He announced.
America retaliated.
He ran screaming from his toxic tax proposal.
Today, the White House threw its own plan under the bus by announcing that it would no longer pursue its proposed tax hike on “529” college savings account.
From the Wall Street Journal:
The move followed a public call by House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) on Tuesday for the White House to withdraw its plan. Calls also were coming privately from leaders of the president’s own party. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) pressed the case for dropping the plan in conversations with senior administration officials aboard Air Force One, as she flew with the president from India to Saudi Arabia, according to a person familiar with the matter.A White House official said late Tuesday: “Given it has become such a distraction, we’re not going to ask Congress to pass the 529 provision.”
A “distraction?” I think the word you’re looking for is “complete PR cluster.” It could also translate to, “the Party’s most effective bundlers called and threatened to sit 2016 out if we asked Congress to pass this thing, so we chickened out.”
Whatever it takes to get you through the press cycle.
I’d just like to point out the time timing of this release couldn’t have been worse for the Administration; they couldn’t have pulled the trigger before Boehner made a very public affirmation and call to action on behalf of middle class taxpayers? They had to have known this particular SOTU “promise” was a non-starter.
This was a smart provision for Republicans to latch on to not only because it affects Americans at all stages of life, but because it resonates at a level that exists outside of the political spectrum. People understand things like a gas tax, or a VAT tax, but they may not have an emotional reaction to it. This 529 tax proposal, however, hits all the right nerves because it involves parents, kids, and The Future of America©.
Will this save us from every “promise” Obama made during his State of the Union address? Maybe not—but it’s a pretty good start. Good work, activists!
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