In my next sentence, I'm going to say something I couldn't have imagined saying yesterday.
I now support the Obama-Republican deal and so does my husband.
Just yesterday the two of us were railing at Obama, disappointed as only the strongest supporters can be. We thought about the days we spent canvassing for his campaign, the hundreds of calls my husband made, our donations to his campaign, and got even more furious.
Without a whimper he had turned over so much of what we believed in to the worst Republicans in our lifetime.
But....
then I watched Lawrence O'Donnell.
Now I'm not a big O'Donnell fan -- but I had been watching the end of Rachel Maddow and left the tv on on while I was dealing with a tricky problem in my knitting.
O'Donnell had several guests on, one of which was Robert Greenstein.
For many years I've worked for an advocacy group that is a close ally of Greenstein's organization. I know their work, I know his principles, I know that his main concern is for the poorest of our fellow citizens. I trust his intelligence, his expertise and his integrity. So when he said he supports the deal, I had to take the time to find out why. So I went to the CBPP's website and read his statement.
On the unemployment compensation extension he said:
The 13-month extension of federal unemployment benefits is a major accomplishment. Only a few weeks ago, the House fell short of passing a three-month extension. The 13-month extension will prevent 7 million jobless workers from losing essential income support, without which they would have to cut their purchases substantially, causing the loss of many more jobs. The Council of Economic Advisers recently estimated that an end to these benefits would cause the loss of 600,000 jobs and cut already-inadequate economic growth by 0.6 percentage points....
On other provisions of the deal:
The package continues for two years all of the 2009 Recovery Act improvements in the Earned Income Tax Credit, the American Opportunity Tax Credit (which helps students from low- and middle-income families afford college), and the refundable component of the Child Tax Credit. These measures are simultaneously effective stimulus policy, desirable social policy, and admirable anti-poverty policy. They encourage work over welfare and help more Americans obtain a college education; they provide sound stimulus by putting money in the hands of hard-pressed working families that will spend it; and they substantially reduce child poverty.
http://www.cbpp.org/...
In addition, according to Lawrence O'Donnell, if the entire tax-cut package is allowed to expire, the lowest income taxpayers would see their taxes go up from 10% to 15%, a huge difference for a group of people who are barely making it financially.
In sum, Greenstein feels that despite the truly awful aspects of this package, there is a real possibility that the decent provisions could help grow the economy, particularly for the people suffering most. From a personal and emotional point of view, I want to see fewer diaries here from people who have lost their jobs and their homes. I want my fellow citizens to be able to pay their bills and raise their children decently.
From a political point of view, an improved economy would be good for the Democrats in 2012.
And it became clear to me that despite all the yelling and screaming from members of Congress, they were the ones who got us into this situation. If they had voted on the tax cuts before the election, as so many of us on this site begged them to do, we would be in far better shape.
But I also fault Obama's methods. He met privately with the Republicans, did nothing to create support among the Democratic leadership and the progressives, and then is furious with us for being furious with him.
While I now think he may have gotten the best deal possible (even though it's pretty terrible), I think he did it in a way that has angered the base and will really hurt him and the Democrats.
I hate this "compromise." I hate the extension of bonus tax cuts to the very rich. I hate the estate tax give-away to the the children of the very rich. I agree with Jed Lewison that the "temporary" payroll tax holiday is a real threat to Social Security. I do not trust the Republicans to have the best interests of the country at heart and assume they will do their best (actually their worst) to make this compromise even worse 2 years from now.
But if it is not passed, and we move into January with the new and awful leadership of the House, anything we get will be even worse than this deal. And it is likely that the Republicans will drive the economy back into the ground and Obama and the Democrats will be blamed.
Therefore, holding my nose and wearing the thickest plastic gloves I can find, I will push the "yes" button for this deal.