Bruce Bartlett: "Exposing Republican Stupidity"

Another quick hit: Republican Bruce Bartlett (budget story here):

Exposing Republican stupidity, by Bruce Bartlett, Politico: It appears from leaks about Obama’s budget that the scenario I have long envisioned will finally come to pass. Republicans will be forced to deal meaningfully with the Bush tax cuts, which Obama apparently plans to allow to expire at the end of next year.

Republicans wrote this legislation with expiration dates as a trick to avoid budget rules that make it difficult to enact permanent tax cuts. Now they are going to say that this constitutes the largest tax increase in history even though their own legislation bequeathed it.

I hope Obama stands firm; not because I want taxes to rise, but because it exposes Republican stupidity. They could have had permanent—and more effective—tax cuts in the first place if they had been willing to negotiate with Democrats. They refused to do so and deluded themselves that they could just extend their tax cuts forever. They were wrong.