There’s still a Super Committee, to be sure. And Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal late yesterdaytried to float a proposal to give them something to do. In short, his idea is that Republicans would cap some deductions in exchange for making the Bush tax cuts permanent, an idea that would EXPLODE the deficit:
One positive development on taxes taking shape is a deal that could include limiting tax deductions, perhaps by capping write-offs on charities, state and local taxes, and mortgage interest payments as a percentage of each tax filer’s gross income. That idea was introduced on these pages by Harvard economist Martin Feldstein.
http://news.firedoglake.com/...
(There is a Corporate Wing of the GOP that stresses tax cuts for the rich, Govrnment deregulation etc and a Fundy Wing of the GOP that stresses moral issues.)
"One positive development on taxes taking shape is a deal that could include limiting tax deductions, perhaps by capping write-offs on charities, "
Holy Shit the GOP's Corporate Wing wants to throw their Fundy Wing under the bus. The Moral Majority, The Christian Coalition etc in order to keep tax breaks for themselves!
The GOP is willing to risk war with their Mega Churches, with Mitt's Mormons who give ten% of their income to the church, with the Catholic Church in desperate need of cash from lawsuits over pedophile priests WTF!
One must ask why? In this economy many poorer people are not giving like they used to so if you cap deductions from the super rich 1% who still have the money to give big donations you could cripple them all.
As to the why the Corporate Wing of the GOP would risk hurting Fundies like Sarah, Michelle etc who rely on Church goers volunteers for their political campaigns.
I think the GOP seeing Mitt a Corporate GOPer struggle against lets face it some real sad Fundy Presidential Candidates despite all his money and not moving above 30% against the weakest batch of GOP presidential candidates I have ever seen the GOP field is worrying to the GOP. They worry that Corporate GOP ideas don't turn on Fundy voters. They worry that its more than Mitt's obvious lack of a personality, his inability to connect with voters in debates, his habit of saying anything to be elected.
They worry that if Mitt does not beat Obama the Corporate Wing of the GOP will lose Cred with Fundy voters and in the next election the argument that only a Corporate GOPer can win the general Election will fall on deaf ears.
The Fundies will say we gave your guy a shot because you said he could win the general Election. We gave your guy a shot thinking that no President has ever won reelection with unemployment numbers this high.
Sure our guy is a Fundy and does not poll well with voters but why choose the lesser evil again? Another Mitt and another Corporate GOPer when we can lose with someone we like.
Also the Corporate GOP plan to create jobs by giving the rich tax cuts has proven to be a losing idea with voters with unemployment so high. Many of our flock voted Dem to save their SS and Medicare from the bigger cuts the GOP wanted to make.
They voted for Obamacare because they had no jobs and could not afford private health insurance, they hated the bank bailout and asked when do we get a bailout? They wanted both wars over.
If Mitt loses the Corporate Wing of the GOP will need a generation to find new ideas to run on after all Obama is running with their ideas just not as strongly as the GOP would like. The GOP is not a bunch of original thinkers they need us to make mistakes and then in response to our mistakes they use those mistakes to try and get what they want...never mind their ideas always end up destroying the economy.
The Corporate GOP knows that Obama is discrediting their ideas by implementing them! He extended the Bush tax cut, he stole Romneycare and called it Obamacare. Obama is just not implementing Corporate GOP ideas as strongly as the GOP wants. Thats their problem with him plus he's Black.
Obama's drop in the polls is because he is too far Right on the ideas the majority of voters care about the most this worries the Corporate GOP. Next election the Corporate GOP fears the Fundies will run Fundy candidates strict on moral issues but who are big on extending government spending on social issues. This could give them an in with independent voters Nixon ran and won on a secret plan to end the war a war Dems started ( as I said GOPers get ideas by reacting to our mistakes and using our mistakes to get what they want).
Older people go to church more, they vote GOP more, the boomers are retiring and SS and Medicare have been cut already and more cuts are expected. Nobody expects the economy to boom in the next four years after Obama wins because he is implementing GOp pro business to fix the economy ( I am hoping he changes his mind and reads FDR instead of Reagan's Bio for his next book).
So the economy, jobs SS and Medicare cuts will all still be issues for the next Presidential race after Obama wins. As will National Healthcare and drug prices (America pays more for drugs than any other country).
These issues will create a third party movement on the Dem side. These issues will split the Fundies from the Corporate GOP.
So the GOP thinking long term is trying to cripple their Fundy Wing and limit their ability to run candidates. What better way to stop a Right on Moral Issues Left on Social issues Fundy candidate than to bankrupt the churches where their supporters meet and organize? Fundy candidates get less campaign donations than Corporate GOPers but they make up for it with church members concerned about moral issues giving them campaign workers. The GOP civil wars are a shadow war neither side acknowledges because public signs of division make them look weak. But if this idea passes the war will stop being a cold war and become a hot one.