President Donald Trump is preparing to steamroll Democrats ahead of the midterms, and his strategy will force Democrats to reveal their true colors.
Nancy Pelosi promised that Democrats would repeal the Trump tax cuts if they took back Congress in November – a comment that left most Congressional Democrats wishing she’d just shut up. While they’re not for tax cuts, they can’t deny the popularity of the Trump tax cuts (and the booming economy). That’s why most Democrats have remained silent on the issue of the Trump tax cuts, with a few exceptions. (RELATED: Pelosi Promises: If Democrats Take Back the House, We’ll Repeal Your Tax Cuts).
But Trump is going to put them in a position that forces them to come out publicly against tax cuts, by pushing for more ahead of the midterms. According to Yahoo Finance, on Tuesday “Trump sat down at the White House with Kevin Brady, chairman of the House of Representatives tax-writing committee, and a handful of other Republicans from the panel to plot a path forward on further tax cuts that would appeal to their conservative political base ahead of the Nov. 6 elections.”
Trump, House Republicans discuss further tax cuts at White House https://t.co/Y1jAaBKUg2 pic.twitter.com/yQ45yi5ItQ
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 18, 2018
In the Trump tax cuts passed in December, the $1.1 trillion in cuts for individuals, families, and private businesses are set to expire in 2025. The same Democrats who claimed that the Trump tax cuts were only “for the rich” also opposed amendments making the cuts to individuals permanent. The Trump team would like to make those cuts permanent.
Kevin Brady, the chairman of the House of Representatives tax-writing committee, said that he expects to see a House vote on a tax cuts bill in September. “We talked about timing and the importance of this. … We’re very well aligned with the White House on 2.0,” Brady continued. The timing he’s speaking of, of course, is being prior to the midterms.
It reminds me of when Obama attempted a similar strategy back in 2015 when he started advocating for “free” community college. It was a policy he literally never said a word of prior to 2015, and if it’s something he really wanted, why wouldn’t he have advocated for it when Democrats controlled Congress? Simple – because he knew any bill he proposed would be shot down by Republicans in Congress, who he could then paint as “anti-education.”
Further compounding just how pointless a concept “free community college” was, the average Pell Grant covers the average community college tuition, so it’s not like poor people who want to attend can’t do so for free already.
While Trump too is playing politics, it’s to push forward a policy that will put money in the pockets of every working American overnight – and encourage them to actually vote in their own interest. As it turns out, workers really do love their “crumbs”! (RELATED: Business Owner Tells Pelosi the Trump Tax Cuts Aren’t ‘Crumbs’).
If Republicans in Congress pass the second round of tax cuts before the November elections, Democrats can kiss their chances of taking back the House goodbye.
