The Sequester Was Always About Raising Taxes

◼ President Obama’s proposal to delay the $1 trillion sequester with a “balanced” package of spending cuts and tax increases should come as no surprise. Since its initial conception back in August 2011 (it was Obama’s idea), the sequester has always been viewed by Democrats as a mechanism with which to exact higher taxes from Republicans. However, at this point, that strategy appears likely to fail. - Andrew Stiles/National Review

The assumption was that, because national security is apparently less of a priority for Democrats, the GOP would ultimately cave and agree to raise taxes in order to avoid the sequester, half of which would come from the defense budget. That is why the White House was somewhat baffled during the fiscal-cliff negotiations when House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) did not come to the table with an alternative to the sequester. Now, Republicans seem willing to let the sequester take effect, and insist that any effort to raise taxes is “dead on arrival.”