
December 24, 2010 7:00 AM

The president’s primary negotiator for the tax cut deal on Capitol Hill told me the administration will hold the line in two years when those cuts expire despite the surge of incoming GOP congressmen about to flood Capitol Hill.

“George, that's why I think I felt confident in being asked by the President to negotiate a deal on taxes that the equities and the economic imperatives are going to be to not extend the high end tax cut, which would cost $700 billion over 10 years. And not extend this overly generous estate tax,” Vice President Joe Biden told me.

Is that a guarantee?

“Nothing’s a guarantee,” he said.

“But I think all the equities, if people look at it objectively, are going to say we have to cut spending. We have to deal with tax revenues. And the obvious, obvious place to do that is not to add another $700 billion dollars to the debt for the high end tax cuts and/or another $120 billion dollars to the debt for this overly generous estate tax,” Biden told me.

Another hot topic during this lame-duck session of Congress – Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, which Obama signed into law on Wednesday.

The vice president agreed with Obama’s comments that his position on gay marriage is “evolving.” Biden said there is an “inevitability for a national consensus on gay marriage.”

“I think the country's evolving. And I think you're going to see, you know, the next effort is probably going to be to deal with so called DOMA ,” he said.

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http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2010/12/exclusive-vice-president-joe-biden-white-house-to-hold-line-on-taxes-in-2012-inevitability-of-nation.html

[Clio the Leo]

1. That's ma Joe! nt

[vaberella]

2. So in effect, buried in all this is that Obama WILL push for legalization of Gay Marriage.

Oh hell naw! I saw this because the fight this will be in Congress will be fuckin' crazy and painful. I mean...shit. I'm lovin' my President and my VP.

Additionally---I guess there's a long game. There's some weird set-up that Biden is suggesting that I don't get. Someone tell me that I'm not the only one hearing this?

[jefferson_dem]

3. Joe is basically echoing what Obama said at his presser the other day.

He says his baseline is a "strong civil union" but he "struggles" with the issue and his position is "evolving." Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZrYT5igYus

There's a small opening here... that he just might be the first major party nominee to endorse gay marriage (as he did prior to 2004, by the way). I wouldn't bet on it ... but hope like hell that he does what's right.

[justiceischeap]

4. I'm torn over ENDA and DOMA

I don't know which should come first. Allowing gay marriages still doesn't address the issue of employment discrimination for being gay. I think, but maybe I'm wrong, that ENDA should be dealt with first, then DOMA. That, to me, makes logical sense.

[vaberella]

5. Of course...he's just building a base with these kinds of interviews.

He always starts a buzz with a topic that takes the longest. But managed to get the Matthew Shepherd amendment passed without too much drama. I think that's what he's planning to do with ENDA/DOMA. He starts the buzz with DOMA (which he even said he'd repeal---the main point in my post is that he seems to be pushing LEGALIZATION OF GAY MARRIAGE--instead of civil unions). ENDA will move quickly but of course with some resistance.