Before the final vote came in, Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio took a stand that triggered some grim headlines regarding the viability of Trump’s tax bill.
But while the media was calling for blood, Republicans never even broke a sweat. In fact, many major conservative leaders and thinkers believed Rubio’s line in the sand was drawn over what they considered to be a respectable point of personal conviction.
The only surprising part of the story is that he said he would not lend his vote to the bill unless more meaningful child tax credits were included. Rubio has long been an outspoken advocate for working families with children. In October, he gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor describing the many growing costs of parenthood with projections for the average working family, both with and without the reforms he has been looking for.
This month, he told journalists that he was not satisfied with the child tax credit as it stood, and that he will withhold and reverse his vote if he does not get the increase he wants.
“Right now, it’s only $1,100. It needs to be higher than that,” Rubio told reporters. “I understand that this is a process of give and take, especially when there’s only a couple of us fighting for it. Given all the other changes they’ve made in the tax code leading into it, I can’t in good conscience support it unless we are able to increase the refundable portion of it.”
Most of the reports on this story relate deepened divisions among members of the GOP, but with a few exceptions, our research tells us that most conservatives believe Rubio will get at least some of what he wants and will come on board to vote yes for this historic tax relief bill. According to several GOP insiders earlier this week, it does appear the Rubio will vote yes.
What we’re seeing here is not the knock down drag out type of drama that we expect over issues like this. It’s a matter of principled conservatives having a debate with a standard amount of political maneuvering. Conservatives do not become enemies when we disagree. We are not leftists.
Of course, if you’re looking for drama, there is some to be had. After all, this tax bill represents the greatest tax relief package the American people will have ever received. The rule is that the people have to fight hard for the government to give up anything, and President Trump is attempting to break that rule in an unprecedented move that would breathe much-needed life into the economy. So a few tempers flared over the possibility of Rubio throwing a monkey wrench into the works.
The unflappable Ann Coulter tweeted, “Sen. Marco Rubio threatening to vote against tax cut bill unless it contains a back wax credit.”
Fox News commentator Guy Benson said, “I’m sympathetic to what Rubio is trying to do and we’ll see if he can reallocate some of the dollars freed up by reducing the corporate rate cut by 1 percentage point. But he should not kill the bill if he doesn’t get his way.”
Rubio proposed an expansion of the tax credit for parents which would raise it from $1,100 per child to $2,000 per child. They also asked the Senate to consider raising the corporate tax rate outlined in the bill from 20% to 20.94%. The proposal was voted down by the Senate.
In his frustration, Rubio tweeted, “Tax negotiators didn’t have much trouble finding a way to lower the top tax bracket and to start the corporate tax cut a year early. Adding at least a few hundred [dollars] in refundable cuts for working families who seem to always be forgotten isn’t hard to do either.”
The GOP cannot lose more than 2 of the 52 votes that support the bill now. At this point, it appears that Rubio will vote yes, but if he should change his mind, Vice President Pence will be called upon to cast his vote and break the tie. Pence has already canceled a trip to the middle east in order to make himself available.
At present, Rubio says he’s on board- and it’s agonizing to see the man pulled in two directions. He’s fighting for a good cause, but tax bill is necessary — and long overdue.
~ Liberty Planet
