Liberal Democrats Livid Over Compromise

President Obama may have struck a compromise with congressional Republicans on tax cuts Monday, but he now has another group to worry about -- liberal Democrats in the House and Senate who are livid over the deal that they say betrays their most cherished values.

"How can we rationalize tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans when were facing this kind of a deficit?" Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) said in an interview with NPR Monday night. "There is a group [of Democrats] that may walk. Let's say at some point, 'You've gone too far.' "

The tentative agreement that Obama announced Monday night would extend for two years the Bush tax cuts for all earners, while also continuing current tax rates on dividends and capital gains. In addition, the estate tax, which expired in 2009, would be temporarily set at 35 percent with a $5 million exemption, and extended unemployment benefits would continue for 13 months. Obama also said that negotiators had agreed to a one-year, 2-percentage point cut in the payroll tax for all workers.

Of all of the details in the package, the most galling to liberals seemed to be the compromise to extend the tax cuts for the highest earners, which many Democrats fought when the cuts passed Congress in 2001 and 2003 and have railed against ever since. Democrats had also badly wanted to make permanent the tax cuts for middle- and lower-income workers, which was not included in the deal.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), one of the most liberal members of the Senate, threatened to filibuster the agreement in the upper chamber, calling it bad politics and bad policy.

More here:

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/12/07/liberal-democrats-livid-over-tax-cut-compromise-sanders-threate/