Tax Deal Splits 2012 Field

Poll: Obama bests potential GOP challengers in 2012
President Obama beats all Republican challengers tested against him in a series of hypothetical 2012 matchups, a new poll found Wednesday. Obama enjoys leads over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) by varying margins, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday evening.  The president maintains a small lead within the Margin of Error over a generic GOP opponent. Forty-two percent of U.S. adults ...

Tax Cut Deal Divides Potential 2012 GOP Contenders
From left: Mitt Romney, Mike Pence and John Thune (Credit: CBS) President Obama turned the debate over the extension of the Bush Tax Cuts into a 2012 Campaign issue when he made a deal with Republicans to extend them all for another two years. Several of the president's anticipated GOP challengers have weighed in on the issue, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who gave a sharp critique of the plan in an op-ed yesterday. Now two more of the Republican Party's potential presiden...

Crunch time: Dems ready to proceed on tax cuts bill with outcome uncertain
Robert Costa at NRO has a status report. Remember, Pelosi screwed up earlier this afternoon by agreeing to let an amendment on the Estate Tax provisions come to the floor via a procedural rule that would have deemed the entire Tax Cuts package passed if the amendment passed. House liberals would have had no opportunity to register their opposition to the overall package, which was a dealbreaker for them. So, back to the drawing board for a new scheme: House Democrats say there will likely be a...

Sen. Thune likely headed to N.H. early next year
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told a New Hampshire Radio Station Thursday that he's taking a "hard look" at a run for president in 2012 and that there's "a very good possibility" he'll head to the Granite State early next year.  "We're taking a hard look at it," Thune said of a potential 2012 bid. "It's obviously a very big undertaking but as you know the Granite State figures prominently into anybody who wants to succeed at that task."  In an interview with a Concord Radio Station Thursday morni...

The VERY Wide Open 2012 GOP Presidential Race
Despite the persistent myth that the Republican rank-and-file are all patiently waiting to be told by Great Big Grownups which leader to follow in 2012 (you know, a Great Big Grownup Candidate like Mitch Daniels or Haley Barbour or John Thune) there's remarkably little evidence that conservative Activists, the true rulers of the GOP, are converging behind any particular candidate. For a good indication of the landscape, check out the reader poll recently conducted at the highy influential rig...

Tax Deal Hits Procedural Snag in the House
WASHINGTON —The $858 billion Tax Cut package negotiated by the White House and Republican leaders hit a procedural snag on Thursday, as Liberal Democrats skirmished with Party Leaders over its estate-tax provisions. At issue was whether the House would vote on an amendment to tax a larger proportion of wealthy estates and to apply a higher rate than was provided for in the Compromise package. Estate taxes have long generated political heat. Would other kinds of taxes work just as well? Th...

2012 Republican Candidates: Still for the Tax Deal, Mostly
What's changed since I broke down the potential 2012 GOP Candidates' stances on the Tax Cut deal? - Gary Johnson came out against it. - Mike Pence told Sean Hannity: "I believe it is a bad deal for Taxpayers that will do little to create jobs, and I cannot support it." Pence previously told Hannity he was Undecided. Pence's opposition is somewhat significant because he's only one of three potential 2012 candidates who gets a vote on this. Ron Paul is for it, and John Thune has been baiting oppo...

Poll: Obama Handily Leads Palin, Romney, Thune
President Obama easily leads three Republican challengers in hypothetical 2012 matchups presented in a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. However, Obama's victory against a generic GOP Candidate falls within the poll's Margin of Error. Only former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney polled reasonably close to Obama in the head-to-head contests. Forty percent of respondents said they would vote for Romney if he were the Republican nominee, versus 47% who said they would vote for Obama. Against Sen. ...

No Deal on the Tax Deal
Charles Krauthammer, Mike Pence, and Mitt Romney are right. Paul Ryan and Chris Christie are wrong. The proposed tax deal is not the best deal achievable. Doing nothing is better. The logic in favor of the tax deal (from Conservatives) is understandable: It is not exactly what we wanted, but it is the best deal we can get, and it is better than no deal at all. The idea is that the current Tax Rates are extended for everyone, which is what we wanted. While other stuff, undesirable stuff, was adde...

Thune backs tax deal in N.H.
Republican Sen. John Thune used an interview with a New Hampshire Radio Station to hit critics of the deal that extends the Bush-era Tax Cuts — and to praise President Barack Obama. "I give the president credit; I mean, he recognized the need to solve this problem, and he moved to the middle," Thune told Concord Radio Station WKXL on Thursday. "And I think, frankly, if you look at the criticism from his left, I think you recognize that this is a proposal that ended up wit...

In 2007, Mike Huckabee supported cap and trade now he denies it.
This is a TP repost by Brad Johnson. Yesterday afternoon, Mike Huckabee denied that he ever supported a mandatory cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse Pollution. “I never did support and never would support it - period,” the former Arkansas Governor, Republican Presidential Candidate, and Fox News personality claimed in a blog post on his political Fundraising site Huck PAC. However, when he spoke at the Clean Air Cool Planet conference in Manchester, NH, on October 13, 2007, Huck

David Thielen: Senator Michael Johnston Interview
First off an Apology, I forgot my recorder and so was not able to record the interview. So we're going by my memory and a couple of notes I made. Consider all "quotes" to be paraphrases. We started off with Senator Johnston asking me about my idea to address TABOR, etc. He was interested because most every Republican I have mentioned it to finds it an interesting alternative and so it might get wide support. The idea is to eliminate all Budget restrictions in the constitution and replace it w...

Tax-cut deal could revive Obama's chances in 2012 - Politics AP - MiamiHerald.com
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's tax-cut deal with Republican lawmakers may help him lay the groundwork for his political revival heading into his 2012 re-election campaign - if it strengthens The Economy as intended. If economic forecasters are right, the deal will help The Economy grow and could lower Unemployment sharply over the next two years. That's the kind of record that can help first-term presidents win re-election even after rough Midterm Elections: Consider Ronald Reagan and...

McConnell Embraces Obamas Taxes Wont Go Up for Anyone Claim
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) added that the vote “represents a clear shift in the debate over America’s path to Economic Recovery,” as “Democrats joined our effort to ensure taxes aren’t going up on anyone and that Americans are keeping their money so they, not the government are more equipped to help bring our economy back.” Sure, there’s lots wrong with the deal, on the Estate Tax and the broken promise to end the wealthiest American...

House Dems Delay Tax Cut Vote
The Washington Post reports: A liberal uprising over House procedures on Thursday was delaying a final vote on a far-reaching tax Compromise brokered by the White House and Republican leaders. Dozens of Democrats were demanding an opportunity to cast a vote to change an Estate Tax provision they view as too generous for the wealthy without also approving the rest of the package as approved by the Senate. That package also contains a two-year extension of George W. Bush Administration tax polic...

Ohio Republican Numbers
Ohio Republicans say Mike DeWine would be their first choice of a Candidate to take on Sherrod Brown in 2012, although that's likely a function of name recognition more than anything else. 27% of GOP voters in the state say they'd like DeWine to be their nominee, followed by former Secretary of State and 2006 Gubernatorial nominee Ken Blackwell at 17%, incoming Secretary of State Jon Husted at 11%, Congressman Jim Jordan at 10%, incoming Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor at 7%, Congressman Steve ...

Tax Deal Falls Apart
Washington (AP) - The massive Tax Cut package that passed the Senate Wednesday has screeched to a halt in the House as representatives squabble over procedural complaints. The House was originally expected to debate and vote on the Tax Cut package as early as Thursday afternoon, albeit with some potential changes. The plan was to first hold a vote on an alternative proposal that would raise the Estate Tax above what Republicans want. If that failed, the House was scheduled to vote inste...

Taxing Estates
I think if I read another snatch of writing where a progressive puzzles over why the Estate Tax is unpopular, I’m going to shoot myself. More informative, I think, would be self-examination. Why are liberals eager to tax estates. My own effort to think this problem over has actually made me less eager. The Estate Tax is basically a wealth tax with a highly progressive rate structure. But instead of taking a tiny share of very wealthy households’ wealth on an annual basis, it takes ...

Poll: Obama's Approval Rating Declines
President Barack Obama answers questions on his Compromise on Tax Cuts, Unemployment Insurance and jobs on Tuesday at the White House. (Chuck Kennedy / White House) (FOXNews.com) - President Barack Obama’s second year as president is ending on a low note in the eyes of American voters. The president continues to suffer from upside-down job Ratings, and the number who thinks he will be re-elected is down significantly, according to a Fox News Channel poll released Thursday. Expectations for...

Dear Diary, Obama Isn't Hated Like You'd Think
What a depressing fact for Republicans to try and cope with. After all, Senate Republicans like Mitch McConnell have made it their goal to try and get President Barack Obama out of office in 2012. Well, they have a shot with new election apportionment that could make it slightly more difficult for Obama to reach the 270 votes needed in the Electoral College. But in terms of their own candidates, the Republicans don't really have a prayer, according to TalkingPointsMemo. The closest thing the Republica

Poll Watch: NBC News/Wall Street Journal 2012 Presidential Survey
NBC News/Wall Street Journal 2012 Presidential Survey Barack Obama 47% Mitt Romney 40% Barack Obama 47% John Thune 27% Barack Obama 55% Sarah Palin 33% Now I’m going to read you the names of several public figures, and I’d like you to rate your feelings toward each one as very positive, somewhat positive, neutral, somewhat negative, or very negative. If you don’t know the name, please just say so. Barack Obama Very positive 25% Somewhat positive 23% Neutral 14% Somewh...

Why Obama Is The 2012 Favorite
Mark Murray reads the latest WSJ/NBC poll and concludes that President Obama is in pretty strong shape: Despite all the bad news the White House has endured over the past several months -- an Unemployment Rate near 10%, the BP spill, the midterm results -- the president's standing has remained steady. His job-approval rating stands at 45% (which isn't far off from where it was a year ago, when it was 47%); his economic handling is at 42% (same as it was a year ago); and 72% say they like Obama ...

Obama's Reelection Hopes
As 2010 comes to a close Barack Obama's prospects for winning a Second Term look basically identical to what they were at the end of 2009. If you look at Obama's poll numbers and those of his leading Republican rivals at the end of last year and compare them to where they are now you find Obama slightly less popular, Mike Huckabee slightly less popular, and Mitt Romney slightly less popular. Only Sarah Palin has seen a shift of greater than 5 points in her numbers- she's a good deal less well ...

Random thoughts on Mitt Romney | Michael Tomasky
In any case, there are two more big liabilities on his ledger: 1st, he changes his ideology about every cycle and his actual policies predilections seem much more moderate than what flies in today's GOP. In other words, it's hard for him to shake the perception that he's a weather vane who doesn't have any real political principles. 2nd, and more devastating, the terror of 'ObamaCare' is based on the Legislation Mitt pushed through in Massachusetts. It's his signature piece of legislation. And g...

McCotter Making Sense
Earlier today, Thad McCotter announce that he won’t vote for the tax bill Compromise in a Speech on the House floor. Here’s the transcript of his speech: Amidst our tumultuous Age of Globalization, wherein Big Government’s restructuring is not merely desirable but inevitable, the sovereign people’s Congressional servants must facilitate the conditions for sustainable Economic Growth so people can work; and preserve and promote Americans’ economic preeminence in the world. To a