Cut It Out

President Obama laid down the gauntlet on taxes.  He said the the Bush tax cuts should be extended only for people earning less than 250000 a year.  Republicans want a permanent tax cut for everyone, including the wealthy. Obama thinks he can win this battle. He thinks it can help turn the election.

Let's review some stubborn facts:

Number of Republican House Members out of 435: 242

Number of seats the Democrats need to pick up in November to take back the House: 25

Number of House seats they're expected to pick up in November if they're lucky: 15

Number of Senate seats the Republicans need to pick up in November to take back that chamber: 4

Number of Senate seats Democrats have to defend: 23

Amount of money Republicans plan to spend on congressional races in 2012 : somewhere around infinity

Watching the Democrats kid themselves into thinking that having the correct position on taxes means they're in good shape and set themselves up for electoral disaster: priceless 

Whig out, Dems - let a real progressive party take your place.