MSNBC's Martin Bashir conducts a heated debate between MSNBC analyst Jonathan Alter, Democratic strategist Julian Epstein, and Republican strategist Ron Christie on how to score – both politically and economically – the President's speech today, pushing for a millionaire's tax.
President Obama used a speech today to not only push legislation enacting the so-called "Buffett Rule," but also outline his vision for the economy versus Republican presidential rivals.
Obama's speech to students and others at Florida Atlantic University contained heavy campaign overtones, though Obama said his Republican opponent -- likely Mitt Romney, after Rick Santorum suspended his campaign this afternoon -- "shall go unnamed."
“They're doubling down on these old, broken down theories. Instead of moderating their views even slightly, instead of saying, "You know what, what we did really didn't work and we almost had a second Great Depression, and maybe we should try something different," they have doubled down,” the president said.
Ed will have full analysis and reaction tonight on The Ed Show at 8pET on MSNBC!
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My favorite President......the President of the United States....BARRY OBAMA....he does know how to draw a crowded even in Florida....Notice that his audiance isn't just full of old retireies but the young who are concerned about their futures.
He is talking about their futures....WE LOVE YOU OBAMA.
Amen!
TM, A big A-men to that!
You know, I honestly don't think America could recover from 4 years of Romney!
with more americans being out of work than anytime in our history of course he gets big crowds. lol i see they can get out to see obama but cant get out to get a photo id.
Mika from commie Russia, There aren't, by the way, more Americans out of work than ever before in our history. Brush up on the great depression. Perhaps you were a victim of the Soviet's version of revisionist history.
Or is it Fox's news' version of events that has you so opposed to the president? In any case, planes still head east. Feel free to get on one.
Just curious Comrade, what would the unemployment rate be in your opinion if McCain/Palin and the teabaggers were in charge?
Well one thing we know for sure is that it wouldn't be Vice President Palin anymore, after all John we are more than half way through the term
Right CC, thats one job Palin could'nt quit.
I don't know why they just don't let the Bush Tax Cuts expire for everyone. If they were bad for certain wage earners, then they were bad period. Let them expire for everyone.
If the tax code is so unfavorable for the middle class, then why do half the middle class pay no Federal Income Tax? Almost half of taxpayers (49%) pay no Federal Income Tax, and unless someone here can defy mathematics, that means half of the middle class pays no Federal Income Tax. Half do pay and half don't.
How is this fair? We need to redefine "fair share". Instead of looking up, we need to start looking down at the people feeding off the Federal Tax system.
Drillbaby, what is the requirement for a person to pay federal taxes?
President Obama is a man who has and does show great leadership. He is intelligent and compassionate. This man is a leader of our new generation. These are the young adults who will be in charge of the country - thank goodness that they have President Obama to look up to.
FF...
Funniest thing... When I tried to look up your profile page, I was sent to an empty page, that wouldn't respond to anything I tried... Twice! That's never happened to me before... Any idea why?
OKay... It's working now...
as obama heavily carried the welfare vote im sure the people who attended will go home to their lbj great soceity couch waiting for the mailman to deliver the checks.
And here we go again forgetting that LBJ only set up the Food stamp program, it was Nixon who created the welfare system that Reagan lied about. So just were did Reagan get his generations of welfare queens lie when he was talking about a welfare system that wasn't created until 1972, you can't get generations of humans in a 7 year span.
@whomitmay,
And it was Clinton that reformed welfare. After five years, you were supposed to be dropped. My wife worked for the Income Maintainance Department (aka Welfare) for many years and she said it was up to the social workers to decide if clients would be dropped. But, no social worker would drop them, thus preserving their client base and their job existance. Who cares about the taxpayer?
Thatys funny, there's a select few teabaggers that are keeping corporate welfare going for big oil to.
I truly love President Obama. That was an incredible speech and right on about every issue facing us today! He is one fine orator, one fine human being and one Helluva FINE president!! Thank you, President Obama, for restoring my faith in this country. Keep it up through November. We cannot let the poster boy for the .0001% ruin everything you've done so far. He would double down on all the failed policies of the last decade under Bush and that would be a terrible disaster!
I honestly do not think we could recover from 4 years of Mitt Romney.
Romney would kill this country!!!!!! Look at the movie Robots Romney minds me of Rachet and President Obama reminds of Rodney and Biden is Bigweld because they care about us!!!!!!!! And the outmodes are all of us the 99%. In the movie Rachet AKA Romney Say The Lies I've told and the Lives I've Ruined. Just like he did at Bain Capital . Romney is not the Knight on a White Horse in Shining Armour just the opposite. He is Black Knight on the Black Horse and is going to destroy us if he is not stopped. President Obama / Biden have been that Knight in The Shining Armour on the White Horse all this time.
I think this same old same old nonsense needs to stop. The President needs to take what he has done so far and say I am worse than Jimmy Carter was for America. I have done nothing but spend, spend, and spend and oh did I forget SPEND.
Except that was Reagan and the Bush's that spent spent spent and never paid their bills on all of that borrowed money, gee what free loaders has the GOP turned out to be.
@whomitmay,
If you think Bush was so bad, then why not have the courage to come out and say, "The Bush Tax Cuts were bad for everyone"? Bush did not make them in a time of budget deficit, he did them in a time of a Clinton surplus. We are now in a time of deficit, why not let them expire for everyone?
This nation's ever expanding deficit is the biggest threat to our nation other than enemy invasion. Our leaders need to acknowledge this and do something about it or our nation will collapse. We are headed towards a $16 trillion defict on the way to a $21 trillion defict. If Obama is re-elected, this will happen and we will suffer economic collapse.
Maybe there are so many dependants on the Government that nobody cares?
Bush CREATED a budget deficit with his tax cuts when we had a surplus. Not to mention the unpaid for Medicare part b. Hey drillbaby, what about cutting our defense budget in half? That would save trillions. After all we do spend more on our military than all countries in the world, COMBINED.
These repugs show their absolute true colors they are truly Greedy People . A Millionaire's tax how about we call it paying your fair share in taxes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kutlass, What kind of gall do they have to think they should pay LESS than a janitor or a butcher or a secretary? Greedy hardly describes it!
Why they have that insufferable snob, Ron Christy on there is beyond me!
I think its simple. These guys that are getting the 15% tax rate is taking advantage of what is in the tax code, oh the Democrat Congress voted this tax cut in under Bush. If the President wants true tax change how about a true fair tax where everyone pays into the system instead of only 52%. Its time everyone either pays a minimum tax or an income tax on all income earned. If these so called 15%ers dont make income they shouldnt have to pay an INCOME TAX.
Blah blah blah right wing disinformation at its best. Where is your disclaimer that states anything you post is not meant to be factual.
Ron Christi keeps filling his chatter,
With right-wing refuse that won't matter.
Not only is the dude
Incredibly rude,
His positions are Mad as a Hatter!
I thought he and Jonathan Alter were going to come to blows on Martin Bashir today! LOL I would have loved to see Jonathan clean Ron's clock!
Why,Why,Why do any of the MSNBC commentators have that idiot Ron Christie on their program.The man is a complete idiot!Did his mother drop him on his head when he was a little kid?This was one of the worst hires that MSNBC ever made! I thought Michael Steele was bad.This guy makes him look like a far left progressive.Whenever he's on I can only stomach a minute or so of him before I change the channel,sometimes I return sometimes I dont.
If His Mom Dropped Him On His Head When He Was A Kid = He Probably Bounced A Few Times !!!!!!!!
Comes down to this America either you can let the republicans raise taxes on the people who fuel economic growth, the middle class or you can stop them
you can let the top 2% who have 40+% of all the nation's wealth claim they are being oppressed because a small number own republican politicians or we can do what we've always done. Paid taxes as responsible citizens and not complained the whole time.
The GOP for whatever reason fails to realize that when they discuss not renewing the payroll tax cut or raising taxes on the middle class and won't een discuss raising the taxes on the top rates that they are branding themselves as being against the people in the middle. The majority of the people.
They will never see this if they continue to speak only with themselves and ignore the positions of the opposition
These top 1% live in a secluded world of private jets and fancy gated mansions. The go to exclusive clubs and party and play golf with those like themselves. They actually collect social security and add it to their Swiss bank accounts. They are unconcerned with the 99% of us. We do not matter to them and they cannot possibly relate to people who live paycheck to paycheck or the very poor who live in truly bad conditions. For one of my heroes, Bobby Kennedy, it was an epiphany when he went to Appalachia to see how desperate the conditions some people lived under. He became an advocate for the poor and the war on poverty.
Mitt Romney is no Bobby Kennedy. He never was and never will be.
Its not about letting anything expire, its about changing the entire system, getting rid of all these tax write-offs (its not a loop hole if its in the tax code LEFT WINGERS). I believe the country needs to institute a tax plan with 2 tiers 30% for higher earners (over $500K) and 10% for everyone else. No write-offs, no deductions other than education, housing, and children
Truth you're tax plan would murder the budget interesting and valid points but 30% and 10% will not work even everyone pays as you contend
and on loop holes.....well they are loop holes. There are both write offs and loop holes. Remember loop hole is something that exploits the wording of a rule to create an exemption. So the tax laws are written to include the ability for these things to be draw in by the people who pay to have them created aka corporations
John Kennedy lowered the tax rate down from 91% to 78 %.
Ronald Reagan raised taxes 11 times in during his presidency.
His 1985 speech about millionaires paying nothing while bus drivers paid 10% of their income is somewhat famous in liberal circles.
Isn’t it interesting how history always hit’s Republicans “right” in their A$$et$?
Young Taker, Reagan was promised spending cuts from the Democrat controlled congress when he raised taxes, and he is still waiting from them, rest in peace!
When Reagan left office, the top rate was about 28 %, not the current 36 %. His policies worked, and that is why liberals have been lying about the truth of supply side economics, that is , it worked !
And JFK unemployment numbers were at 1.2% without Reagans tricky math. Oh yeah and the US was the worlds top exporter as well as the US industrial based economy that is no longer the case. Once again history failure 101.
So then you can't deny the truth that your lord and savior did raise taxes with becoming a stalinist dictator. It's a start.
Except that the current rate is more like 35 so now my dear distorionist you really expect of to believe 5 or 6% is really having a devastating effect on the economy. Witch doctor economics work only for the rich because they are written, for and by only those wealthly
Does being a good business leader qualifies you to be a National Leader. Business is about making money...governance is about protecting and making people.