Simpson-Bowles would have: raised taxes by $1.2 trillion--bumping to 21% the tax share of GDP from the typical 18%; relied largely on defense cuts to reduce spending; retained all $2.5 trillion in ObamaCare spending and done nothing to reform Medicare and Medicaid. No wonder Luke Russert loved it.
Appearing on Chuck Todd's Daily Rundown on MSNBC today, NBC congressional correspondent Russert bemoaned Simpson-Bowles's overwhelming defeat in the House yesterday. According to Russert, the measly 38 votes the plan garnered is emblematic of what's wrong with Washington. Todd joined in the hand-wringing. View the video after the jump.
CHUCK TODD: Before I get to the Ryan [budget-proposal] vote, Luke, I just want to go back to Bowles-Simpson. I mean, that was the height of why --
LUKE RUSSERT: Huge, huge story. Huge underreported story. Kudos to you for putting it in the first block, because it's so underreported. We hear on Capitol Hill --
TODD: The height of like unbelievable grandstanding --
RUSSERT: It is so hypocritical. Because every single day you walk through these halls. And you hear Republicans, and you hear Democrats say: well, we need to tackle this skyrocketing debt. We need to get the deficit under control. Here's a plan by a well-known Republican, a well-known Democrat. Both sides have to jump into the deep end together, feel some pain. Everybody talks about wanting to do it. And then it goes to the floor: it gets 38 votes. If you want one number that's emblematic of Washington, D.C. right now, that is representative of what's going on in this country, it's 38. That's all you've got to say. Thirty-eight. Unbelievable.
