The New York Times writes today, “Congress on Thursday adopted a stopgap spending measure to finance the government through Dec. 3 as lawmakers dashed for an earlier-than-expected exodus from Washington and headed home to focus on the midterm elections. . . . The last day of the brief September session was as notable for what did not get done as for what did. Neither chamber voted on the expiring Bush-era tax cuts as Democrats skipped a politically treacherous debate and Republicans slammed them for it. . . . The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said that Democrats were far more eager to leave Washington. ‘They have a unified desire to leave town,’ Mr. McConnell said . . . .” The AP was a little more pointed, writing, “Majority Democrats facing significant losses in the wake of unpopular bills to stimulate the economy and overhaul the nation’s health care laws sought to do their party no further harm on Capitol Hill.”

Despite that desire, Democrats have irresponsibly left town while leaving Americans to wonder whether their taxes will go up in January. As The Boston Globe noted, “The House and Senate adjourned last night, leaving the central pocketbook issue to be decided after the Nov. 2 midterm elections — and just weeks before the tax cuts are set to expire. That indecision injects more uncertainty into whose taxes will go up, and by how much.”

Indeed, Politico reported yesterday, “A wide swath of U.S. businesses Tuesday reported that the economy has slowed significantly in the last few months, and they said that the tax stalemate in Washington was a major reason that flagging consumer sentiment is now endangering the recovery. In separate reports, big business members of the Business Roundtable, along with manufacturers, home builders and the oil industry gave gloomy assessments of the recovery and said Congress’ decision to postpone action on tax cuts until after the election was weighing heavily on consumer sentiment.”

And yet Democrats seem content to let this problem persist. Not only did they bolt without addressing the issue of looming tax increases, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) apparently decided that protecting Americans from tax hikes still won’t be a priority for Democrats when Congress returns for a lame duck session in a little more than 6 weeks. Before leaving, Reid filed for cloture on motions to proceed to three bills that have nothing to do with preventing tax increases. He’s prioritized bills on electric cars and food safety, but nothing on taxes. The American people want Congress to focus on jobs, but it seems all the Democrats are focusing on preserving their own jobs and spending more taxpayer dollars.

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