President Obama hit back at Republican criticisms of his proposed tax increases in a speech last that also included six calls for Congress, and Republicans in particular, to pass the jobs stimulus proposal that these tax increases are supposed to pay for.
“Congress should pass that jobs bill right away,” Obama told attendees at Democratic National Committee fundraiser before invoking his intended infrastructure spending. “There’s work to be done, workers ready to do it. We’ve got to tell Congress to pass this jobs bill,” he said. Then Obama said that “if we pass this jobs bill, thousands of teachers in every state will be back in the classroom where they belong.” And then, at least a little bit redundantly, he added immediately, “That’s why we’ve got to tell Congress to pass this jobs bill.”
Obama had one more litany of the expected results that would follow “if we pass this bill” before taking a shot at Republicans. “Don’t make a pledge that you’ll never raise taxes — except when it comes to middle-class taxes, or when Obama proposes a tax cut,” Obama said. “Be consistent. Pass this jobs bill.”
Obama did not mention that Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Sunday that Democrats would not move on his jobs proposal until next month.
Instead, he raised the spectre of Republican opposition to his “tax reform” – raising taxes:
Of course, no Republican designated Obama as a warrior for the middle class. No one wants the middle class to pay more in taxes than billionaires, despite the canard that Obama rolled out. As The Washington Examiner’s David Freddoso notes:
And because Obama is demanding that Congress “pass this bill” even though it costs $447 billion, he also requires a tax hike that, by the numbers, hits small business owners hardest.
