Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) on tax deal: President Obama "went out and gave away the store"

[Better Believe It]

TYT: Rep. McDermott (D-WA) On Obama Tax Cave
posted by Tom Hanc
December 15, 2010

Cenk Uygur interview with Congressman Jim McDermott, D-Washington:


Uygur: Yeah, because the president and his advisors and the Washington media are positive they couldn't have gotten a better deal, that the Republicans would've held out, etc. Why do you think that the Republicans would've given in?

McDermott: Well, first of all, he could've gotten a better deal if he talked to us a little bit before he went out and gave away the store. This whole thing was done as though the House of Representatives didn't exist. And we would've given him the backing to make it possible for him to have a stronger hand, but he simply did not use the House, he went out and made the deal himself, and what he's got now is what he's got. He's going to have to live with it. He will never stop this in two years, he says, oh, well, we're going to get to two years from now and I'm going to make a stand right at election time. That's nonsense, we know that.

Uygur: Well, of course, Mitt Romney says no, we should give more tax cuts to the rich, this isn't enough, and that we should... the unemployment insurance extension causes problems with the deficit. He says it's the bedrock principle of the Republicans that they always pay for things like the unemployment insurance. In the next paragraph he says we should not pay for the tax cuts for the rich, so I don't know what kind of a bedrock principle it is, but that's his claim. And it is interesting, because DeMint voted against this, so did Bernie Sanders and Feingold, etc., it's strange bedfellows. But you know, the other possibility, Congressman, is that the president isn't really that progressive. Have you guys thought about that in the caucus?

McDermott: Well, we didn't talk about progressive or conservative or anything else. What we're trying to figure out is how we are fair to the workers in this country. And if you believe, and I don't believe this, I don't believe that the Republicans could've gone home to Christmas and said we're not going to take care of the unemployed, we're going to leave them hanging out there. They dragged them around for 51 days last August so they could extract some things out of the Senate, and they're dragging them through this, from the First of December on, they've been dragging them toward the first of the year, they put 2 million people out there without any way to pay their rent or their mortgage or buy food for their children or buy-- or pay for their electric light bill, and they are willing to do that to people in order for-- to get one thing. Because we passed from the House the unemployment benefit extension, we passed the extension of the middle-class tax cuts, and the Republicans said, 'No, we will not do it unless you give more money to the rich.' And they have simply stood on that position, and I don't think that's a winning position in this country at this point. I think that if the president had been hard and stood firm, I think he would've seen a change, but that's, you know, that was yesterday's news now.

Read or watch the full interview at:

http://www.theyoungturks.com/story/2010/12/15/1228/1827/Diary/TYT-Rep-McDermott-D-WA-On-Obama-Tax-Cave-Video-amp-Transcript

[leftstreet]

1. K&R

[emilyg]

2. k

[Better Believe It]

3. Congress has the power to stop this bill but they won't.

[gratuitous]

4. Yep, and with a whole bunch of "I didn't mean to" votes

It bears repeating: If you say you're against some bill, but you vote for it, it doesn't matter what was in your heart. You supported the bill. That's all there is to it. I refuse to listen to any of the mealy-mouthed meatheads who will say (and you can bet they will) "I didn't support this bill, but we needed to proceed to other business." If you voted for it, you supported it, even if you had your fingers crossed.

[LiberalEsto]

5. They should demand that Obama compromise

with the Democrats for once

but it will never happen

[Better Believe It]

6. Bi-partisanshit. Ain't it wonderful?

[LiberalEsto]

8. Bi-partisanshit! The perfect word!

Brilliant!

[tomp]

7. well, dems in the senate voted it through. it's not just obama.

prediction: dems in the house will cave and the bill will suck ass in the end.

you watch.