Why a tax bill failure would be good for the GOP

Another legislative faceplant would be embarrassing. But in the long run, it might just be a good thing.

Sen. Mitch McConnell.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Fear can be a great motivator. And that goes a long way toward explaining why congressional Republicans are more likely than not to pass their unpopular tax cut plan.

Republican lawmakers fear heading into the 2018 midterm elections with no significant accomplishments while also bungling what is supposed to be their core competency: cutting taxes. No wonder many GOPers on Capitol Hill fervently believe that failure to pass tax cuts would present them with an existential electoral threat. Their party's leader, President Trump, would attack them as do-nothing swamp creatures. Their voters would dismiss them as incompetent elitists. And their impatient donors would close their wallets.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
James Pethokoukis

James Pethokoukis is the DeWitt Wallace Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute where he runs the AEIdeas blog. He has also written for The New York Times, National Review, Commentary, The Weekly Standard, and other places.