A spokesman for House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp of Michigan declined to answer a direct question whether his boss will or won’t agree to consider tax hikes of any kind as a member of the debt-ceiling deal’s Super Congress joint committee.
Earlier today, I noted here that Reuters had quoted Camp saying that in his view as a member of the new panel “everything is on the table” and he doesn’t want “to rule anything in or out.” And I warned that such language is “Washington Wink-Wink” for justifying a tax hike.
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Shortly after that post appeared on this web site, the spokesman, who preferred to remain anonymous, pointed out that the Reuters headline was being corrected and offered this statement as attributable to “a Ways and Means spokesperson:
“Despite a misleading and inaccurate headline that attempts to tell a story when there isn’t one to tell, Chairman Camp’s position on taxes has not changed. When discussing the concept that all potential solutions ought to ‘be on the table’ or that he ‘won’t rule anything in our out,’ he has always emphasized that any potential solution must be looked at through the prism of jobs and whether those proposed solutions would strengthen the economy. Obviously, tax increases wouldn’t make that list.”
So I asked the spokesperson this question: “So, if I write that Camp will oppose any tax hike, it will be accurate?”
When the spokesperson suggested I “just stick to the statement,” I pointed out that I asked the question “on the record and I would like a response.” A response was then promised as coming.
Here’s what I got: “Chairman Camp has been clear that tax increase do not lead to job creation. Feel free to use the comment I sent earlier as an on-the-record statement.”
But notice that my question was specifically whether Camp would support any tax hike, not whether tax hikes lead to job creation.
When Washington’s professional politicians – or their spokespersons – waffle, evade or otherwise avoid answering a direct question, you can be sure 99.999999 percent of the time they don’t want to answer the question being asked because they don’t want the general public, their constituents back home, party primary voters, or somebody else to hear the answer.
So, as I wrote earlier today, the fix appears to be in, so prepare for Republicans to cave to Democrats’ demands for a tax hike.
And these people wonder why their approval rating is at an historic low?
