Associated Press
Honeywell International CEO David Cote
The Business Roundtable is not known for its moderation or sympathy towards Democratic economic ideas. On the contrary, the organization represents the chief executives of many of the nation's largest companies, and has a reputation in D.C. for being a reliable Republican ally, especially on issues related to taxes, spending, and fiscal responsibility.
It's what made yesterday's developments that much more noteworthy.
The Business Roundtable, a group of the nation's top CEOs, Tuesday urged lawmakers to consider raising taxes to avert the fiscal cliff, a shift for business leaders who had previously said they wanted all tax cuts extended for one year.
"We urge you to step forward and demonstrate that principled compromise is once again possible and that the American political system that underpinned the economic success of our nation and others can function as designed," the group said in a letter to House and Senate leaders. A similar letter was also sent to the White House. The chief executives of Boeing Co., Dow Chemical Co., American Express Co. and other large businesses signed the letters. [...]
On Tuesday, Honeywell International Inc. Chief Executive David Cote explained the Roundtable's change of heart: "We think that compromise and showing our ability to govern is more important than sticking to any particular ideological view."
Imagine that.
The Honeywell CEO added, "We recognize that part of the solution has to be tax increases. That's the only thing that allows a reasonable compromise to be reached."
The Business Roundtable's new policy position comes two weeks after a series of business leaders and Wall Street executives also rejected Republican debt-ceiling efforts, arguing that another GOP-imposed crisis would be awful for America's private sector.
Ordinarily, this would matter quite a bit to Republicans -- after all, folks like those in the Business Roundtable are effectively the GOP base. But for now, the nation's "job creators" are siding with President Obama, rejecting Republican antics, and leaving congressional GOP leaders in an awkward position.
Indeed, some on the right -- who ordinarily argue that policymakers should do whatever Big Business tells them to do -- are getting a little agitated. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) told the Wall Street Journal yesterday, "Big business may support raising tax rates on small businesses, but I do not."
Now, Camp probably knows what he's saying isn't true. A modest increase in the top rate affecting income above $250,000 is not a tax increase "on small businesses." But the larger point is, since when does the conservative Republican chair of the House Ways and Means Committee publicly bicker with the Business Roundtable?
What we're witnessing is a fight in which Republicans have isolated themselves from just about everyone, to an extent unseen in a long while. The White House, a majority of the Senate, a majority of the public, labor, CEOs of the nation's largest companies, and even Wall Street are on one side, pushing for bipartisan compromise and the immediate end to the looming debt-ceiling hostage crisis.
On the other side, we see congressional Republicans, far-right activists, and Fox News hosts.
GOP extremism, in other words, has left John Boehner and Mitch McConnell with very few friends. If they're looking for mainstream cover or support as the fiscal fight continues, they're not going to find any.
Leave a Comment:
Yes, I remember packing lunches for the whole work crew from Dupont, they never left a tip. Every weekday packing their lunch and no tip. I'm sure with all the money they saved just from not tipping alone, they could agree to pay a little more in taxes. Do it for all the Diner Waitresses of America who were not represented by a union.
The Repubs won't agree unless Adelson, the Koch Brothers and their cronies tell 'em to agree. THEY hold the purse strings.
Yes, Mitch McConnell should have thought a bit more long term when he uttered out loud, in public, three and a half years ago, "We want to make Barack Obama a one term president."
Blow back is a bitch!
Do your homies have your back now Mitch? -Kevo
None of this means a thing because it's not the business community that the Republicans fear anymore. It's the "Let'em Die", crazy tea party people they are scared of and to be completely honest I think they are frightening too...
I'm not 100% sure this is accurate, I think the Republicans are essentially "marrying up" to the highest bidder. To wildly paraphrase MissyCheeks above, just like it's easier to try to please a group of millionaires than millions of voters, it's also easier to please just a few kajillionaires, like the Koch Brothers or Sheldon Adelson, than it is to please that group of millionaires. And to guys like Adelson & the Kochs, America is now their plaything, they're bored and they have ideas on what The Way Things Ought To Be and they have unlimited funds to try to shape the nation to be that way. After all, what are they gonna do with that money otherwise - pay workers a decent wage? Help out more charities? Not when there's legacies to be shaped and Democrats to ruin, no sir.
The problem, as the Republican Party has already begun to discover, is that in order to sell out they still have to have something for sale. And if they can't deliver political power and customized legislation - in other words, if they can't win votes on a broader scale - than they will have nothing to sell to their extremely small but absurdly wealthy target group.
That would be a good trend if the business people woke up to the fact that the Republican Party is now a threat to them. Pity they took so long to notice.
Anybody who doesn't think that once the tax rates go up these CEO scum won't be campaigning to cut Social Security, Medicare, etc. hasn't been paying attention. These guys can't be trusted further than you can see them with your eyes closed.
IOW...they finally have a semi-clue that the GOP is crazy.
Do you think that MAYBE the CEOs of these companies have finally started to figure out that if the Republicans don't start putting some perfume on this pig that the Republicans are going to be on a LONG downhill slide?
I saw a poll recently where the majority of business owners cite the gridlock as the main reason they are holding off on opening up new jobs, NOT the fear of a tax increase. Again, the vast majority of businesses are under the $250,000 threshold so they understand they will not be affected by the tax increase. But, I guess a party that didn't believe polls before the election cannot be expected to believe them after. This will likely lead to a Democratic Super Majority in 2014...handwriting on the walls, anyone?
Businesses don't vote. The people in red states aren't voting their pocketbooks anyway; it's tribalism and fear of The Other.
And this year’s award for Bumper Sticker of the Year goes to...to...as I open the envelope here...yes!...Fox News for the best quote since "The Moral Majority Is Neither" with the Academy’s unanimous vote for "Watching Fox News Makes You Stupid!"
There's a thing called the Norquist tax pledge that trumps what CEO'S and millions of Americans think should happen. How the republicans can let one man hold the nation hostage is beyond comprehension. How can they let his vision of what he thinks government should be rule the rest of this country. So republicans, do what is best for the country and not what is best for Grover Norquist.
I think it's important to be reminded that Mr. Norquist is only a well paid spokesman for his organization. He has been paid for decades by well-heeled contributors who benefit from his legislative oppression. Just who are his benefactors?
And that pledge was written by Norquist when he was 12 years old
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/conservative-leader-denounces-norquist-pledge-its-childish-and-its-certainly-not-conservatism/
All these CEO's were major Obama contributures. Within a year you willsee them awarded goverment contracts. Just more of the same Crony Capitalism from your False Messiah. And of course you mindless lemmings dont suspect a thing.
Go stick your head back up your rectum where you've kept it since birth, you sheep fornicator.
The other party is actually the proud Daddys' of Government contracts, only it's to help out all their Buddies, who aren't allowed to dump toxic waste in America, so they plan to dump it in another country. Again, not born yesterday. Is that 12/12/12 concert going to be on T.V.?
If you're going to make a claim then you need to provide evidence for the assertion or admit you are lying.
If you want to make the claim that Obama has somehow left the realm of normal political involvement with business then you must first explain this in the context of his predecessors. So please first show us the number of contracts awarded by the Bush Administration to businesses that donated to the election and re-election of Bush. Then show us the comparison of that number to that of the Obama Administration's number. Please remember the assertion that you are making here is that Obama's number must be SIGNIFICANTLY higher than that of Bush.
If the numbers are the same or similar you cannot argue that there is crony capitalism under Obama unless you also argue it was true under other administrations as well.
If the numbers are significantly less than Bush then you have proven that in fact Bush- the Republican- was the one granting favors to companies in exchange for his election and Obama has been an improvement. Thus Bush was the one engaged in crony capitalism not Obama.
It is only in the instance of Obama's grants being significantly higher than that of his predecessors that you can make the claim that somehow Obama has engaged in crony capitalism in a way outside of the mainstream.
For the record you aren't allowed to play the red herring argument here of "well both sides do it." Your specific assertion here was that Obama is a crony capitalist and you introduced this sentence under the framework that this was at an egregious rate. Therefore the argument "well Bush did it too" will not suffice unless you want to redact your first statement and admit that you were being hyperbolic and fallacious.
Citations, please.
Otherwise we'll be forced to conclude that a right-wing troll is...trolling.
So, from every side... exit polls from the election... Republicans still don't listen. No one is perfect, but they must really not care at all about the US and it's citizens.
The POTUS is going all over the US and getting the same support... What is the right doing? Going to dinner parties at the country club and hearing how much money it will take away from Muffy's pampered life?
Get real!
And what are the Dems waiting for? Pass the damn appropriations (?) bill in the senate and put it front of Boner.
Was I right in understanding Scaley included "fornication" in his now imfamous statement that gay marriage and murder are essentialy/equilvilantly/inerrantly immoral? Fornication is sex outside of marriage? Could someone (that would be you, the MEDIA) ask him if he would also outlaw masteurbation, working on the sabbath, women with their heads uncovered, taking the lord's name in vain,,,,.
It is obvious by now that the far right wingers are not really fiscal conservatives. They are social conservatives and are using the economic issues to hide their true agenda which is: destroy the unions; repeal Roe v. Wade and return women to their "place" in the home as sex slaves, brood mares and house cleaners; criminalize any sexual act not designed to make a baby; impose evangelical Christian theology on everyone who may have a different view of the nature of the Universe; and of course keep the African Americans, Latinos, and anyone who might have darker skin and flatter noses in low wage slave labor jobs.
The CEOs and others, who may be real fiscal conservatives who want the government to be efficient and who want taxes to be as low as possible to keep our government solvent and still provide legitimate services, need to realize that the Republican party no longer supports the real interests of the Nation as a whole.