Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Republicans are spooling up a big fight with President Obama over revenue increases as Obama rolls out his plan to use a balanced approach to lower the deficit.
Already the headlines are blaring out Obama’s expected call for $1.5 trillion in new tax revenue by raising rates on the ultra-rich. “$1.5 trillion in new taxes” is a softball across the plate for Republican press operations preparing to do battle with Obama in the coming months.
Already, the GOP message machine is swinging for the fences.
On TV Sunday, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) dismissed Obama’s new tax plan (which the White House says is based on ideas supported by billionaire investor Warren Buffet, who’s been asking for a tax increase on the richest for a while now) as “class warfare.”
That’s the kind of classic GOP rhetoric we’re in for as Obama’s plan works its way through the political process. Republicans think they can use Obama’s proposals to drive a wedge between him and independent voters — and between the president and his own party in 2012.
Politico reported Monday that the NRSC is already trying to reshape the Senate electoral landscape into a battle over Obama’s tax increase plan.
“The National Republican Senatorial Committee will send out releases later this morning calling on all 2012 Senate Democrats, particularly those in red states, to take a position on the president’s proposal,” Politico reported.
The DSCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the NRSC plan Monday.
However the fight turns out (and it’s less than likely any of the new taxes will make it through the House) Obama’s proposals are sure to to dump gasoline on the GOP’s already fiery rhetoric on taxes and revenue. It’s the kind of fight progressives have wanted Obama to wage for a while now — and the kind of fight that polls have shown he can win — but it’s also one the Republicans are ready for.
