Seriously, John Boehner?

How much fun the copy editors at the Courier-Journal must have had writing the headline that House Majority Leader John Boehner has agreed to tax hikes.

This, from the guy who told us just two weeks ago at the McConnell Center that he was all about finding common ground but not compromising on principle.

There is no way that Boehner will get the Republican votes he needs, so why even upset conservatives by pretending that this is a possibility?

Everyone is starting to freak that the Super Committee's deadline is next week.  Automatic cuts will occur unless the Super Committee can agree on identifying alternative cuts or funding the budget with, let me get the euphemism right, "revenue enhancements."

This economy cannot sustain the hit of hikes right now:  it would ensure the double-dip that everyone fears is happening anyhow.

So let the automatic cuts take place.  Pull the trigger.  Sure, Republicans don't want the massive military cuts. Truth be told, however, there is fat in the military budget just as there is in every federal department.

Hoping Boehner Gets the Votes

House Majority Leader John Boehner's plan is not perfect.  But conservatives who oppose it for not going far enough are making a big mistake.  His plan cuts government.  Not as much as it needs to be cut, but it is a start.  We will have many, many more opportunities to role back the size of the federal government.  It didn't get this big over-night and it will not be rolled back over-night.

GOP Caucus Writes Harry Reid

Senate Republicans -- 42 of them -- have sent a letter to Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. In sum, Republicans will not agree to cloture votes on any of Harry's pet ideas, like the "Dream Ac," until legislation is completed to (1) fund the government and (2) prevent the automatic tax hike that will otherwise occur on December 31. Here's the letter in full:

Dear Leader Reid,

The nation’s unemployment level, stuck near 10 percent, is unacceptable to Americans. Senate Republicans have been urging Congress to make private-sector job creation a priority all year. President Obama in his first speech after the November election said “we owe” it to the American people to “focus on those issues that affect their jobs.” He went on to say that Americans “want jobs to come back faster.” Our constituents have repeatedly asked us to focus on creating an environment for private-sector job growth; it is time that our constituents’ priorities become the Senate’s priorities.

For that reason, we write to inform you that we will not agree to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to any legislative item until the Senate has acted to fund the government and we have prevented the tax increase that is currently awaiting all American taxpayers. With little time left in this Congressional session, legislative scheduling should be focused on these critical priorities. While there are other items that might ultimately be worthy of the Senate's attention, we cannot agree to prioritize any matters above the critical issues of funding the government and preventing a job-killing tax hike.

Given our struggling economy, preventing the tax increase and providing economic certainty should be our top priority. Without Congressional action by December 31, all American taxpayers will be hit by an increase in their individual income-tax rates and investment income through the capital gains and dividend rates. If Congress were to adopt the President’s tax proposal to prevent the tax increase for only some Americans, small businesses would be targeted with a job-killing tax increase at the worst possible time. Specifically, more than 750,000 small businesses will see a tax increase, which will affect 50 percent of small-business income and nearly 25 percent of the entire workforce. The death tax rate will also climb from zero percent to 55 percent, which makes it the top concern for America’s small businesses. Republicans and Democrats agree that small businesses create most new jobs, so we ought to be able to agree that raising taxes on small businesses is the wrong remedy in this economy. Finally, Congress still needs to act on the “tax extenders” and the alternative minimum tax “patch,” all of which expired on December 31, 2009.

We look forward to continuing to work with you in a constructive manner to keep the government operating and provide the nation’s small businesses with economic certainty that the job-killing tax hike will be prevented.