The audacity is remarkable. And the voting record makes it impossible to hide.
One year ago, every single Democrat in Congress voted against the Working Families Tax Cuts. Not most. Not a slim majority. Every last one. While Republicans were pushing through no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, a doubled child tax credit, $1,000 Trump Accounts for every newborn citizen, and a firewall against the largest tax hike in American history, Democrats stood on the floor and called it “abominable.” They demanded its “wholesale repeal.”
Fast forward to today. Ninety-seven percent of American tax filers just received a tax cut. Working-class families earning under $100,000 are keeping thousands more of their own money. And suddenly, Democrats have developed a severe case of selective amnesia.
They’re running ads claiming credit for a bill they tried to kill.
As originally reported, the examples are anything but subtle. Michigan Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet ran taxpayer-funded television ads claiming she “passed the Working Families Tax Credit.” She voted against it. Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego introduced legislation to make Trump Accounts permanent, but rebranded them “American Dream Accounts” to obscure their Republican origin, while leaving out the fact that he voted against creating them in the first place.
Nevada’s entire Democratic congressional delegation sent a letter demanding successful implementation of the No Tax on Tips provision for their constituents. They all voted no on that very provision. Now they want credit for implementing it.
In Missouri and Kansas, Democratic representatives issued a joint press release celebrating World Cup security funding they had voted against, money drawn from a Department of Homeland Security they had repeatedly tried to defund.
This is not political repositioning. It is not nuanced messaging strategy. These members looked their constituents in the eye, cast votes to deny them relief, and are now running campaigns suggesting they delivered it.
The stakes of what Democrats actually voted for are not abstract. Without the Working Families Tax Cuts, American families would have faced a $5 trillion tax increase, the largest in the nation’s history. That was the Democratic position. That was their vote. The only reason it did not happen is because Republicans held the line without a single vote from across the aisle.
The results speak for themselves. Eighty-two billion dollars has been returned to American taxpayers. Ninety-six percent of the families who benefited earn under $200,000. Twenty-five million workers paid no tax on their overtime. Every one of those outcomes happened despite Democratic opposition, not because of it.
Voters may have short memories. The voting record does not.