As new Republican tax reforms take effect, Democrats are struggling to explain away their “no” votes. Paychecks are spiking and opponents of the legislation are flailing to persuade constituents their decision was the right one, not merely a protest vote against President Trump.
A Washington Post report published Monday explored this struggle, interviewing Democratic Indiana incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., both of whom acknowledged their party’s predicament. Explaining their opposition has turned out to be “a communications challenge many Democrats appeared to have not foreseen when the tax bill passed late last year over their unanimous objection,” the Post reported.
Recognizing the argument against the bill is “tough,” Hoyer said, “I don’t know whether we can make that case, but we’re sure going to try. It wasn’t so much that you got a tax cut. It was that you got such a small percentage when your need is higher.”
For his part, Donnelly admitted it’s “a great thing that people are getting some benefits.” A great thing that he didn’t support, in the eyes of many voters.
The Hoosier incumbent, facing a tough re-election battle, outlined his rebuttal to Republicans touting the legislation. “We’ll have a thousand dollars out there. And you’ll get that. And in return — and this is the part that goes unspoken — we’re going to send your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren the bill for that. They will pay it with interest, repeatedly, year after year after year, much of it going to the Chinese and others … If you laid that out and said, ‘Will you sign up for this?,’ not one person in my state would sign up for that.”
The Post quoted one of Donnelly’s constituents expressing displeasure with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s downplaying of bonuses precipitated by the bill as “crumbs.” In a telling concession, Hoyer maintained the criticism was accurate, but admitted, “I don’t say it.”
