I don’t say it very often, but I have it hand it to them Dems. The House vote taken today on whether or not to adjourn the House before deciding on the fate of the Bush tax cuts was a smart one. 39 Dems voted with the Republicans, making it a narrow 210-209 vote but ultimately adjourning.
What they did was take the seats that are on the bubble in this election and have them vote against adjournment. Then those Democrats can go back to their districts and say to their constituents and print in their mailers that they voted to stay in Washington to have a vote on the Bush tax cuts. And with a vote that close, every vote counted.
Not that they’d actually vote for extensions, but this vote leaves it open-ended at the very least. For instance, Freshman Congressman Tom Perriello (VA-5) was one of the 39 Dems who broke rank with his vote, and his seat is THE race to watch in the state of Virginia. But his local newspaper, the Daily Progress, just recently reported that Perriello ultimately plans to end the tax cuts for the uppermost tax bracket.
It’ll be interesting to see how these seats play out on Election Day, and if any incumbents actually do go on to vote for the extension. As I mentioned in an earlier post, if Democrats can be persuaded to extend investment tax cuts, then we are a little closer to the possibility of extending the Bush tax cuts on individual taxes for all citizens–especially the top income earners who bear and pay the lion’s share of tax revenue in this country.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/121599-boehner-decries-punt-on-tax-cut-vote-