Sophie’s Choice – and Washington’s

Ernest Istook / September 14, 2010

Would you vote to cut taxes only for the middle class, if that were your only choice?

The furor over the answer from House Republican Leader John Boehner (R–OH) obscures the fact that it’s a tough question—one for which all politicians should have a response ready before it’s asked.

Reporters want to push them onto the horns of a supposed dilemma: either disavow across-the-board tax cuts or be labeled a toady for the rich. Or dodge the question and get depicted as a weasel.

The better approach is to challenge the very premise of the question. Who is trying to force a decision between bad alternatives? It’s known as a “Sophie’s Choice”—from the Meryl Streep portrayal of a mother cruelly forced by Nazis to choose only one of her children to save from a death camp. (more…)