Rebutted by Brian Buetler: With Economy Faltering, Dems Seize On GOP About-Face On Payroll Tax Cuts For Businesses:
[N]umerous top Republicans react coldly to the prospect of temporarily reducing the payroll tax burden on employers and employees -- to juice the economy before federal spending draws down in the years ahead. Traditionally, and particularly in tough economic times, this and a handful of other stimulative policies have enjoyed bipartisan support. But with the outcome of the 2012 election likely to hinge on the nation's economic trajectory, the GOP is mysteriously rethinking those positions. And Democrats are starting to note of the suspicious timing. "I don't like to question my colleagues' motives," noted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) during his weekly Capitol press conference Tuesday, "but whether work with us to pass these policies, or continue opposing ideas they once supported, will tell us a lot."...
"We don't need short-term gestures," said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the chair of the Senate Republican conference. "We need long-term fundamental changes in our tax-structure, in our regulatory structure that people who create jobs can rely on." Last week, House Speaker John Boehner declined to weigh on the merits of the payroll tax cut, but. But his sights are clearly elsewhere. "The uncertainty that's out there is not going to be overcome by, you know, another little short-term gimmick," he said of traditionally bipartisan stimulus measures...
Rebuttals to talking-points misinformation that I want to have at the forefront of my brain--for when I am surprised, as I will be, by an unexpected question from an unexpected direction while talking to reporters, phone callers, passers-by, radio interviewers, cable TV interviewers, etc....
