Forget about Iraq -- lets' campaign on taxes

[Nick at Noon]

I'm reading the best political book I've read in a long time. It's called "The Big Con" by Jonathan Chait.

Chait puts forth a great argument as to why the Republicans have to lie to their voters in order to stay in office. In other words, they can't even be honest to their own constituency. If the average Republican voter ever understands this, there will be no GOP.

Chapter entitled "The Necessity for Deception"

From page 116

"....Bush portrayed his tax cut this way for a very good reason. Opinion polls showed that the public, by overwhelming margins, preferred using the surplus for things other than tax cuts. A Pew poll conducted a few weeks earlier, for instance, asked people to choose between using the surplus for Social Security and Medicare, other domestic programs, paying off the national debt, or tax cuts. A mere 19 percent chose tax cuts; 77 percent favored other uses....."

From page 117

".....A poll from March of that year, (2001) for instance, asked respondents to choose between a tax cut in which "the largest share of this tax cut would go to wealthier Americans, who currently pay the most in taxes," and one that "would be aimed more at middle income Americans:' The latter won by a crushing margin of 73 to 20 percent. Another poll the next month showed that the public, by nearly as large a margin, preferred "giving larger tax cuts to lower and middle income taxpayers and smaller tax cuts to upper income taxpayers."...."

From page 120

"...In March of 2001, a coalition of Washington business lobbyists planned a rally to support the Bush tax cuts. The crucial thing was to convey the impression that the tax cut benefited regular workers. A memo circulated among the groups, and obtained by the Washington Post, explained: "The theme involves working Americans. Visually, this will involve a sea of hard hats ... the Speaker's office was very clear in saying that they do not need people in suits. If people want to participate - AND WE Do NEED BODIES - they must be DRESSED DOWN, appear to be REAL WORKER types, etc."....."

[1corona4u]

1. So, we should just forget about people who are dying?

Unreal.