Tax Day: It's All In The Eyes Of The Beholder

Today is April 15th -- tax day—but on Capitol Hill, what that means is entirely in the eye of the beholder.

Both parties tried to maximize their political returns Tuesday,  with Democrats hammering President Bush on the massive cost of the Iraq war and on the sluggish economy and Republicans using the day to remind citizens that if they were in charge, everyone would be sending less money to the IRS.

House Democrats served first, starting off the day with an early morning press conference to present taxpayers with a bill that "shows how much each American family owes for the Iraq War,” the first of many Democratic attempts throughout the day to highlight the massive costs of the conflict and link it to the current economic downturn.

Republicans didn’t take long to fire back, howling in protest over “the largest tax increase in American history,” which they argue would happen if Democrats allow President Bush’s 2001 and 2003 tax cuts to expire, as they likely will.

By midday, Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada sought to boil the whole argument down to the simplest possible terms.

“Today is a good day to remind the American people which party stands for higher taxes and which party stands for lower taxes,” he said. “The Democrats are very clear, their presidential nominees are very clear: They want to raise taxes.”

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), had a stock answer of his own ready for his fellow Nevada senator.

“The Republican answer for seven long years has been to slash taxes for the ultra-wealthy, to side with big business, the oil companies, the utility companies -- and let the little guy fend for himself,” said Reid on the Senate floor Tuesday morning.
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