Morning Bell: Victory In Afghanistan Is No Excuse For Raising Taxes

Conn Carroll / November 25, 2009

Speaking to the press after reports that the White House will send 34,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, President Barack Obama said, “it is my intention to finish the job.” While we wish Obama would have definitively said “I will finish the job” instead of just expressing his intent to try, his sentiments were far more preferable than those of the leftist majorities in Congress who chose the opportunity to threaten the American people with even more taxes, should they support winning the war in Afghanistan.

Specifically, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told The Huffington Post yesterday that every dollar spent on winning the war in Afghanistan was one less dollar available for domestic priorities: “I think we have to look at that war with a green eyeshade on. There is unrest in our caucus about: ‘Can we afford this war?'” But even Pelosi seemed to realize that pitting victory in Afghanistan against more domestic government programs was untenable. She later added: “I think the American people believe that if it’s something that’s in our national security interest [then the investment is worth it.]”

But for the left in Congress, prioritizing national security should never come at the expense of run-away domestic spending. Instead, the left is using the war as an excuse to raise taxes on virtually all Americans. According to Politico, close allies of Pelosi, including Ways and Means Committee Chair Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Democratic Party Caucus Chair John Larson (D-CT), and Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chair John Murtha (D-PA), all support the “Share the Sacrifice Act.” That legislation would raise taxes on millions of Americans, including a 1% surtax on middle-class households earning between $30,000 and $150,000. So much for Obama’s promise not to raise taxes on the middle class. (more…)