Republicans are still refusing to budge on taxes, despite losing seats in the House and failing to take back the presidency or the Senate — and that's unlikely to change, according to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“One issue I’ve never been conflicted about is taxes,” the Kentucky Republican said in a statement to
Breitbart News. “I wasn’t sent to Washington to raise anybody’s taxes to pay for more wasteful spending and this election doesn’t change my principles. This election was a disappointment, without doubt, but let’s be clear about something: the House is still run by Republicans, and Republicans still maintain a robust minority in the Senate.
“I know some people out there think Tuesday’s results mean Republicans in Washington are now going to roll over and agree to Democrat demands that we hike tax rates before the end of the year. I’m here to tell them there is no truth to that notion whatsoever.”
The Washington Post reports things are little different in the House, raising serious questions about whether the government will be able to avoid the looming fiscal cliff of $700 billion in automatic tax hikes and budget cuts. While House GOP members have so far expressed a willingness to consider a deal with new tax revenue, higher tax rates seem a non-starter.
“The president may think that he’s got a mandate, but so do we. The president may have won a second term, but I won a third term,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said according to the Post.
House Speaker John Boehner also told ABC’s Diane Sawyer that “raising tax rates is unacceptable. And frankly, it couldn’t even pass the House.”
Nonetheless, Republican lawmakers are aware of the danger of repeating the battles of 2011.
“House Republicans believe strongly it would be irresponsible to voluntarily drive off that fiscal cliff,” Texas GOP Rep. Kevin Brady told the Post.
“I think the dynamics have changed in the sense that the urgency to resolve and address these bigger challenges has risen dramatically.”
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