More than a quarter-of-a-century ago, during 1984 presidential campaign during a televised debate democratic candidate Mondale looked straight into the TV camera and said something to the effect "If elected I will raise your taxes! He won't tell you. I just did!".
This political diseaster triggered record "protest voter" etching into every future politicians minds a "truth" about the American voter. If you tell them the "truth" and it is distasteful truth they will "bury you" with their "protest" vote!
In 2012 Congress has a "fiscal cliff" mandate they set for themselves placing a much different question for them to politically execute; raise taxes on the middle class by lowering taxes on rich & wealthy making more than $250,000 annually!
Congressional Democrats and Republicans "kicked the "deficit can" down the street" to defer "raising taxes" into the future. They know they must build a plausible scenario or be blamed for causing them record defeat at the polls! Mondale's "truth" proved to all future politicians that telling American voters he would raise federal taxes, if elected, during TV dabate with Reagan caused record "protest" vote during any presidential race in history! Politicians remember this voter message: i.e., if voters told a distasteful truth about taxes being raised they will deliver to the party that does so a "record "protest vote" that will absolutely demoralize any political party!
In 1986, Grover Norquist, a unelected, unappointed republican activists millionaire came up with requiring republican candidates to sign a "no tax pledge" or he promised them he would personally guarantee them a well financed candidate during their next election to defeat them!
The "fiscal cliff" has bought Congress time to posture themselves so as not to be the culprit raising voters' taxes. Therefore, they will execute their "fiscal cliff" mandate---possibly going over the "fiscal cliff" hoping such dramatics will dramatically be viewed by voters as fighting for middle class voters or fighting for wealthy voters causes! However, by not raising taxes on the rich and wealthy making $250,000 or more, they face "portest vote" from the middle class as Mondale did! In addition, by allowing those making $250,000 to receive tax relief by keep G.W. Bush tax cuts, they will be viewed by middle class as raising their taxes when they could have placed more tax on the wealthy allieviating rather than adding to middle class taxpayers' already inconceivable grief of making a living in this country!
huff9983@roadrunner.com
