When Democrats sang a different tune
2001: “Whatever tax cut we give, we are in favor of tax cuts. Democrats want a tax cut. It’s a question of how much. Are we going to be able to spend all that money we don’t have now? Or would we be better approaching it a little more cautiously? We have to protect Social Security, Medicare. We have to give reasonable tax cuts, but most of all, do something about the huge debt that’s facing us now.” Source
“Well, of course, the easiest thing for Democrats and Republicans to do is just vote for the tax cut. People always like tax cuts. So that would be the easiest thing to do. But, you know, sometimes in your political life you have to do what is the right thing to do for the country and for your respective states. I think that we’re going to get a tax cut, but it has to be one that we can afford.” Source
“We’re gonna take a look at what he’s proposed and we’re gonna say, ‘We’re only going to take what tax cut we can afford.’ We have to protect Social Security. We have to make sure that we have enough to pay down this terrible debt that’s developed and we have to make sure we have a few extra dollars to take care of the education needs of our country and to give a prescription drug benefit for senior citizens.” Source
“This week, the Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a massive and irresponsible tax cut designed to give huge amounts of money to a handful of their rich campaign donors. Their plan spends money that we don’t have and might never get in order to benefit the few.” Source
“To take all this money that we have in the way of surpluses and squander it on the tax cut is really the wrong way to go.” Source
“Don’t you think it’s a better idea to spend that money on our water systems and sewer systems than to give Bill Gates a bigger tax break?” Source
2003: “When they direct their tax programs to benefit the very, very, very few and eliminate the majority from any benefit of these tax cuts, it is class war.” Source
Sen. John Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.)
2001: “Mr. President, I rise today in strong opposition to this fiscally irresponsible conference report. Today, this tax cut perpetrates a fraud on the American people. Their hard work created this surplus and this opportunity to sustain our economy and strengthen Social Security and Medicare. But no one should be fooled that this conference report is anything but an irresponsible, unfair, and politically motivated giveaway to the wealthiest in our society. I deeply regret that we have failed to take this historic opportunity to provide a meaningful tax cut to all Americans, and at the same time, continue to make real progress paying down our national debt and reserve sufficient resources to invest in our future.” Source
“It is ludicrous to think that the Congress would impose a quarter-of-a-trillion-dollar tax increase on the American people in 2010 when this tax-cut proposal expires. These tax cuts will be extended, and their cost will thus explode to $4 trillion and more. That’s not responsible, and it’s bad economic policy. What’s even worse, this bill is just not fair to hardworking Americans who created the surplus. This tax conference report simply gives too much to the wealthiest Americans and does too little to reduce our national debt.” Source
“All of us remember the consequences of the Reagan tax cut: two decades of spiraling deficits. And for my state of West Virginia, the consequences were devastating. As a Governor, I know how my state suffered. I don’t want to return to those days, and West Virginians don’t either. This proposal, regretfully, sets us on that path.” Source
2003: “Yes, we are in an economic downturn, and yes, we need to stimulate the economy, but the dividend tax cut is not the answer…It is fiscally irresponsible to pass a tax cut that will benefit the wealthy at the expense of hard-working, average taxpayers in West Virginia and across the country.” Source
“These cuts do not reflect West Virginia’s needs…Key priorities are shortchanged, including fiscal aid to states, the child tax credit, school construction and extending unemployment benefits.” Source
“I cannot support the deal that has been reached because it is so clearly designed to benefit the elite members of our society at the expense of average taxpayers in West Virginia and across the Nation. Proposals that could have stimulated the economy and helped working families got shortchanged to make room for enormous tax cuts for wealthy investors. I have little hope that this bill will stimulate economic growth; on the other hand, our national debt will be guaranteed to grow if we pass the bill.” Source
Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) (Member of the House of Representatives in 2001 and 2003)
2001: “When you look at the crisis of education…then that tax proposal that Bush is proposing is an absolute disgrace.” Source
“…President Bush is saying we want tax breaks primarily geared to the wealthiest people in the country — huge tax breaks — and we refuse to look at any trigger, regardless of the condition of the economy. In other words, if the economy moves into a recession, if the money coming into our Treasury goes down, if we run huge deficits and repeat what happened in the 1980s — all of that is irrelevant — because we are obsessed with the idea of tax breaks, especially tax breaks that go to the wealthiest people in the country. That is so irresponsible that it is hard to imagine that a president of the United States would say that.” Source
2003: “Mr. Speaker, this bill is a fraud. It will do devastating harm to this country. It is an embarrassment that the Republican leadership brings it up, and it should be defeated.” Source
“When you give hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks, you endanger the middle class. This will lead to drastic cutbacks in education, in Medicare, in Medicaid, in Head Start, in the programs that working families depend upon. Shame. Cutting back on education and Head Start to give tax breaks to billionaires.” Source
“You talk about creating jobs. That is what you told us two years ago when you brought forth your tax breaks for the rich. You told America it was going to create jobs. In the last two years, we have lost two million jobs after your tax breaks for the rich. This proposal will do nothing more. If you want to create decent-paying jobs, build affordable housing. Protect workers right now who will lose their jobs at the state and city levels. Tax breaks for the rich do not create jobs.” Source
“What you are really saying is you do not want the elderly to have prescription drugs. You do not want the kids to have an education. That is what you mean when you rant and rave against the government.” Source
“I think the evidence suggests that, when you are in a deficit situation, you do not give hundreds of billions of dollars to the richest people in this country. That is absolutely irresponsible. And the evidence is very clear that the lion’s share of this problem is the huge tax breaks that President Bush and the Republican leadership have brought forth.” Source