Pop quiz: Who said this?

"We're going to close the unproductive tax loopholes that allow some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share. … They sometimes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing while a bus driver is paying 10 percent of his salary—and that's crazy."

It's not President Obama. That's conservative hero President Reagan, speaking—to great applause—in 1985 (check out the great video footage below that Think Progress uncovered).

Twenty-six years later, it's President Obama and Democrats (as well as 73 percent of Americans) who are fighting for the same commonsense position as President Reagan on the issue of tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. President Reagan's fellow Republicans are bending over backward to keep the taxes of millionaires, billionaires, and corporations to a minimum—putting the economy at risk simply to hurt President Obama and appease Tea Party extremists.

Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor published an op-ed in today’s Washington Post that criticizes President Obama and reaffirms his commitment to the incoherent vision for America’s future that is the current GOP agenda. It’s loaded with misleading rhetoric and repeatedly-debunked claims that have no place in a serious debate.

President Obama has called on both parties to put “country before party,” but with this column, Cantor demonstrates a greater commitment to political theater than problem solving.

Here are the facts that refute Cantor’s work of fiction:

Claim: [The] Obama administration’s anti-business, hyper-regulatory, pro-tax agenda has fueled economic uncertainty and sent the message from the administration that “we want to make it harder to create jobs.

Reality: The idea thatPresident Obama opposes creating jobs is nonsense not worth the paper it’s printed on.

It is, however, fitting that on the same day Cantor lashes out at the President on taxes, Republicans have come out against extending the payroll tax cut, a position that would lead to higher taxes for millions of working families. This, despite their continued support of Bush tax cuts for the rich.

The truth is, President Obama’s so-called “anti-business” policies have led to record corporate profits, and today individual taxes remain at their lowest levels since 1950.

The “uncertainty” argument is even more foolish considering that Republicans have threatened to shut down the government and let the nation default on its obligations—all in the past nine months. The GOP has institutionalized brinkmanship, and their intransigence and reckless tactics have stroked economic uncertainty.

Claim: There is no other conclusion for policies such as the new Environmental Protection Agency regulations, including the “Transport Rule,” which could eliminate thousands of jobs.

Reality: Despite Republicans’ attempt to use the EPA as a political football, Americans like clean air and clean water. The “Transport Rule” will prevent as many as 34,000 premature deaths, 15,000 non-fatal heart attacks, 15,000 hospital and emergency department visits, 19,000 cases of acute bronchitis, 400,000 cases of aggravated asthma, and 1.8 million days when people would have missed work or school.

Claim: We had to drag [President Obama] to the table to make even the modest spending cuts that Standard & Poor’s says don’t go far enough.

Reality: S&P has made it clear that the agency downgraded U.S. credit rating because of Republicans’ "political brinkmanship" as well as “default skeptics” within the GOP. S&P Senior Director Joydeep Mukherji said the stability and effectiveness of American political institutions were undermined by the fact that ‘people in the political arena were even talking about a potential default.

It’s also worth pointing out that Republican Speaker Boehner walked out of debt ceiling negotiations, not President Obama.

Claim: Republicans passed a budget this spring, written by Rep. Paul Ryan, [which] would address our challenges head-on by putting in place common-sense reforms to manage our debt over the short and long term.

Reality: The Ryan Republican budget wouldn’t decrease the deficit in the short-term, growing public debt from $10 trillion in 2011 to $16 trillion in 2012. Worse, in the long-term, his plan would end Medicare as we know it.  

Claim: For the past few years, investors, families and businesses small and large have felt the threat of higher taxes, increased regulations and government expansion.

Reality: President Obama has cut taxes for small business at least 17 times, launched the National Export Initiative to expand markets, created Startup America to connect small businesses with resources and knowledge, and the SBA has issued loans to more than 113,000 small businesses.

Additionally, President Obama has decreased government spending as a share of GDP from 25 percent to 23.6 percent (2012 estimate). Under President Bush (with Eric Cantor’s support), spending increased from 18.2 percent of GDP to 25 percent. 

Earlier this month, we saw a set of arguments just like this from Speaker Boehner. If anything, his statement on August 6^th was even more nakedly partisan. It’s becoming clear that the GOP strategy is to repeat the same false claims until people accept them as fact. We can’t let that happen.

Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor published an op-ed in today’s Washington Post that criticizes President Obama and reaffirms his commitment to the incoherent vision for America’s future that is the current GOP agenda. It’s loaded with misleading rhetoric and repeatedly-debunked claims that have no place in a serious debate.

President Obama has called on both parties to put “country before party,” but with this column, Cantor demonstrates a greater commitment to political theater than problem solving.

Here are the facts that refute Cantor’s work of fiction:

Claim: [The] Obama administration’s anti-business, hyper-regulatory, pro-tax agenda has fueled economic uncertainty and sent the message from the administration that “we want to make it harder to create jobs.

Reality: The idea thatPresident Obama opposes creating jobs is nonsense not worth the paper it’s printed on.

It is, however, fitting that on the same day Cantor lashes out at the President on taxes, Republicans have come out against extending the payroll tax cut, a position that would lead to higher taxes for millions of working families. This, despite their continued support of Bush tax cuts for the rich.

The truth is, President Obama’s so-called “anti-business” policies have led to record corporate profits, and today individual taxes remain at their lowest levels since 1950.

The “uncertainty” argument is even more foolish considering that Republicans have threatened to shut down the government and let the nation default on its obligations—all in the past nine months. The GOP has institutionalized brinkmanship, and their intransigence and reckless tactics have stoked economic uncertainty.

Claim: There is no other conclusion for policies such as the new Environmental Protection Agency regulations, including the “Transport Rule,” which could eliminate thousands of jobs.

Reality: Despite Republicans’ attempt to use the EPA as a political football, Americans like clean air and clean water. The “Transport Rule” will prevent as many as 34,000 premature deaths, 15,000 non-fatal heart attacks, 15,000 hospital and emergency department visits, 19,000 cases of acute bronchitis, 400,000 cases of aggravated asthma, and 1.8 million days when people would have missed work or school.

Claim: We had to drag [President Obama] to the table to make even the modest spending cuts that Standard & Poor’s says don’t go far enough.

Reality: S&P has made it clear that the agency downgraded U.S. credit rating because of Republicans’ "political brinkmanship" as well as “default skeptics” within the GOP. S&P Senior Director Joydeep Mukherji said the stability and effectiveness of American political institutions were undermined by the fact that ‘people in the political arena were even talking about a potential default.

It’s also worth pointing out that Republican Speaker Boehner walked out of debt ceiling negotiations, not President Obama.

Claim: Republicans passed a budget this spring, written by Rep. Paul Ryan, [which] would address our challenges head-on by putting in place common-sense reforms to manage our debt over the short and long term.

Reality: The Ryan Republican budget wouldn’t decrease the deficit in the short-term, growing public debt from $10 trillion in 2011 to $16 trillion in 2012. Worse, in the long-term, his plan would end Medicare as we know it.  

Claim: For the past few years, investors, families and businesses small and large have felt the threat of higher taxes, increased regulations and government expansion.

Reality: President Obama has cut taxes for small business at least 17 times, launched the National Export Initiative to expand markets, created Startup America to connect small businesses with resources and knowledge, and the SBA has issued loans to more than 113,000 small businesses.

Additionally, President Obama has decreased government spending as a share of GDP from 25 percent to 23.6 percent (2012 estimate). Under President Bush (with Eric Cantor’s support), spending increased from 18.2 percent of GDP to 25 percent. 

Earlier this month, we saw a set of arguments just like this from Speaker Boehner. If anything, his statement on August 6^th was even more nakedly partisan. It’s becoming clear that the GOP strategy is to repeat the same false claims until people accept them as fact. We can’t let that happen.

Today, Republicans in the House voted to approve partisan legislation put forward by Speaker Boehner that would result in only a short-term increase to the debt ceiling – legislation which if enacted could result in the loss of the United States’ Triple-A bond rating.  Following that vote, DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement:

I am enormously disappointed that Congressional Republicans continue to waste America’s precious time with legislation that only became more destructive after a last-minute rewrite meant to appease their caucus’ most extreme members. We have been warned time and again by economists that a short-term increase to America’s debt limit would be bad for our country. It would not only likely result in steeper interest rates on Americans’ mortgages, credit cards, and student loans, in effect a tax increase; it would shake peoples’ faith in our economy and throw up a major roadblock to economic recovery. With a cloud of uncertainty hanging over their heads and another major fight over the debt ceiling looming in the near future, businesses would be less likely to hire and Americans would have fewer opportunities to find work. 
 
Unfortunately, Republicans are fully aware of the fact that their actions could have dire consequences – they know this legislation is bad for our country. Indeed, in the past few days, they’ve talked about their intent to create chaos by allowing default, pursuing a ‘take it or leave it’ approach and pointing the finger of blame at President Obama. They’re focusing on politics when they should be focusing on solving this crisis – and on the jobs that could be hanging in the balance.
 
There’s not much time left to solve this problem. So now that Republicans are finished grandstanding with this irresponsible bill, I hope they’ll sit down with Democrats to achieve a real solution to America’s deficit challenges. If they don’t, responsibility for the chaos they provoke will fall squarely on their shoulders.

Moments ago, the House voted along straight party lines to approve Speaker Boehner’s bill to temporarily raise the debt ceiling for six months. It now travels across the Capitol rotunda to the Senate where it stands no chance of passage.

The vote came a day later than expected because Speaker Boehner was unable to muster enough Tea Party support, forcing him to amend the bill to make it more extreme and include a balanced budget amendment.

Experts have warned that Speaker Boehner’s short-term fix would create a cloud of uncertainty over the American economy, a concern echoed by rating agencies that have said it could result in the downgrade of our AAA credit rating—a de facto tax hike on Americans across the board.

Earlier this week, Senator Reid and the entire Senate Democratic caucus sent a letter to Speaker Boehner stating their united opposition to his short-term plan. The Speaker crammed it through anyway.

The Senate has already begun consideration of a measure proposed by Senator Reid, which raises the debt ceiling until 2013 and responsibly cuts spending.

With both parties jockeying for position in the debt ceiling debate, our country’s leaders are working hard to win the messaging fight, and most will talk about their positions to anyone who will listen. As prospective Republican presidential nominees, most candidates in the GOP field have taken a position on Speaker Boehner’s plan. That is, with one conspicuous exception: Mitt Romney.

NBC’s First Read raises the question:  

Mitt Romney told reporters in Ohio yesterday that he would not comment on the debt negotiations in Washington. And so far, he has refused to either endorse Boehner’s legislation (as Huntsman has done) or oppose it (as Pawlenty and Bachman have done). Our question: How does someone who wants to be the leader of the Republican Party not have a position on one of the biggest issues facing Washington?

Is Mitt Romney so risk averse that he’s willing to avoid taking a position on an issue so critical to our future?

Last night on CNN, Erin Burnett reported that financial analysis firm Standard & Poor believed that John Boehner’s plan would still lead to a downgrade of United States debt by the rating agencies. If the agencies lower our country’s AAA credit rating, interest rates on credit cards, mortgages, and car loans, would increase—and that would be tantamount to a tax hike on all Americans.

It’s also important to note that the alternative plan proposed by Senator Harry Reid would keep intact America’s AAA credit rating.

Last night on CNN, Erin Burnett reported that financial analysis firm Standard & Poor's believed that John Boehner’s plan would still lead to a downgrade of United States debt by the rating agencies. If the agencies lower our country’s AAA credit rating, interest rates on credit cards, mortgages, and car loans, would increase—and that would be tantamount to a tax hike on all Americans.

It’s also important to note that the alternative plan proposed by Senator Harry Reid would keep intact America’s AAA credit rating.

Today is a milestone on several fronts. It’s the one-year anniversary of Wall Street reform, the anniversary of Ernest Hemingway’s birth, and the anniversary of the Civil War Battle of Bull Run. It’s also been 198 days that Republicans have controlled the House — which is notable for one reason: In all this time, Republicans have yet to take up one jobs bill. 

But that doesn't mean they haven't kept themselves busy.

During the past 198 days, they have attacked health reform, financial services reform, women’s health, programs for low-income families, early-childhood education, National Public Radio, Big Bird, clean energy, and more.

With the federal government roughly two weeks from reaching its borrowing limit, Republicans are willfully opposing any reasonable and balanced legislation that would raise the limit. Although they passed the Duck, Dodge, and Dismantle Act this week, it would slash education, health care, clean energy, and cost at least 700,000 American jobs — but that doesn’t exactly qualify as a jobs plan.

America has never before defaulted on its obligations, and to do so now would deal a catastrophic blow to our economy.

Our country is recovering from the most lacerating recession in generations. The President inherited an economy in free fall, and has since helped create more than 2.2 million total private-sector jobs over 16 consecutive months.

But still too many people are looking for work. It’s time to move beyond political posturing and work toward creating jobs.

Today is a milestone on several fronts. It’s the one-year anniversary of Wall Street reform, the anniversary of Ernest Hemingway’s birth, and the anniversary of the Civil War Battle of Bull run. It’s also been 198 days that Republicans have controlled the House — which is notable for one reason: In all this time, Republicans have yet to take up one jobs bill. 

But that doesn't mean they haven't kept themselves busy.

During the past 198 days, they have attacked health reform, financial services reform, women’s health, programs for low-income families, early-childhood education, National Public Radio, Big Bird, clean energy, and more.

With the federal government roughly two weeks from reaching its borrowing limit, Republicans are willfully opposing any reasonable and balanced legislation that would raise the limit. Although they passed the Duck, Dodge, and Dismantle Act this week, it would slash education, health care, clean energy, and cost at least 700,000 American jobs — but that doesn’t exactly qualify as a jobs plan.

America has never before defaulted on its obligations, and to do so now would deal a catastrophic blow to our economy.

Our country is recovering from the most lacerating recession in generations. The President inherited an economy in free fall, and has since helped create more than 2.2 million total private-sector jobs over 16 consecutive months.

But still too many people are looking for work. It’s time to move beyond political posturing and work toward creating jobs.

House Republicans are pushing legislation that includes a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But it’s not just Democrats who oppose this measure.

Bruce Bartlett, a policy advisor to President Reagan and Treasury official under President H.W. Bush, called the Republican plan "mind boggling in its insanity" and said this act of political posturing would be a huge mistake:

In short, this is quite possibly the stupidest constitutional amendment I think I have ever seen. It looks like it was drafted by a couple of interns on the back of a napkin. Every senator cosponsoring this POS should be ashamed of themselves.

Click here to learn more about President’s approach and the potential harm of the Republican plan.

Former Governor Tim Pawlenty has focused his presidential campaign around the failed and regressive policies that led Minnesota into a $6.2 billion budget deficit. If he can drive Minnesota into a ditch, just think what he could do to the rest of the country…

Check out this video by the Iowa Democrats.

Over the past few weeks, President Obama and Democrats in Congress have advocated a balanced approach to reducing our debt and deficit while protecting key economic investments. Republicans have fought to protect tax breaks for millionaires and have adopted the debt ceiling debate as a political football.

And the American public knows it.

Today, CBS News released a new poll that shows the public’s unhappiness with Republicans and their tactics, showing that just 21 percent of respondents support the GOP’s rejection of a balanced solution:

[Only] 21 percent of the people surveyed said they approved of Republicans' handling of the negotiations, while 71 percent disapprove.

President Obama will continue working with Congress to find a middle ground before the August 2^nd deadline when the federal government reaches its borrowing limit.

Read more CBS coverage of the poll here.

On Sunday, Mitt Romney will campaign at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for NASCAR's Lenox Industrial Tools 301. But in the race to create jobs as governor of Massachusetts, Romney was at back of the pack.

In the years that he was governor, Massachusetts ranked 47th out of all 50 states in job creation – and if Louisiana hadn’t been on the road to recovery from a devastating hurricane, it’s possible that Romney would have finished even farther back.

After failing to create jobs in Massachusetts, Romney wants to bring his brand of failed economic leadership to the rest of the country by doubling down on the failed economic policies that brought our economy to its knees. As long as he continues to embrace ideas like ending Medicare as we know it and slashing Social Security to fund tax breaks for the super wealthy, corporate jet owners, and big oil, Romney shouldn’t be surprised if he continues to run at the back of the pack.

Economists and tax policy experts agree that the Bush tax cuts disproportionally benefited the wealthy – the wealthiest 1 percent received 38 percent of the tax breaks. Now Tim Pawlenty has a new proposal, which would further cut taxes for the wealthy by nearly a third. It takes tax policies that were unfair and lopsided in the first place and makes them worse.

His plan is enough to make President Bush look like Robin Hood.

Here are the facts about the tax cuts enacted by President Bush between 2001 and 2008, according to the Economic Policy Institute:

• In 2010, the top 1 percent of earners (incomes over $645,000) received 38 percent of the breaks in the 2001-08 tax changes; 55 percent went to the top 10 percent of earners (incomes over $170,000);
   
• The top 0.1 percent of earners (incomes over $3 million) received an average tax cut of roughly $520,000, more than 450 times larger than the share received by an average middle-income family;
   
• In 2010, tax filers in the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution (incomes less than $20,000) received only a 1 percent share of the tax cuts, and 75 percent of these low-income families saw no reduction at all;
   
• The middle 20 percent—incomes between $40,000 and $70,000 a year—received only 11 percent of the tax cuts.

Tim Pawlenty's economic plan draws on these under-performing and disproportionate economic policies of the Bush years and shoves them off a cliff. Forbes economic columnist  called Pawlenty’s plan “the Bush tax cuts on steroids.

The chart below shows the tax windfall Tim Pawlenty would give to the wealthiest Americans compared to the Bush tax cuts, which as shown above, already benefit the wealthy.

When considering Tim Pawlenty’s tax plan, one of two possibilities exist – and both are telling.

First, Tim Pawlenty is driven by ideology with absolute disregard for the facts. Or second, this tax plan represents Tim Pawlenty’s priorities and middle- and working-class families are on their own.

Economists and tax policy experts agree that the Bush tax cuts disproportionally benefited the wealthy – the wealthiest 1 percent received 38 percent of the tax breaks. Now Tim Pawlenty has a new proposal, which would further cut taxes for the wealthy by nearly a third. It takes tax policies that were unfair and lopsided in the first place and makes them worse.

His plan is enough to make President Bush look like Robin Hood.

Here are the facts about the tax cuts enacted by President Bush between 2001 and 2008, according to the Economic Policy Institute:

• In 2010, the top 1 percent of earners (incomes over $645,000) received 38 percent of the breaks in the 2001-08 tax changes; 55 percent went to the top 10 percent of earners (incomes over $170,000);
   
• The top 0.1 percent of earners (incomes over $3 million) received an average tax cut of roughly $520,000, more than 450 times larger than the share received by an average middle-income family;
   
• In 2010, tax filers in the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution (incomes less than $20,000) received only a 1 percent share of the tax cuts, and 75 percent of these low-income families saw no reduction at all;
   
• The middle 20 percent—incomes between $40,000 and $70,000 a year—received only 11 percent of the tax cuts.
Tim Pawlenty's economic plan draws on these under-performing and disproportionate economic policies of the Bush years and shoves them off a cliff. Forbes economic columnist  called Pawlenty’s plan “the Bush tax cuts on steroids.

The chart below shows the tax windfall Tim Pawlenty would give to the wealthiest Americans compared to the Bush tax cuts, which as shown above, already benefit the wealthy.

When considering Tim Pawlenty’s tax plan, one of two possibilities exist – and both are telling.

First, Tim Pawlenty is driven by ideology with absolute disregard for the facts. Or second, this tax plan represents Tim Pawlenty’s priorities and middle- and working-class families are on their own.

Continuing our daily series of five facts you should know about each Republican presidential candidate, yesterday we highlighted Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann. The Minnesota congresswoman has yet to declare, but she's taken extreme positions on issue after issue—supporting Republican plans that end Medicare as we know it, make tax cuts for the wealthy permanent, and repeal health reform.

With 1,500 votes, the fact our Facebook fans find most alarming is Bachmann's support for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, a plan that would increase our deficit by at least 75 percent.

You can vote too—just visit the Democratic Party Facebook page.

Continuing our daily series of five facts you should know about each Republican presidential candidate, yesterday we highlighted Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann. The Minnesota congresswoman has yet to declare, but she's taken extreme positions on issue after issue—supporting Republican plans that end Medicare as we know it, make tax cuts for the wealthy permanent, and repeal health reform.

With 1,500 votes, the fact our Facebook fans find most alarming is Bachmann's support for tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, a plan that would increase our deficit by at least 75 percent.

You can vote too—just visit the Democratic Party Facebook page.

Following Tim Pawlenty's speech at the University of Chicago this morning, the Washington Post's Ezra Klein delivered a scathing analysis of the former Minnesota governor's plan for our economy. The former governor, who left Minnesota's economy in shambles, thinks we can grow our national economy and reduce our deficit by—surprise, surprise—cutting taxes even more for the wealthy and for big business.

Klein's not convinced:

This plan isn't optimistic. It isn't a bit vague. It's a joke. And I don't know which is worse: The thought that Pawlenty knows that and went forward with this pandering, fantasy-based proposal anyway, or the thought that he doesn't know it, and he really thinks this could work.

Read Klein's full reaction—with charts—here.