Conservatives have yet to decide whether the bipartisan tax bill was a Republican win or loss:
Grover Norquist: “Every R voting for Senate bill is cutting taxes and keeping his/her pledge.”
The Heritage Foundation: “[T]he bipartisan deal will actually raise taxes on the vast majority of American workers.”
Dave Camp (R-Mich): “[The bill] is the largest tax cut in American history.”
Kevin Glass: “77% of Americans Will Pay Higher Taxes.”
Tom Cole (R-OK): “We didn’t get everything we wanted, but when you can make 85% of the Bush Tax Cuts secure for 98% of the American people, give everybody rate certainty, and basically take the revenue piece off the table in our negotiations going forward, we ought to take this deal right now.”
Stephen Dinan and Sean Lengell: “The bill is a tremendous victory for President Obama, who won almost everything he sought in the deal /…/”
William Kristol: “And politically, Republicans are escaping with a better outcome than they might have expected, and President Obama has gotten relatively little at his moment of greatest strength.”
Charles Gasparino: “[Obamas is] enacting the largest tax hike this country has seen in decades /…/”
Christopher Ruddy: “First, most of the Bush tax cuts are not only renewed but are made permanent. The increase in the threshold from $250,000 to $400,000 for tax increases is a step in the right direction, and will certainly cover most working Americans.”
Charles Krauthammer: “[The deal is] a complete rout by the Democrats. There are a lot of conservatives in the Republican caucus in the House who hate the bill for good reason. This is a complete surrender on everything.”
Paul Ryan (R-Wis): “I joined my colleagues in the House to protect as many Americans as possible from a tax increase. We also provided certainty by making the lower tax rates permanent.”
The Wall Street Journal: “The Senate-White House compromise grudgingly passed by the House is a Beltway classic: the biggest tax increase in 20 years in return for spending increases /…/”
SIMON HEDLIN 