Up with Chris Hayes 1/21/2012 -- taxes and SOPA

On Up with Chris Hayes this morning the guests were Ezra Klein, Melissa Harris-Perry, Gary Johnson and Michelle Goldberg. Of course, they had to talk about the dysfunctional Republican candidates. Talking about Republicans and the primaries has become pablum to help the public forget our terrible economic mess and the waste still taking place in the mideast. It also keeps Obama's decision to kill thousands of jobs by rejecting Keystone out of the news. Obama's political decision to kill Keystone at this point is incredible in light of the benefits from this project.

Of course, when you talk about Romney and the Republicans, you have to talk about tax policy. Gary Johnson proposes a fair tax, but Hayes had an "expert" on who told Hayes' viewers that a progressive tax is the only way to go. Why? Because it appears to take more from rich people and it's traditional, or something like that. I'm sure they wouldn't cotton to my proposal to repeal the 16th Amendment.

The topic of SOPA put Chris Hayes in a difficult position. Hayes, like all good progressives, believes strongly in regulations, so, when Gary Johnson made the argument that government interventions have unintended consequences, Hayes was conflicted because he believes government regulation of the internet should be prevented -- or does he? I have a feeling that many loyal progressives are reacting to peer pressure. So many opponents to SOPA are on the "correct side" of the political spectrum, some even cool members of the hi-tech hoopla, that Hayes' natural tendency to trust the Dodds in DC to regulate commerce is in conflict with his need to appear on the side of the cool kids like Google, Facebook and Ron Wyden. Hayes is concerned that he's allying with libertarians -- it feels nasty.

So it will be going forward. Melissa Harris-Perry had the same reaction, but she was reticient to spell it out, because, I'm sure, she sensed how it would sound. It's a fear that people in the private sector can join together and beat back the legislative forces in DC. In this particular incident, it was okay, because all the correct players were involved, although it was a little icky that Darrell Issa was on their side. Perry and Hayes worry about grass roots resistance to regulations which are on the correct side of the political spectrum -- what then? How will progressives control the economy if public resistance of this sort can cause legislators to back down? Statism is threatened if this type of reaction renders congress impotent. You can see the dilemma in which our friend Chris finds himself. Tune in tomorrow.