It’s been less than 24 hours since President Obama announced he’d reached agreement with Senate Republicans to temporarily extend all the Bush tax cuts, but already it’s clear that it faces an uncertain future on Capitol Hill within the President’s own party. Some Democrats criticized the plan in withering terms, and most Democrats refused to take an unequivocal position in favor of the plan.
Butt there were many other signs of uncertainty: Senate aides suggested that Republican members will have to provide the bulk of the votes for the plan; and one top Democratic aide worried that the President’s hastily-announced press conference indicated that the plan “may be taking on too much water,” and might sink.
Though some conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans praised the plan, conservative Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) attacked it harshly, calling the extension of Bush tax cuts for wealthy Americans ‘morally corrupt.’
“What is new to me is a concept that we’re going to borrow $46 billion according to the Obama-McConnell plan — and that’s what I’m calling it…we’re going to borrow 46 billion from the poor, from the middle class, from businesses all sizes, basically, to give a tax cuts to families in America today that despite the recession are making over a million dollars,” she said. “This is unprecedented.”
“Put me down as undecided, strongly objecting to that provision,” she added. “Are there other provisions that I like in there? Absolutely.”
On the other side of the party the reviews were just as harsh. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) is a no for now.
“As it sits right now I don’t think I can vote for it. As it sits right now. Again, things can change in the next few days. We’ll see what changes are going to be made.”
The key question for the time being is how many Republicans will support the framework. If too many defect, Democratic leadership will have a hard time making up the difference to get the plan to a filibuster-proof 60 votes. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell today predicted that, “a large majority of members of the Republican conference will find this proposal worth supporting,” but warned that their support could erode if members change it dramatically.
“The agreement is essentially final,” he said.
Tell that to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who said he’d have a hard time marshaling much support for it without some revisions.
“I think we’re going to have to do some more work on it,” he said.
Channeling Democrats’ frustration with the current state of affairs, Harkin suggested that Obama cut a deal too quickly. “A good lawyer compromises on the court house steps, not back in the conference room,” he said. “And we never got to the court house steps. We never got to the point where people really had to sit down and make a deal. I just think it was bargained away too soon.”
And that’s just the Senate, where the legislative package will face its first hurdle. A similar calculus exists in the House, where an unknown number of House Republicans are expected to defect. Democrats will have to more than make up the difference to win an up or down vote, and at this point it’s unclear whether that’s possible.
“It would be very difficult,” said House Dem conference chairman John Larson this morning, to sell this plan to the Democratic caucus on his side of the Hill.
