By: Susan Ferrechio
Chief Congressional Correspondent
April 16, 2010

As protesters rallied outside, Democrats and Republicans engaged in a battle over taxes in the Capitol, with Democrats claiming credit for massive tax cuts while Republicans accused them of actually raising taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars and breaking President Obama’s pledge to not raise taxes on the middle class.

The first volley was fired by House Democrats, who sent a missive to reporters proclaiming they have led Congress to cut taxes by more than $800 billion.

“In the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, Congress and the President acted swiftly to bring relief to our nation’s families and businesses, and create good-paying jobs,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement. “A critical element of that relief and recovery effort was tax cuts for the middle class and small business owners.”

Pelosi credited the $850 billion stimulus bill, saying more than one-third of it is comprised of tax relief for the middle class.

Democrats are also touting the new health care law as a tax cut because many people will get tax credits if they purchase health insurance.

Incredulous Republicans disputed the claim, saying much of what Democrats call tax cuts is actually government spending, and that the party has passed middle class tax increases and is planning more, including a potential fuel tax, a tax on those who do not purchase health insurance and a tax on expensive insurance plans.

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When voters are asked how they would vote if only the Democratic candidate or the Republican had a chance to win the election, the majority of Tea Party voters switch to the GOP column. Given that scenario, the Republican candidate gets 41% of the vote to the Democrat’s 38%. Nine percent (9%) still vote for the Tea Party candidate, but just 12% remain undecided.

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Recent polling shows the American people want action on health insurance reform legislation and continue to strongly support key elements in legislation that is before Congress.

AMERICANS WANT ACTION ON HEALTH REFORM

• More than three-quarters of Americans (76 percent) believe it is extremely or very important to reform the way health insurance works. [85 percent of Democrats, 79 percent of Independents, 64 percent of Republicans] [KFF, 2/23/10]

• · 63 percent of Americans want lawmakers in Washington to keep trying to pass a comprehensive health care reform plan, rather than giving up on it. [ABC News/Washington Post, 2/10/10]

• · 61 percent of Americans either support the current reform proposals or want Congress to keep working toward a solution to achieve reform. [Democracy Corps, 3/9/10; Pew Research, 2/12/10]

• 58 percent of Americans say they would be disappointed or angry if Congress stopped working on health reform now. [KFF, 2/23/10]

• A recent Ipsos/McClatchy poll found that of the 47 percent who say they oppose reform, 37 percent do so because they think reform does not go far enough.  [Ipsos/McClatchy, 3/2/10] Read the rest of this entry »