Thune replica a Romney

El Senador John Thune ha aprovechado su intervención en el Senado para criticar a los que se oponen al acuerdo para extender por dos años los recortes de impuestos, recordándoles que oponerse al plan implica dejar que los recortes de impuestos expiren en dos semanas. No ha mencionado a Romney pero todos los observadores han querido ver en sus palabras el primer ataque contra el más fuerte de sus futuros rivales.

(...) South Dakota Sen. John Thune took a veiled swipe at Mitt Romney on the Senate floor Tuesday, saying it’s “easy” and “possibly even politically expedient to stand on the sidelines and criticize” the tax cut proposal backed by President Obama and GOP congressional leaders.

“Inaction is not an option, and advocating against this proposal is no different than advocating for higher taxes,” Thune said in a Tuesday afternoon speech. Thune voted to advance the proposal in the Senate on Monday. Just a handful of Republicans, including possible 2012 candidate Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), opposed it.

(...) Thune, who is contemplating a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, said the proposal isn’t perfect but that not backing it amounts to a tax increase.

“If we wait for the perfect proposal, the perfect agreement, then American families and American small businesses are going to pay higher taxes just two weeks from now," Thune said. "That’s not a scare tactic; that’s not political posturing. That ... is simply a fact.”

It’s a preview of what will likely be a major Thune campaign theme: While others were out campaigning for president or hosting Fox News shows, he was in the Senate’s trenches fighting against the most damaging pieces of Obama’s agenda, including health care and repealing the Bush tax cuts for the nation’s highest earners. (...)