GOP and Tea Party Mobs Determined to Raise Taxes -- On the Poor

America’s Republican/Tea Party contingent, who are defined by their dogmatic devotion to lower taxes as a panacea for everything, have finally found a sector of society they can comfortably saddle with a higher tax burden: the poor.

That’s right. These antitax zealots have concluded that fairness cannot be achieved in the country’s tax code as long as there are disadvantaged freeloaders who are allegedly not paying into the system. While they fight tooth and nail to protect wealthy individuals and corporations from contributing even modest amounts to the nation’s recovery, the rightist brigade is marching lock-step in favor of soaking the poor in order to heal the malaise on Wall Street and the misery of long-suffering bankers. Their battle cry goes something like this: “Half of the Country Doesn’t Pay Any Taxes At All.” Fox News has been pushing that theme for quite a while. For the past two years they headlined it on Fox Nation right at tax time.

This movement is not some scruffy assemblage of disorganized trust-funders seeking to upgrade their yachts. It is a coordinated campaign that has pulled together high-profile proponents from politics and the press. Here is a sampling of the breadth and unity of the movement and the message:

• Rick Perry (R-TX): We’re dismayed at the injustice that nearly half of all Americans don’t even pay any income tax.
• Michele Bachmann (R-MN): A system in which 47 percent of Americans don’t pay any tax is ruinous for a democracy.
• Sarah Palin (R-AK): The problem is more than 40 percent pay no income taxes at all.
• Orrin Hatch (R-UT): 51 percent don’t pay anything.
• Jim DeMint (R-SC): Over half of Americans pay no federal income tax.
• Mitch McConnell (R-KY): In fact, about half of Americans don’t pay any income taxes at all.
• John Boehner (R-OH): Fifty-one percent — that is, a majority of American households — paid no income tax in 2009. Zero. Zip. Nada.
• Eric Cantor (R-MD): We also have a situation in this country where you’re nearing 50 percent of people who don’t even pay income taxes.
• Alan West (R-FL): Currently we have some 40-45 percent of Americans who are not paying any taxes.

We’re not through yet.

• Donald Trump (R-HisOwnEgo): You do have a problem because half of the people don’t pay any tax.
• Bill O’Reilly (Fox News): 50 percent of Americans don’t pay any federal income tax now.
• Stuart Varney (Fox News): About half the people who work in America, half the households, actually, pay any federal income tax at all.
• Dave Briggs (Fox News): [A]lmost half of this country pays no income tax whatsoever.
• Gretchen Carlson (Fox News): But what does that mean when you factor in that 50 percent of the nation doesn’t even pay federal income tax? Is that fair?
• [Idiot Award Winner] Steve Doocy (Fox News): With 47 percent of Americans not paying taxes – 47 percent – should those who don’t pay be allowed to vote?
• Sean Hannity (Fox News): 50 percent of Americans no longer pay taxes.
• Neil Cavuto (Fox News): I’ve discovered nearly half of this country’s households don’t pay any taxes at all.

Oh yes, there’s more.

• Dave Ramsey (Fox News): This idea that 42 percent of Americans don’t pay anything…that’s just morally wrong.
• Brian Kilmeade (Fox News): Fifty-one percent of the country isn’t paying any taxes at all.
• Eric Bolling (Fox News): 43 percent of households don’t pay any federal tax.
• Glenn Beck (Right-Wing Radio): There was like 48 percent say they pay their right amount of taxes and 49 percent don’t pay any tax.
• Rush Limbaugh (Right-Wing Radio): Meanwhile, 45 percent of Americans pay nothing.
• Gary Bauer (Right-Wing Evangelist): But the reality is that nearly half of Americans don’t pay any income tax.
• Rick Warren (Right-Wing Evangelist): HALF of America pays NO taxes. Zero.
• Ted Nugent (Right-Wing Douchebag): This, of course, will not apply to those 50 percent of Americans who pay no income taxes.