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On Other Blogs Today: Driving, Taxes, Immigration, and More
1) Talking Points Memo has the breaking news : Democrats in the US Senate forced House Republicans into a corner by passing an extension of the Bush tax cuts for the middle class—those making under $250,000.
The GOP has said they support this. But here's the fix they're in: They also want to extend Bush tax cuts for the rich (those making more than $250,000) and have tied the two issues together. The Democrats disagree on extending tax cuts for the wealthy and have separated the two issues. But now the only way the Republicans can pass a middle-class tax cut is to approve the Senate move—tax cuts for the middle class—in isolation.
The Democrats are essentially daring the GOP-controlled House to sacrifice a tax cut for the middle class on behalf of the wealthy.
TPM sums that up with a quote from the Obama White House:
"To that end, the White House announced President Obama’s strong support for the Senate bill. 'All sides agree on the need to extend the tax cuts for the middle class,' reads a statement of administration policy. '[T]his legislation reflects that consensus, and should not be held hostage while debating the merits of another tax cut for the wealthy.'”
2) With unemployment and the economy pushing other issues to the back burner, Washington State residents no longer rank the environment among their top concerns, Environment and Energy Daily reports.
According to Seattle-based Democratic consultant Tom Hujar, environmental concerns aren't even in the top five issues most commonly cited by state voters---a trend that could be bad news for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee, who literally wrote the book on climate change and green energy.
"I don't think I would ever have seen that in this state before," said Hujar, whose company, FDR Services, has been doing consulting in Washington since the 1980s. "The environment is just not an issue this year in any of the races in the state."
3) The Seattle Times reports that state officials may start using a federal immigration database to scrub non-citizens from the voter rolls. The proposal, not surprisingly, has angered the ACLU and other groups that advocate for ethnic minorities, who worry the database will be used to discriminate against minorities and immigrants.
4) MyNorthwest reports that Seattle schools are dropping drivers' ed classes, forcing students to rely on expensive private schools---or to drive without proper training or a license.
5) In a rare public appearance, Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon---who's under fire for allegedly spending taxpayer dollars on business trips with a woman who says she was his longtime mistress---focused on the need to help the county compete for high-paying jobs, particularly in aerospace.
The Everett Herald has more.
