Republicans have repeated the lie that tax cuts are always good for the economy so often that all of Washington seems absolutely convinced that it’s true. The conventional wisdom is so established on this that all a Republican has to say is, “Everyone knows you don’t raise taxes in the middle of a recession …” Or in good times or in mediocre times or ever. All tax cuts are always good.

Democrats had until today to pass middle class tax cuts without Republican cooperation.

Contrary to White House spin, Republicans are powerless to stop Democrats from using reconciliation to pass middle class tax cuts.

A senior Senate Democratic aide told TPM today there won’t be a vote on extending the Bush tax cuts in the upper chamber before the November election.

In two previous articles, “Maintain Tax Cuts for the Rich? Americans Don’t Seem to Buy the Conservative Argument” and the “Efficacy of Tax Cuts Is now Questioned” I laid out two basic premises. One was that a majority of the American people did not buy into the conservative argument that tax cuts had to be maintained for the richest among us. The second was that the use of tax cuts in this type of economic downturn had been called into question by some very prominent economists and that those same economists just happen to be on the right side of the political spectrum.

The public is widely opposed to the idea of extending tax cuts for the rich. One wouldn’t know this, however, from listening to Republicans in the media who frame the public as conservative on economic issues.

Barack Obama and Bill Clinton — Have they given Americans the good government they deserve?

George Will threw some ill-informed mud at President Obama’s economic agenda this morning. Fortunately for Will, his pieces run in the fact-free zone of the Washington Post.

When the President Tells us 2 Opposite Things on Consecutive Days, What are We to Make of This? — by NormanB (“Deviations from the Norm”)

Letting the tax cuts for the very rich expire is good policy and good politics.

We never hesitate to criticize dumb cave-ins to the rich, the too big to fail, the rapacious (cough big Pharma, cough cough health insurance lobby) or the dangerous (helllloooooo offshore drilling !), so on one of those rare and glorious occasions when the White House is actually doing a seemingly unadulterated smart, good thing, a note of approval is called for.