Last week I noted that no members of the Missouri Democratic House delegation had signed onto a letter to Speaker Pelosi from Blue-Dog Democrats in the House who are in favor of extending all of BuschCo’s upper bracket tax cuts. As far as I know, this is still the truth – a list maintained on Politico has not been updated to show any of their names. Nor, as of Sept. 18th, had Claire McCaskill’s name been added to the list of six Democratic Senators known to be in favor of extending the Bush goodies for the upper crust.

While this is good news, it could be even better. Today, via DailyKos, we learn that 36 House Democrats have signed onto a letter written by House Progressive Caucus members Mary Jo Kilroy, Alan Grayson, and Raul Grijalva, which calls calls for a vote, “before Congress adjourns in October on repealing the tax cuts for the top two percent, and making the middle class tax cuts permanent.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if some of our Missouri reps signed on?

Can we convince our Missouri Democrats to stand up and act like leaders? Leaders don’t resort to protective camouflage – or at least smart ones don’t when there’s no reason for them to hide. Letting tax cuts for those with incomes in the top 2% expire is not only the right thing to do, it’s a politically smart strategy.

The text of the letter and the signatories over the fold:

Dear Madam Speaker:

Last decade, President Bush rammed through Congress a multi-billion dollar give-away for the wealthiest Americans on the backs of our nation’s middle-class. In the process, the aforementioned Bush tax cuts eviscerated an unprecedented budget surplus and weakened our nation’s fiscal health. As the Bush tax cuts are set to expire, we respectfully urge you to bring to the floor, before Congress adjourns in October, a vote on President Obama’s recently proposed tax plan: permanent tax cuts for the middle-class while allowing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans to expire, using any additional revenue to close our budget deficit.

We must show the American people that our Democratic Majority stands for them — people who have worked hard, played by the rules and depend on these tax breaks to make ends meet. We also need to get serious about cutting our budget deficit by allowing the Bush tax cuts for the rich to expire.

Some have argued that the Bush tax cuts help to stimulate the economy, or that allowing these cuts to expire would hurt our nation’s small businesses. This is flat out wrong. According to a recent report by the Center for American Progress, the economy boasted 132 million jobs in June 2001, the month that the first of the Bush tax cuts was signed into law. By June 2004, there were just 131.4 million jobs — a decrease of 600,000 jobs. Furthermore, a recent report from the Tax Policy Center states that, “Roughly 97 percent of small businesses would not be affected at all by increases in the top two tax rates.”

Rather, extending the Bush tax cuts will result in an $830 billion give-away for the nation’s wealthiest Americans, significantly increasing government debt, the interest on which will be paid by our nation’s middle-class for years to come. This astronomical sum could instead be used to close our budget deficit.

It is critical that we pass the Obama middle-class tax cuts — not providing an even greater lift for the wealthiest Americans who don’t need it.

Tammy Baldwin

Robert Brady

Michael Capuano

Andre Carson

Steve Cohen

John Conyers

Donna Edwards

Elliot Engel

Keith Ellison

Bob Filner

Marcia Fudge

Raul Grijalva

AlanGrayson

Phil Hare

Alcee L. Hastings

Maurice Hinchey

Mazie Hirono

Mike Honda

Mary Jo Kilroy

Barbara Lee

Sheila Jackson Lee

Jim McDermott

Jim McGovern

Kendrick Meek

Gwen Moore

Tim Ryan

Jan Schakowsky

Carol Shea-Porter

Jackie Speier

Betty Sutton

Peter Welch

Lynn Woolsey

David Wu

According to TPM, the House Democratic caucus will meet tonight as a group and individually with leadership to figure out whether or not the President’s plan to extend all but the top bracket Bush tax cuts will fly. At issue is whether or not to bring the measure to a speedy vote.

Buoyed by Democrat pollster Stan Greenberg’s latest poll which shows that “a majority of independents, 53-38, back the middle class extension only,” party leaders are smelling a victory that might have real legs come November. The poor dimwits are finally figuring out that restoring some equity might actually be a winner – but a little further persuasion from constituents probably wouldn’t go amiss.

So if it galls you unendurably to think of a spineless Democratic majority acquiescing to costly giveaways to the richest segment of the country when we can’t afford it and they don’t have to, this might be a very good time for those of you who live in districts represented by Democrats – Skelton, Cleaver, Carnahan, and Clay – to contact them and let them know that you’re fine with killing big giveaways for the wealthiest 2% of the population. (If you click on their names above, you will go to a page with their contact information.)

Apropos my earlier post about Claire McCaskill’s dithering, it might not hurt to contact her as well – Henry Reid has indicated that he will bring the tax issue up for a vote sometime within the next three weeks. Let her know that this could be a winner for her – her base might really appreciate it if she throws them a bone here and there.  

Steve Benen began a post on the upcoming battle over tax giveaways for the wealthy with this comment:

How to lose after being dealt a good hand…. The high-profile fight of the moment is over tax policy, and by most measures, Democrats are in a reasonably good position. Republican leaders are arguing amongst themselves; polls show President Obama’s proposal to be considerably more popular  than the GOP’s; and just weeks before the midterm elections, Republicans are prepared to fight tooth and nail to hold middle-class tax cuts hostage.

It’s not a bad scenario for Democrats, right? The only way for Dems to screw this one up would be for them to start breaking ranks and siding with Republicans on the minority party’s misguided, unpopular, and irresponsible plan, and start echoing bogus GOP talking points.

Well, Mr. Benen, I’m here to tell you that our poor Missouri Democrats, at least, are unable to seize opportunity when it’s offered on a silver platter. We’ve all seen how  Robin Carnahan went all wobbly on the topic right away and surrendered before the first shot had even been fired – for all the good it’s dong her. Blunt, who seems to have no inconvenient hang-ups about honesty, has an ad currently running that trumpets the over-the-top claim that she supports the “largest tax increase in history.”  

Our current Democratic senator, Claire McCaskill, on the other hand, has been strategically silent on the topic. There are now, however, indications that she is finally crawling out of the cave where she’s been hiding in order to test which way the wind is blowing:

Sens. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) and Michael Bennet (D., Colo.) said their first priority was ensuring the continuation of the tax cuts for those earning less than $250,000, but both left the door open to a short-term extension of the lower rates for higher earners if it could lead to a compromise agreement with Republicans.

“I am inclined not to support [extending] the top rates, but I want to keep the door open to any possible compromises that in the long-term would be positive for our economy, and have a great impact on reducing the deficit,” McCaskill told reporters after a Senate vote Monday.

Bear in mind that this is the same deficit-obsessed McCaskill who just a few weeks ago was strutting around, pretending to be St. George confronting the budget dragon. She was firm that all new spending be offset by corresponding spending cuts.

So tell me, how could she even contemplate extending costly tax giveaways to the richest 2% of the country while opposing the less costly and potentially far more stimulative Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program because it wouldn’t be “fiscally prudent.” Just to underline the absurdity, note that TANF will add 2.5 billion dollars to one year’s spending, while the top bracket tax cuts will cost the economy 1.1 trillion dollars over a similar one year period decade.  

To date I have supposed that McCaskill has simply been pandering for political purposes, but in this case she seems not only inconsistent and wrong-headed in terms of policy, but, if you agree with Benen, politically tone-deaf, albeit in a timid sort of way. Could it be that the explosive Tea Party noise in Missouri has left her in such a state of shell-shock that she’s too dazed and confused to adequately function?