Dem House Candidate Derides Trump’s Increasingly Popular Tax Cuts

Republican National Committee (RNC) officials this week tweaked a Democratic candidate for Congress in Pennsylvania for knocking President Donald Trump’s tax cut reforms even as polls show its popularity is on the rise.

Democrat Conor Lamb (pictured above), who is seeking an open seat in the House of Representatives in a special election next month, made his marks during a debate with Republican nominee Rick Saccone.

Asked about reports that 350 companies have handed out raises and bonuses as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act produced by Trump and Republican congressional leaders, Lamb answered that he was happy middle-class residents are getting more money.

“What I’m not happy about is that I think people’s health insurance premiums are now going to go up, and we’ve added a trillion-and-a-half dollars to our national debt,” he added. “We didn’t need to add a penny to our debt to have the tax cut for our working middle-class people. We now know that 85, 90 percent of that trillion-and-a-half dollars went to the 1 percent, people who earn $700,000, $800,000 a year, and to our largest corporations.”

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Lamb called it a “giveaway” and added, “I think we should have followed those who said that we should have limited it to a working- and middle-class tax cut without adding a penny to the debt.”

Strategists for the RNC pointed to a Gravis Marketing survey last week indicating that the tax cuts have support from 48.2 percent of voters in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District, compared with 36.4 percent opposed.

Voters in the western Pennsylvania district will choose between Saccone and Lamb on March 13. Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) triggered the special election by resigning amid allegations that he pressured his mistress to have an abortion.

Encouraged by their success in special elections over the past several months, including an upset victory in an Alabama Senate race in December, Democrats smelled a takeover opportunity early in Pennsylvania.

But the Gravis poll gave Saccone, a state representative, a 5.5-point lead. And the Democratic National Campaign Committee recently decided to pull the plug on Lamb’s bid after an earlier $300,000 investment in the race. Republican-aligned groups, meanwhile, have spent more than $5 million to support Saccade.

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The Gravis survey also suggests that the district, once represented by former senator and presidential candidate Rick Santorum, remains conservative territory. Trump has a 50.1 percent approval rating, well above his national average.

What’s more, Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf both have approval ratings that are underwater.

Some of Lamb’s allies question the wisdom of making tax cuts a central issue.

“If we spend all of our cycle running against the tax bill, it’s probably going to be a mistake,” ALF-CIO leader Julie Greene told the Associated Press earlier this month.

Greene, a former Democratic National Committee aide who heads up the union’s efforts for the midterm election, added that it is a hard case to make when voters are personally benefiting.

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“When I see a real-time improvement in my paycheck, I’m not thinking about what the CEO is making or his tax windfall. We need to take a more holistic approach,” she told the AP.

Michael Ahrens, rapid response director for the RNC, pointed to a New York Times poll showing the rising popularity of the tax cuts.

“Everyone (except Lamb) must be seeing the latest round of polling that shows public support way up for the Republican tax cuts,” he wrote in an email to reporters.

PoliZette senior writer Brendan Kirby can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.

(photo credit, homepage and article images: Connor Lamb)