The Producers' Party
Today, in the pages of Investors Business Daily, Brad O'Leary writes about another gap for the Age of Obama -- in effect, the "Taxpayer Gap" (if you can think of a catchier phrase, pop it in the comments below or email me at CarolLiebau@CarolLiebau.com).
Not surprisingly, there is a huge disparity in approval for Obama's policies between those who pay taxes and those who don't (O'Leary, in fact, found that 58% of taxpayers approved of the tea parties, despite MSM efforts to characterize it as a fringe cause). Taxpayers -- i.e., people who actually have a stake in the American system that they back with their money -- are significantly more supportive of capitalism than the nontaxpayers, who are much more open to socialism.
Granted, O'Leary polled with Zogby, who can be off sometimes. But the results were weighted to reflect the 2008 election results, and the methodology seems to make sense.
And it strikes me that this is a "gap" the GOP should be watching carefully. Especially as Obama trends to the left, the GOP needs to be rebranding itself as the "Producers' Party" (that is, the party of those who produce). It wouldn't hurt the GOP also to point out that, to the extent its policies reflect only the priorities of those who continually do nothing but take tax money without paying any in -- and then vote to take even more from others so that they may take more without paying in -- the Democrats are out of step with this country.
Obviously, it's important and right to take care of those who are in true and desperate need. But celebrating an agenda under which the majority of taxpayers are routinely disregarded -- and even victimized -- by a government that's been empowered by those who do nothing but take is wrong.