The Hill: Senate Dems rally around Conrad's left-leaning budget proposal, tax raises

[flpoljunkie]

Senate Dems rally around Conrad's left-leaning budget proposal, tax raises

By Alexander Bolton - 07/06/11 08:05 PM ET

Senate Democrats on Wednesday embraced a budget proposal that is significantly to the left of President Obama’s plan on raising new tax revenues.

The prospects of the blueprint passing the Senate are bleak, but its emergence after months of negotiation is aimed at countering GOP criticisms that Democrats haven’t passed a budget in two years. Democrats believe some of the proposal could be merged into a bipartisan agreement on raising the debt ceiling.

The budget plan would reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years, according to the baseline used by its author, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.). Using the benchmark assumptions of Obama’s fiscal commission, Conrad said his budget would reduce the deficit by nearly $5 trillion.

Roughly half of that total would come from raising government revenues through new taxes and the closure of special tax loopholes, according to Senate sources familiar with the plan.

more...

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/170035-senate-dems-rally-around-left-leaning-budget-plan

[MannyGoldstein]

1. Conrad "left leaning"?

Oh God, I have woken up in Oceania.

Doubleplusgood to Obama and the Democrats.

[TheKentuckian]

2. As expected, the Catfood Commission is sadly being used as the leftward frame of the situation

How quickly things have turned from "There is no way any of this is going to happen" to "this is the best we can do".

I place a lot of blame on "the faithful" because if they had added the strength of their voices, letter writing, and donations a long time ago instead of winking, nodding, and swearing eternal fealty and unmovable votes then things would have been forced in a different direction.


I blame those who gave tacit permission only slightly less than those who took it and ran.

[xchrom]

3. ...

:thumbsup: