Congressman Jeb Hensarling Can't Answer Simple Question on Tax Cuts

To learn how you can get involved, visit The Action.

Texas Tea Party Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) went on CNN today to tell everyone answers to questions nobody was asking, and to spin foolishly for the same Romney/Ryan budget plan that was so soundly rejected not even one month ago. Courtesy of our good friends at Think Progress, below is the transcript and video of the exchange for your own amusement (emphasis added): 

O’BRIEN: Why don’t Republicans and Democrats vote to keep the taxes lower for middle class and people at lower income and let the other ones expire? And you could do that now. And we wouldn’t go over the fiscal cliff.

HENSARLING: What the Speaker has done is exactly what the President claimed he he wanted. The Speaker has put on the table a balanced approach. …

O’BRIEN: You can’t be surprised that the president said no go to that, right? Within only a couple of hours — because it did not increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans, which he has consistently said.

HENSARLING: The President won 51-49. He has an electoral college victory. It’s good enough to get him re-elected but not enough to give him a mandate.

Watch it for yourself here:

Congressman Hensarling’s responses are factually wrong and avoid answereing O'Brien's question in a serious way. Again, from Think Progress:

While Boehner’s plan contains an array ofdraconian spending cuts, it doesn’t propose any actual increased revenue, relying instead on the same voodoo as the Romney tax plan.

Hensarling’s electoral analysis is equally irrelevant and misleading. Not only did he get the numbers wrong (Obama won the popular vote by roughly double the margin Hensarling suggests), but Democrats made big gains in the Senate and actually won the majority of votescast for candidates in the House.

We've written about the many positive benefits of ignoring the arguments of people like Hensarling - for example, under the President's plan, 98% of people in Texas would not see an income tax increase. The fiscal cliff talks may be infuriating, but they are incredibly important to the future success of our country.

To learn how you can get involved, visit The Action. Or, if you'd like to contact Congressman Hensarling directly, you can e-mail him here or go ask him questions directly on his Twitter page here.

Related Posts from Progress Texas: