Nancy Pelosi Is Even Out Of Touch With Her Fellow Democrats!

Or, at least, that’s how this Politico story makes it look:

Red-district Democrats are pressuring Speaker Nancy Pelosi to extend Bush-era income tax rates for all brackets, revealing a high-stakes rift between the party’s vulnerable moderates and its safe liberals as the issue increasingly dominates the national debate.

POLITICO has obtained a draft of a letter from rank-and-file lawmakers to Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer urging them not to let tax rates rise for Americans at the highest income levels.

“We believe in times of economic recovery it makes good sense to maintain things as they are in the short term, to provide families and businesses the certainty required to plan and make sound budget decisions,” the House members wrote in a letter that was being circulated for signatures on Friday and is expected to be delivered on Monday or Tuesday.

Reps. Jim Matheson of Utah, Glenn Nye of Virginia, Melissa Bean of Illinois and Gary Peters of Michigan drafted the letter and are working to gather support, mostly from the moderate Blue Dog and New Democrat coalitions, for at least a temporary extension of the rates for top income earners as well as those in the lower brackets.

I must admit, however, that I’m not so sure that the authors of that letter are more concerned about the economy, or about saving their own hides in what seems to be shaping up as a very anti-Democrat election cycle. Either way, I am glad to have them fighting their own party leadership (Obama-Pelosi-Reid) on what amounts to a tax hike in a recession.

Of course, some Democrats are still desperately trying to spin things:

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen and Obama have accused Republicans of holding the middle class “hostage” because they want all of the tax rates extended.

In point of fact, there are not enough Republicans in the House to stop a tax cut if that’s really what Pelosi wants to pass. In the Senate they might be able to by filibuster, but it’s entirely possible that the Senate could push it through using the Reconciliation rules, which, if I remember right, were created at least in part for just this sort of thing. Therefore, saying that the GOP is holding the cuts “hostage” is at best misleading and at worst a bald-faced lie… not that we should be surprised at seeing the latter from Obamacrats.

Guess Obama Can’t Buy This Democrat’s Vote

Teehee! The Utah CongressCritter whose brother was nominated for a federal judgeship by President Obama recently in what appeared to be a blatant attempt to buy his vote has declared he’ll vote no:

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Congressman Jim Matheson announced Saturday he will vote against President Obama’s health care plan.

In a statement, Matheson said the legislation “is too expensive, contains too many special deals, does not contain health care costs and will result in increases in health insurance premiums.”

Matheson said improving health care and providing affordable coverage in Utah will remain “critical” to him, but said he believes supporting the “wrong kind of reform” which will “increase health care costs” will hurt the nation more than it will help.

For those reasons, Matheson said he will vote ‘no’ to the president’s massive health care overhaul. The vote is set to take place in Washington, D.C. Sunday.

Makes me wonder if The Won will now withdraw the nomination of Scott Matheson, Jr. to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals (which, in all honestly, he appears qualified for).