Democrats Lay a Tax Cut Trap for Republicans

President Obama will meet today for the first time with the Republican leadership of the next Congress. Biggest item of business: the Bush tax cuts, whether or not to extend them and if so for whom and for how long. While we all wait for answers and the clock ticks as time runs out to settle this issue, Democrats have been busy setting up a public relations trap for Republicans in an effort to get their way.

For years Democrats have been screaming about tax cuts favoring the richest Americans -- even though these same tax cuts passed initially with bipartisan support.

When the public didn’t believe the left’s charge that those making $250,000 per year were “millionaires” – since many of these "millionaires" are small business owners – they changed their tune.

For the last month New York Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer has proposed keeping the tax cuts in place for those making up to a million dollars per year.

On Sunday, Obama ally and Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill (Mo.) reiterated that proposal. The goal? Get the GOP to engage in the difficult task of defending the wealthy.

But aren’t the wealthy already paying the bulk of taxes as it is?

If the government would stop spending, Democrats wouldn’t be so desperate to shakedown the American taxpayer. Instead, they seek to use the U.S. tax code as a punitive policy, punishing certain workers over others based on success. This is the exact opposite of what our founding fathers intended.

If the left really wanted to stimulate the economy and not grow the government they would get the government out of the way. Instead of picking winners and losers through bailouts, subsidies, tax credits and incentives as they did with companies like GM, they’d keep taxes low for everyone. (I personally favor a flat tax. It’s called taxation without judgment and it’s the most fair).

Raising taxes on anyone is the worst thing one could do in a period of slow recovery. The economy is very sensitive to marginal rates. Perhaps even worse is the foot dragging on the issue that has caused tremendous uncertainty.

While the leaders in Washington meet in search of a deal, they should leave politics at home and focus on principles that will bring the most growth. Sticking up the American taxpayer or small business owners to pay for our bloated bureaucracy and bad decisions is not one of them.

Andrea Tantaros is a conservative commentator and Fox News contributor. Follow her on Twitter @andreatantaros.