Mitch McConnell on Extending the Bush Tax Cuts: Why Did it Become Something That We 'Paid For'?
Wow, what do you know... for the second time in a row David Gregory decided to hammer one of the Congressional Minority Leaders about the cost of extending the Bush tax cuts. Two weeks ago it was John Boehner. Now Mitch McConnell got his turn to respond to Alan Greenspan's remarks that the Republicans should not be extending them without a way to pay for them. McConnell's response after Gregory hammered on him after he refused to answer the question initially:
SEN. McCONNELL: You're talking about current tax policy. Why did all it of a sudden become something that we, quote "paid for." Look, the problem is the spending problem. If we grind down the spending, we will begin to get a handle on this mounting debt, and if you push this economy further backward, we'll get less revenue for the government, not more. Raising taxes in the middle of a recession on the major job generator in America, small business, is a very, very bad idea.
So much for that deficit they claim they're so concerned about. Not when it comes to tax cuts for the rich. David Gregory should have called him out for his lie about how many small businesses are going to be affected by the tax cuts expiring as well, but hey... it's David Gregory. It's unusual for him to even this aggressive with a Republican when they come his show so my expectations are pretty low when it comes to him getting one of these guys off of their talking points for the day.
He did ask him another good question during this segment as well though. When McConnell said the Republicans would be willing to consider going along with the recommendations from President Obama's deficit commission, Gregory asked him why they needed a Democratic president's commission to figure out what the Republican's think should be cut. McConnell punted on that one and Gregory let it go of course. McConnell claimed he didn't want the matter to become a "political football". Yeah right. Everything is a "political football" with the Republicans.
They do absolutely nothing if that they don't think they can use to gain a political advantage, no matter how bad it is for the country. You could say the same for a lot of them on both sides of the aisle, but the level of just sheer callousness for anything other than remaining in power and protecting their rich campaign donors from the GOP when the country is in this bad of shape is just reprehensible. They're hoping the Democrats do their dirty work for them on Medicare and Social Security so they don't take the political hit for doing what we all know they'd like to do, destroy and privatize both programs.
Transcript below the fold.

