MSNBC once again repeated the liberal line that returning to the higher pre-Bush tax rates is somehow not raising taxes. "If you just go back to normal tax standards, it's not a break of the [no tax hike] pledge that many of them signed" said Mika Brzezinski on Thursday's Morning Joe.
Brzezinski was reacting to Joe Scarborough's explanation of why Republicans don't like to negotiate tax deals. "A lot of Republicans, a lot of conservatives, and I include myself fiscally in that category, have seen it time and again where we have heard, 'well you raise taxes and we'll take care of cuts later.' Cuts are never taken care of." Scarborough had just finished explaining to the panel that tax hikes can hurt the economy by citing the example of Connecticut under Governor Lowell Weicker.
The "Morning Joe" co-host, however, objected to Scarborough's characterization of tax increases as tax increases. She twice repeated "It's not raising," and insisted that Democrats only wanted to bring taxes "back to normal levels."
Mika Brzezinski now joins contributor Mike Barnicle among those at MSNBC who refuse to acknowledge that raising tax rates does actually amount to an increase in taxes.
A transcript of the exchange, which aired at 6:44 am on Thursday, follows below.
MSNBC
Morning Joe
July 21, 2011
6:44 a.m. EDT
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: If you revoke some of the Bush - if you just go back to normal tax standards, it's not a break of the pledge that many of them signed-
JOE SCARBOROUGH: A lot of Republicans, a lot of conservatives, and I include myself fiscally in that category, have seen it time and again where we have heard, "well you raise taxes and we'll take care of cuts later." Cuts are never taken care of.
BRZEZINSKI: It's not raising.
SCARBOROUGH: It's actually the easy thing to do in American politics, to raise taxes.
BRZEZINSKI: It's not raising.
SCARBOROUGH: Because the editorial boards will praise you. You will be seen as a respectable, responsible man about town. I mean - I hear this constantly. When is the pressure going to come to make really tough cuts on the programs? I never see those editorials.
BARNICLE: You know, one of the big problems with taxes, whether you raise them -
BRZEZINSKI: Back to normal levels -
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