Congressional Republicans recently suffered from case of selective hearing when it comes to former President Bill Clinton’s comments on Bush-era tax cuts. “You’ve got Republicans twisting themselves into believing — or pretending — that Clinton had said he was for extending the tax cuts,” msnbc contributor Richard Wolffe said in a Last Word web exclusive. “Here’s a guy they impeached and apparently now he can only say things that they agree with.”
Republicans claimed Clinton was gung-ho about extending Bush tax cuts after these comments to CNBC.
“They will have to extend- they will probably have to put everything off until early next year. That’s probably the best thing to do right now. But the Republicans don’t want to do that unless he agrees to extend the tax cuts permanently, including for upper-income people, and I don’t think the president should do that. And that’s what they’re fighting about. I don’t have any problem extending all of it now- including the current spending levels… the real issue is not whether they should be extended for another few months — the real issue is whether the price the Republican House will put on that extension is a permanent extension of the tax cuts, which I think is an error.” Clinton was referring to legislative tactics. Both he and President Obama want an extension of the Bush tax rates for all — except the top tax bracket. Clinton aides issued clarifications about his somewhat confusing ramble.Wolffe warned when a president weighs gets in the middle on policy issues involving another president, it can get ugly.”When you have a former president opining — maybe with good reason — about anything to do with the politics of a presidential election year, it’s gonna cause trouble. And I just think President Clinton cannot help himself, right?” Wolfee mused, “he’s got to put himself in the middle of this.”Do you agree? Tweet us your response or drop us a line in the comment section below.
The place for in-depth analysis, commentary and informed perspectives. Recommended
