Why aren’t the Republicans listening to Americans?

One of the most repeated criticisms you hear from Republican leaders and
opponents of the historic Affordable Care Act that will expand health insurance
coverage to 30 million Americans and end unfair insurance company practices
that deny coverage to those in need is that Congress passed it despite the
“objection of the American people.” The “objection” cited is a reference to
public opinion polling that showed mixed levels of support for the healthcare
reform bill.

But when Republicans in Congress are faced with objections from the public
about their proposals to go relive the Bush era of financial stewardship, they
ignore the public’s wishes.

The Hill’s Jay Heflin reports
results of a new Gallup poll show overwhelming opposition to
stopping the imminent Bush tax increases for the wealthiest Americans.
According to the reporting, Gallup’s poll shows that “59 percent [of those
polled] favor ending tax cuts for the rich.” The poll indicated that 56 percent
of independents and even 44 percent of Republicans polled would prefer an end
to tax breaks for the wealthy. Those looming tax increases are part of a set of
tax increases put in place by President Bush and the Republican Congress in
2001 that will raise taxes on nearly every American taxpayer in 2011.

Instead of supporting the tax cuts for lower- and middle-class Americans and
small businesses proposed by President Obama and the Democratic Congress to
prevent the Bush tax increases, Republicans are set to block those tax cuts for
American families unless the president backs the highly unpopular tax breaks
for millionaires. The polling says Americans want to end the tax breaks for the
rich. Why are Republicans in Congress not listening to the will of the American
people?

Just like their opposition to the toughest Wall Street reform bill since the
Depression and their refusal to pass the small-business bill that would
immediately create jobs and inject much-needed capital to the growth engines of
our economy, Republicans are playing politics and opposing the will of the
public when it comes to tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. They believe
that if the economy continues to recover slowly, they’ll win more seats in
November.

The president and the Democrats in Congress are listening to the people and
putting the country, not politics, first. They favor halting the Bush tax
increases for lower- and middle-class Americans and small businesses and
allowing the Bush tax increases on the wealthy. Gallup says the Democrats’
proposal “is the specific option the public prefers most.”

Maybe it’s time for Republicans in Washington to start listening to the
American public and start doing what’s right for this economy.