"You got it. It’s time to be patriotic, Kate. It’s time to jump in, it’s time to be part of the deal, it’s time to help get America out of the rut." - Joe Biden on raising taxes on the wealthy, 2008
Biden was excoriated for this remark by the McCain campaign while the notion of taxes as patriotic was scoffed at and vilified by the usual gang of talk radio idiots.
Fast forward to now.
Romney is under heavy fire for his status as a super rich guy. Much of it is his own fault for condescending and patronizing attempts to find common ground with the little guy.
- Wearing jeans and flannel shirts (but don't you dare touch his coif).
- Telling people he's unemployed, while sitting on over a quarter of a billion dollars.
- The unintentionally sarcastic remark he created 100,000 jobs while at Bain Capital, despite their track record of laying off workers and shuttering factories.
- More recently, his ludicrous waving away of $373,000 in speaking fees as "not very much money."
- Let's also not forget the shocker that he invested in offshore funds in the Cayman Islands, which according to his camp isn't really a tax haven.
The latest charge is the revelation that Mittens' actual tax rate for 2010 was 15%.
No one is suggesting he did anything illegal (though the ethics of private equity firms has gotten a lot of attention). Likewise no one is suggesting he doesn't deserve his income, that he should give his money away, or that he's at fault for availing himself of current tax law.
But it blows a HUGE hole in the already sinking ship that Romney is an every man, someone not of the super wealthy elite.
The Grinch (good nickname for Newt?), who's been viciously attacking Mittens, now proudly pats himself on the back that in 2010 he paid an actual federal income tax rate of 31%. Take that Richie Rich!
I love it. One rich guy attacking another rich guy for being more rich (Newt's personal worth is estimated at over $100 million).
Paying more in taxes in order to score points with voters? Egads. Joe was right.
Newt should thank the Occupiers.
One inarguable success the protest movement had is shifting the national dialogue towards issues like income and wealth disparity and tax laws that favor the rich. Those phrases are appearing in the media more now than in a quite a while.
The issues obviously resonate with GOP voters (even if they still hate the Occupiers) otherwise Romney wouldn't be on his heels defending his image while his poll numbers dip.
Of course Newt doesn't have the guts to point this out. Solidarity with a bunch of hippies whom Sean Hannity accused of rape and murder? Oh no no no. The Grinch doesn't want to raise Romney's taxes, he wants to lower everyone else's to 15%. Shrewd way to push another awful flat tax policy (9-9-9!!).
The GOP distraction of deficits and debt have been pushed aside in favor of appealing to the middle class and the fact they pay taxes at a higher rate than their bosses do. If the GOP adopts this platform, they'll be doing the Occupiers' and the left's job for them.
While Obama has been consistent with his message that jobs and the economy come first, he's been content to let the GOP figure it out on their own. All it took was a lot of brave men and women, some tents, and several tons of granola.
Maybe Newt's next attack ad will call out Mittens as the 1%?
