Rolled Over, Snowed Under

Every year, while we watch the calendar days tick off, and the weather get steadily colder, the same thing happens: at some point the weather freezes us in our tracks and we're dumbly surprised by it. In hindsight, it's nearly always obvious that we should have expected it. For some reason, however, one or more of our staff members inevitably ends up caught in the weather, delaying travel or meetings of one kind or another.

That feeling of impending doom is never a good one when its happening to us - though it's one we've recognized on the faces and in the writings of many of our conservative friends recently, especially on the subject of taxes.

As our acquaintance David Cay Johnston of Reuters noted this week, most of the major Republican political figures in the U.S. have snowed themselves in on the subject of taxes, thanks to a pudgy, arrogant little lobbyist by the name of Grover Norquist.

We're fairly certain you've heard of Mr. Norquist. He's one of the most polarizing figures in American politics - and he's the reason that nearly every Congressional Republican has committed to his pledge that they should never raise taxes, ever, on anything, for any reason ever again.

Point blank, Mr. Norquist is a powerful anti-tax lobbyist, who has previously held enough money and power to scare most Republicans into following whatever his marching orders are - a fact he hasn't been shy about shoving in other people's faces.

As our colleague Mr. Johnston points out, however, it's this blind loyalty to Mr Norquist, above their duty to their country, that has led the Republicans to paint themselves into a corner.

In short, GOP members have been trained like Pavlov's dogs by Mr. Norquist to always bark in favor of tax cuts of any kind, while always opposing an increase in taxes for any reason - including the expiration of short-term tax reductions.

When President Obama convinced the Congress to cut the payroll tax rate as a short-term stimulus, it wasn't just an economically sound and sensible idea. It was also a political stroke of genius. Short-term stimulus of any kind - by definition - is short term. Whatever effects that stimulative action has on a federal or state budget, or an economy, are designed to be temporary.

This puts Congressional Republicans in the kind of bind that Mr. Johnston notes that not only could have been a major political stroke in their favor - but should have been something that they or Mr. Norquist should have seen coming a mile away.

Now, President Obama has put Republicans on a slippery political slope, with a potentially massive increase in taxes rolling toward Americans during the holiday season - one that Republican politicians will be responsible for, if the increase goes through. At the same time, it clearly displays how extremely hypocritical Norquist - and anyone who follows his lead - truly are.

We're aware that most on Capitol Hill say the increase won't likely happen, that the payroll tax cut will likely continue, along with an extension of unemployment benefits.

Still - just like that nasty winter weather that happens every year, the failure of Republicans to compromise with Democrats is something we've seen time and time again, most recently on the not-so-supercommittee. This time, we're prepared for that snowball to come rolling down from The Hill.

Too bad for them, Congressional Republicans didn't see this one coming.
They should have.