The tax cut is still too big, but we’re seeing signs of progress

Late last week, the Senate appeared poised to take a dramatic swipe at President Bush’s tax cut plan. Led by a series of moderate Dems and Republicans, the coalition of centrists had nearly garnered the votes to cut the size of the tax cut from $726 billion to $350 billion. The move was undercut, however, by several members who saw no need to cut taxes at all during a war and at a time of huge budget deficits (not to mention the huge tax cuts already passed two years ago), and the effort ultimately failed on a 62-38 vote.

Tuesday, the Senate reversed itself and voted 51-48 to approve the smaller, $350 billion cut. The dramatic change of heart was due to a handful of moderate Republicans who stuck their necks out on this to side with Democrats. They deserve some kudos, particularly Sens. Olympia Snowe (Maine) and Lincoln Chafee (R.I.) who demonstrated some real leadership on the Senate floor.

As you’d imagine, there’s plenty of debate about the benefits of the renewed Senate budget. Many, including the editorial boards of the Washington Post and the New York Times, remain mystified as to why the Senate is even considering a new round of unnecessary tax cuts. For them, over a-third-of-a-trillion dollars in new cuts will only make paying for the war harder and reducing the deficit impossible.

All things being equal, this is completely right. However, things are far from equal. Plenty of persuasive pragmatists acknowledge the obvious — that a smaller tax cut may not be responsible or even sensible right now, but smaller cuts are better than bigger ones. As Atrios, one of Carpetbagger’s favorite bloggers, noted yesterday, “I think it’s quite impressive that the minority party (with a little bit of help) managed to whack the Bush tax cut in half…. [S]ome people really don’t seem to understand that the Democrats are in the minority.” He described the vote as a “huge victory.”

I’m afraid the pragmatist is getting the better of me today. I know these tax cuts are a sham and I appreciate the fact that the premises upon which they are based are fraudulent. Nevertheless, Dems in DC are not exactly able to exert tremendous influence nowadays. We’ve got 48 Senators, and one of them is Zell Miller. In other words, we’ve got 47 Senators. The GOP has the White House, a safe lead in the House, and a majority of state governments. Four days ago, the Senate passed the whole $726 billion package, but through some hard work and negotiations, Democrats on Tuesday helped tell Bush, “No, you’re asking too much.” It’s not perfect, but considering the position we’re in, perfection is unattainable.

Best of all, the vote has great symbolic significance. The Senate, despite its GOP majority, is letting Bush know he won’t get everything he wants just because there’s a war and his approval ratings are up. Last week, the Senate narrowly rejected one of Bush’s favorite agenda items — drilling for oil in Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuge — and this week starts off by taking a huge chunk of his tax cut away.

I was starting to get the impression that Congress would simply become a rubber stamp for everything the White House demands. There’s still some hope that Bush won’t have the imperial presidency Karl Rove dreams of.