EYKIW: PLAN B FOR THE GOP
Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:51:13
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Tim Pawlenty fooled me big time. I had him clocked as the "Sage Of Beige," a typical Midwestern matzoh ponem-Yiddish for a face with all the sizzle of a sheet of matzoh. I was certain that he was more vanilla than killa; but that was before he decided to kiss up bid time to the Tea Party. Remember, Timmy was a tree hugging, tax raising Governor of Minnesota, a giant no-no among the wingnut fringe that has corrupted the heart and soul of the former party of Lincoln, TR and Ike.
So what does T-Paw do to make his right wing bones? He comes up with a plan that makes Paul Ryan look positively Keynesian. Candidate Pawlenty proposes to reduce the top individual tax rate from 35% to 25%, cut the top corporate tax from 25% to 15%, and do away entirely with estate taxes and taxes on capital gains, dividends and interest. According to the Tax Policy Center, Tim's Path To Plutocracy will cost the Treasury 11 billion dollars over the next ten years.
And he's being taken seriously! The GOP is so hooked on the Koch bros, that all the natterings of Nobel economists, Wall Street wizards and other grounded-in-reality professionals go in one ear and out the other. No surprise, since there's precious little inside to stop them.
With T-Paw going postal, Mitt Romney is all that remains of political practicality among the other garden gnomes going for the gold. Herman Cain can deliver pizza and little more, Michelle Bachmann is a shrill, unfunny joke, Ron Paul is a child only Ayn Rand could love, Rick Santorum is a non-starter in his own state and Newt Gingrich is staring down the muzzle of his own loose canon.
Considering the precarious state of their present lineup, I offer the GOP a workable Plan B-don't run anyone in 2012. Concede the election to Obama, and spend your time and money on retaining your majority in the House and taking the Senate. Without the burden of a no-coattails candidate, it just might work.