In a press release, Ken Buck implores Sen. Michael Bennet not to approve any post-election, lame-duck tax increases in the form of failing to extend tax cuts:
“Appointed Senator Bennet must come clean about whether he will support tax hikes in a lame-duck session of Congress,” said Buck. “I call on Bennet to pledge he will not follow any plans by Senate Democrats to raise taxes after the election on Nov. 2.”
Late last night—conveniently after many newspaper editors had gone home for the day—Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that Congress would punt until after the election votes on the extension of the Bush tax cuts. If Congress does not act, on January 1 tax rates will increase dramatically across the board: every single personal income tax rate will go up, the child tax credit will be cut in half, the marriage penalty will come back, and the capital gains rate and the estate tax will skyrocket. […]
“Appointed Senator Bennet first was in favor of broad-based tax increases, but now as he takes heat from over-taxed Coloradans, he has waffled on which taxes he wants to hike and which ones he will let stay at current levels. Senator, why don’t you just shoot straight with Coloradans and tell them where you stand?” said Buck Campaign Manager John Swartout.
Ever since the Democrats’ reelection prospects became dimmer and the likelihood of a lame-duck Congress enacting unpopular measures in a last gasp effort to thwart the incoming GOP became more plausible, Republicans like Buck have called on their Democratic counterparts to avoid any extreme, end-run legislative maneuvers on items in the Obama administration’s agenda that did not get accomplished in the first two years, while Democrats controlled both the House and Senate by considerable margins, in addition to holding the White House.
Bennet’s campaign responded to Buck’s call for no “lame-duck” tax increases, arguing that tax cut extensions for the wealthiest would be unfunded and lead to a greater budget deficit.