{"id":15925,"date":"2012-04-17T18:15:04","date_gmt":"2012-04-17T18:15:04","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2012-04-17T18:15:04","modified_gmt":"2012-04-17T18:15:04","slug":"does_romney_s_tax_plan_accept_the_premise_of_the_left_s_class_warfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2012\/04\/17\/does_romney_s_tax_plan_accept_the_premise_of_the_left_s_class_warfare\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Romney\u2019s Tax Plan Accept the Premise of the Left\u2019s Class Warfare?"},"content":{"rendered":"

RUSH: Daniel Henninger said Mitt Romney is not naturally conservative. He\u2019s going to have to be nudged in that direction. That\u2019s true. It\u2019s not a particularly unique point, but still true. Now on Sunday night Romney was here in Palm Beach for a big fundraiser. Word has leaked out about some of the things that he said to the donors. These are things that he\u2019s not said publicly in terms of specifics on policy, and one of the things that he talked about was a tax plan. He wants to lower rates but eliminate some deductions for the rich. And I have to tell you, folks, I\u2019m not comfortable with the Republican nominee talking about special plans for “the rich,” special plans for “Hispanics.”<\/p>\n

That was part of it, too. He was saying we\u2019re gonna have to do some special outreach for Hispanics, special outreach for women. No, we don\u2019t. Not as conservatives. We don\u2019t have to have special policies for this group and that group or special whatever. One of the tax ideas was to eliminate… Now, get this: Eliminate the mortgage deductibility on second homes. Now, that\u2019s populism. We\u2019re talking an amount of money that\u2019s no different than the Buffett Rule. It\u2019s a shame. His capital gains idea is also a little curious, because it, too, is targeting “the rich,” anybody making over $200,000 jointly and introduces progressivity into the tax which seems fair or what have you.<\/line><\/p>\n

These are not the things that a Republican, much less a conservative nominee, needs to be talking about or saying. This is Rockefeller Republicanism. This is identity politics. It\u2019s the kind of stuff that the left talks about. Nicole Gelinas at The Corner, National Review: “If any of you are struggling or have struggled with figuring your capital-gains and dividends taxes this season, it\u00c2\u2019s worth remembering that Mitt Romney says he would eliminate capital-gains, dividends, and interest taxes for families earning under $200,000 in adjusted gross income (most people). This idea is solid. It would encourage people to save and invest outside of their 401(k)s and IRAs, a necessity when the country faces a retirement crisis.<\/p>\n

“Gutting taxes on all forms of saving and investment would avoid distortions in the marketplace, too. By contrast, a plan that favored, say, dividends over interest would distort the marketplace by pushing people toward one type of savings and investment over another.” But it would “introduce a progressive tax system on investment taxes without raising taxes on the wealthy. Romney would keep the 15% tax rate on dividends and capital gains for wealthier earners.” She thinks, “This approach seems fair.” But what I\u2019m hearing is a Republican nominee, or presumptive nominee, focusing on the rich, the wealthy. This is a premise that\u2019s been established by the left.<\/p>\n

You know, we don\u2019t hate the rich. We don\u2019t despise them. We don\u2019t begrudge them.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re role models. They have things to teach people. Something tells me that Mitt Romney\u2019s a little embarrassed of his wealth and wants to… I don\u2019t know, make excuses for it. Which is not necessary. He should be happy! He should be proud to explain how it happened. There nothing wrong with how it happened. There was nothing ill-gotten, there\u2019s nothing criminal, there\u2019s nothing in any way shady about it. There\u2019s no reason for guilt. There\u2019s no reason to feel nervous about it, other than if you want to fall prey to what the Democrats accuse you of. But that\u2019s accepting their premise. Let\u2019s go to the audio sound bites. Here\u2019s Diane Sawyer last night on ABC\u2019s World News Tonight. She interviewed Romney, and during a discussion about his financial success, she said this to him…<\/p>\n