Salon asked a series of writers and public figures what they would ask what one thing they want President Obama to do in his second term. My response?
Mr. President, perhaps the most important legacy you could achieve on the heels of your re-election is the preservation of the electoral process itself.
Estimates suggest that, between political party spending and Super PAC largess around the presidential and congressional races, this past election cost as much as $6 billion. That is just astonishing. And astonishingly wasteful.
Please read the full essay here.
Does Grover Norquist think that letting a tax cut lapse is the same thing as increasing taxes? Depends on which Grover you ask…
This week, Grover Norquist has been all over the place attacking the idea that President Obama would use his mandate to stand firm on the highly-popular idea of letting the Bush-era tax cuts expire for those earning over $250,000 a year. When asked what his agenda for the fiscal showdown was, Norquist told The Washington Post, “You want to stop any tax increases, so continue any tax cuts that lapse.”
In other words, allowing a tax cut to lapse equals a tax increase, eh? Not so fast says … Grover Norquist.
In a July 2011 meeting with The Washington Post editorial board, Norquist said, “Not continuing a tax cut is not technically a tax increase.”
Please read my latest essay for the American Prospect here.
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