Rep. Tom Cole Takes on Fellow House Republicans: Accept President Obama's Proposal Now, Deal With Taxes on the Rich Later
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) has broken ranks with some of his fellow House Republicans, including Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), by supporting a tax proposal put forth by President Obama ahead of the year-end fiscal cliff.
Obama has urged Congress to take action before Dec. 31 so that tax rates for 98 percent of Americans stay the same. The more contentious issue, however, is coming to an agreement on taxes for the wealthy.
Obama argues Democrats and Republicans should at least take action on something that they agree upon.
On Your World today, Cole told Neil Cavuto he agrees with that approach, arguing that he believes Republicans will be able to argue more effectively against raising taxes on the rich once middle class Americans are assured that their taxes are not part of the discussion.
"Their policy [of raising taxes on the wealthy], the president's policy is bad policy. It'll raise rates, it'll hurt the economy, it'll cause less investment and fewer jobs. We can win that argument, but if we try to make it while most Americans suspect that we might be complicit in raising their taxes, I think we're more likely to lose," Cole argued.
He pointed out that Republicans should be willing to extend the Bush tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans, adding that these were tax cuts that were opposed originally by Democrats. Boehner and others believe once the middle class tax cuts are extended, the party will lose its leverage in negotiating with the president on taxes for the wealthy.
Watch the full interview:
