Capitol Briefing (Free subscription) | yesterday
By Paul Kane and Ben Pershing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) scuttled the proposed "war tax" to finance the increased troop deployment to Afghanistan, telling reporters Thursday that she would oppose the idea from her closest allies in the Capitol. Pelosi, in her weekly press briefing, announced she would not support the proposal from House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey...
News: Opinion -- KansasCity.com (Free subscription) | 12/03/2009
I heard an excellent suggestion from Sen. Lindsey Graham on one of the Sunday morning news shows. It must have been a mistake. Graham suggested that rather than pay directly for the war in Afghanistan, as Rep. David Obey suggests...
Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah's Military Guys. (Free subscription) | 12/02/2009
Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite. ************************** I got 10 for 10. How 'bout you? Test your revolutionary knowledge. Murray? The Kiwi authority on the American Civil War - perhaps he'll take the test, too... No Googling! [Or...
The Daily Dish (Free subscription) | 12/02/2009
Yglesias sighs: I haven’t seen anyone even really attempt to persuade me that this policy makes sense in cost-benefit terms. And I think the reaction to David Obey’s “war tax” idea is telling—nobody seems to really think there are national...
Power Line (Free subscription) | 12/02/2009
Hillsdale College Professor Paul Rahe writes to follow up on his recent posts in light of the president's speech last night: On Sunday, in a post which can be found here , I presented evidence suggesting that President Obama and his party are in deep trouble and that virtually everyone in our political class senses as much. On Tuesday, in another post which can be found here , I suggested that, if...
FP Passport (Free subscription) | 12/02/2009
Yesterday, I wrote about the brief life and presumed death of Rep. David Obey's "war tax," also known as the "Share the Sacrifice Act of 2010." Obey and his cosponsors hoped to make the Afghan war pay-go from here on out, with an income tax surtax (one percent for most earners, and higher for high earners) linked to the cost of war. I liked the idea precisely because so much of...
Marc Ambinder (Free subscription) | 12/02/2009
The reaction from Democratic members of Congress -- those with actual power -- seems to be just favorable enough . That is, there doesn't seem to be anything in the words of David Obey, the top appropriator, or Ike Skelton, the top armed services cmte Democrat, to indicate that, with the right argument (especially for Jane Harman) and cost schedule, the president won't get what he wants. That said,...
MauledAgain (Free subscription) | 12/02/2009
David Obey, a representative from Wisconsin, has renewed his call for a war tax to fund any increase in expenditures to finance the war in Afghanistan. According to various reports, including this one , though he considers the war, as being presently fought, to be futile, he argues that his tax proposal would “create a sense of shared sacrifice that has been missing in the last eight years.”...
Marc Ambinder (Free subscription) | 12/02/2009
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL ), in a terse statement: "President Obama asked for time to make his decision on a new policy in Afghanistan. I am going to take some time to think through the proposal he presented tonight." Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) : "I oppose sending 30,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan because I am not persuaded that it is indispensable in our fight against Al...
Dymaxion World (Free subscription) | 12/01/2009
Matthew Yglesias : I think the reaction to David Obey’s “war tax” idea is telling—nobody seems to really think there are national interests at stake that are critical enough to be worth paying slightly higher taxes for. But if a war’s not worth paying for, how can it be worth fighting? Wars are always good, and cost nothing. Climate change mitigation, on the other hand,...
FP Passport (Free subscription) | 12/01/2009
Today, U.S. President Barack Obama is announcing his plan to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. This is, he says, the endgame; the White House press secretary has reportedly indicated that Obama plans to end major military operations within three years. But, in the meantime, Congress will have to figure out how to pay for all of those soldiers, who will cost an estimated $1 million each...
The Note (Free subscription) | 12/01/2009
President Obama is coming under increasing pressure from Democrats to find a way to pay for the war in Afghanistan, with House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey telling ABC’s Jonathan Karl recently that it’s time to consider a special “war surtax.”
Scooter's Report (Free subscription) | 12/01/2009
Many prominent Democrats are already expressing unhappiness with President Obama's expected announcement tonight to commit an expected 30,000 additional troops to the Afghanistan war. Speaking on behalf of many in his party, Rep. David Obey (D-Wisconsin) called the move a...
First Read (Free subscription) | 12/01/2009
From NBC's Luke RussertAlso at his weekly pen-and-pad session today, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer declined to support House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey's proposal for a surtax on the wealthy to pay for the escalating war in Afghanistan. Hoyer said that he had been supportive of such a plan in the past. But he alluded to conditions brought forth by the Bush administration as the...
Faithful Progressive (Free subscription) | 12/01/2009
This is what we'll be listening for tonight. 1.) Can we win a collaborative war with such a corrupt and lax partner? Juan Cole: Obama Partnering with Afghan Gov't: But is there any there there? 2.) How do we pay for three more years of war? The Economist: David Obey's war tax 3.) When will we know it's time to leave? Fred Kaplan at Slate.
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