Legal Commentary

Politico: The BaucusCare Mandate Tax Is A, Um, Tax

By Big Tent Democrat

The Beltway bloggers and pundits advocating for BaucusCare are having a hard time with this one:

In the most contentious exchange of President Barack Obama’s marathon of five Sunday shows, he said it is “not true” that a requirement for individuals to get health insurance under a key reform plan now being debated amounts to a tax increase. But he could look it up — in the bill. Page 29, sentence one of the bill introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont) says: “The consequence for not maintaining insurance would be an excise tax.”

In contortions that would make a Bush apologist proud, the Beltway bloggers and pundits have tried to turn reality into well, their own myth. It won't work. And it is embarrassing. When Politico can make you look silly, you may want to reconsider your tactics.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 21, 2009 (boomark / email).