Midterms: If The Democrats Don't Give People A Reason To Vote For Them, They Won't

Every Single Conservative In Congress Exists On Bribery

Republicans seem out of their minds and unimaginably impossible to support. In fact, yesterday, one Republican congressman-- Adam Kinzinger an airfare veteran first elected in 2010 to represent an Illinois district bordering on Paul Ryan's-- was on State of the Union talking about how his own party doesn't deserve to regain the House majority. "All I can say right now is my party has to embrace truth. We have to have a full reckoning of what happened on January 6, and we have to turn away from conspiracy I think if we're going to be in charge and pushing conspiracy and pushing division and pushing lies, then the Republican Party should not have the majority... If Andy Biggs has his way, we will be the party where truth-tellers and people that want to stand up for the Constitution, like Liz Cheney and myself, get kicked out of the party because there's no room for truth."

But holding the majority for Democrats is very much an uphill battle. Why? Beyond gerrymandering of House districts and voter suppression efforts--unaddressed by Democratic majorities-- the reason the Democrats may lose Congress is because of... Democrats. After 4 years of Trump, the voters gave them control of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives. What have they done with it: squandered almost every single opportunity to live up their promises and make Americans' lives better.

Biden should get credit for ending the occupation of Afghanistan-- which, despite his blathering, Trump failed to accomplish-- but cynical and anti-patriotic Republicans have turned that against him and the Democrats, despite overwhelming approval for the withdrawal by the public. A new poll, released by Emerson yesterday, actually shows that if the 2024 presidential election were voted on today, Trump would beat Biden by a point! On top of that, nearly a quarter of voters blame the war in Afghanistan on Biden, the only president in two decades who did anything about ending it!

On the other hand, big majorities of Americans back Biden's progressive domestic agenda-- the one that the Democratic congressional majorities have been unable to move forward. There is no Republican support in Congress for any of it, true, but the Democrats have the numbers to move it without any Republican support. That they can't, is killing Democrats' chance to retain the majorities in the midterms. And, again, why can't they? In the end, it comes down to one word, all caps, bold: CORRUPTION. I can expand on that: conservative corruption-- conservative corruption primarily of Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema in the Senate and of Josh Gottheimer, Stephanie Murphy, Kurt Schrader, Henry Cuellar, Ed Case, et al (No Labels' Unbreakable Nine) in the House.

And what are they whining about that will put the GOP back in control. Fair taxation-- in other words, the wealthy donors who underwrite their miserable and worthless careers being forced to pay a tiny bit more in taxes for the benefit of the people who actually are stupid enough to keep reelecting them. The sad headline in Sunday's Wall Street Journal: Progressives’ Tax-the-Rich Dreams Fade as Democrats Struggle for Votes.

Richard Rubin wrote that "Progressive Democrats, who had hoped unified party control of the government could spur transformative tax increases on multinational companies and wealthy individuals, look like they will have to settle for a more modest outcome. Tax-code changes moving through Congress this month would still likely raise more than $1 trillion over a decade and reverse many Trump-era changes to help fund an expanded social safety net. Key pieces remain unresolved, and progressive activists hope Democrats can be swayed by last-minute pressure campaigns and the party’s desire to unite behind President Biden. 'The labor movement does not believe that there is a Democrat in either house prepared to block the president’s investment agenda for the benefit of giant corporations and billionaires,' said Damon Silvers, director of policy at the AFL-CIO. 'But if it turned out that there was such a person, our members would certainly want to talk to them.'"

Silvers better get started talking with Manchin, Sinema, Gottheimer, Schrader, Cuellar and friends, because that is exactly what they are being paid-- handsomely-- to do and have every intention of doing it.

Democrats are weighing how far to go, particularly on taxing multinational corporations and capital gains. They had planned to use higher taxes, tax enforcement and other policy changes to pay for their $3.5 trillion, 10-year package. The bill is expected to create a paid-leave program, extend the expanded child tax credit, offer renewable-energy tax breaks and may create a Medicare dental benefit. Each $1 trillion in tax increases over a decade is roughly a 2% increase in federal revenue.

Progressives are trying to keep tougher tax proposals alive. Lawmakers including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) pressed last week for strong international tax rules. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) floated exemptions for capital-gains changes that would spare many multimillionaires but keep billionaires within Democrats’ sights.

“Now we need Congress to finish the job, to come through for the American people,” Biden said in remarks Friday touting his proposed taxes on businesses and wealthy Americans.

But it is far from certain what can pass, and lawmakers have acknowledged they may need to pare their ambitions or borrow more.

The result could be a far cry from the talk of wealth taxes and repealing the 2017 GOP tax law that dominated the 2020 presidential primary campaign and weren’t part of Biden’s plans. Democrats’ slim congressional margins mean they need almost every lawmaker on board. [Corrupt conservatives] balk at the current price tag and the taxes proposed to help pay for it, frustrating progressives. Republicans are united against higher taxes.

[Corrupt conservatives] and the leadership are trying to thread a needle with what is clearly a much smaller eye than some progressives would like,” said Todd Metcalf, a former Democratic congressional aide now at accounting firm PwC LLP, noting that progressives may again have to accept part of what they want. “Do they take that lesson and understand that a more moderate outcome is an acceptable one because it at least advances the ball?”

There is a strong intraparty consensus to reverse some of the 2017 cuts. The corporate tax rate is likely to jump to 25% from 21%, fitting the preferences of Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Mark Warner (D-VA). That is below the 28% Biden proposed and the 35% that existed before 2017. Democrats also plan to return to the top individual tax rate to 39.6% from 37%. The Biden plan would start that top bracket at $452,700 in taxable income for individuals and $509,300 for married couples.

The tax provision generating the most Democratic angst is capital gains. To progressives, it is their clearest chance to push back against wealth inequality they have spent years decrying.

“At this pivotal moment, Congress faces a key test: will they take on three of the worst imbalances in who the nation’s tax system serves?” said Chuck Marr, senior director of federal tax policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, referring to decisions on capital gains, international taxes and enforcement. “Will some of the wealthiest people continue to pay little or no income tax and have their bills erased when they die?”

...Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said on the Guy Benson Show last week that he prays every night for Democratic [corrupt conservatives] and warned of the impact of tax increases.

“This absolutely undoes everything we did four years ago and that 30-year tax reform bill,” he said.

Yeah... that's the idea-- and that's what the American people want and that's, in part why the American people handed the White House and both Houses of Congress to the Democrats last year.