Memo to Mitt: Don't Help Democrats' 'War On Students'

Mitt Romney agrees with Barack Obama on extending student loans because Republicans haven’t yet figured out how to sell economic responsibility–or battle the media attacks that come with it. It doesn’t inspire the confidence needed to maintain a positive outlook on the general election. 

Romney found it easier to agree with Obama on extending student loans because not doing so would have invited relentless attacks of how Romney hates everything and everyone from children to intelligence. In reality, the hesitation comes from what extending the law would do–prop up increasing tuition rates at mostly-progressive strongholds for students who voluntarily agree to accrue a massive amount of debt, all without a real way to pay for it. 

Congressional Democrats and the White House have agreed to pay for a bill to freeze student loan interest rates for a year by raising taxes on so-called S Corporations, according to a top Senate Democrat and senior House and Senate aides, but Republicans said the tax increase may ensure the bill’s defeat in the Senate.

“We’ve got it worked out,” Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said of the formula for paying for the legislation. Harkin spoke after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)  said he will introduce within the next day a bill to prevent interest rates from doubling to 6.8 percent on July 1.

Many small businesses file as individuals through S corporations, meaning Mitt Romney and Barack Obama agree on raising taxes on small business owners to make it easier for adults to go into debt over education that is overpriced in an era where one in two college grads can’t find a job. 

Romney thought he had only two choices: play by the Democrats’ rules or risk hell for holding the conservative line on the issue. He presupposed that the latter was the less attractive choice because Republicans cannot articulate why conservatism works in attractive soundbites. I have no idea why; I’ve watched conservatives do it all night long on Twitter when they hijacked #DontDoubleMyRate, another hashtag created by the Obama admin to sell his agenda (Sandra Fluke led the charge promoting it, of course). 

If conservatives on Twitter can do it, why can’t Mitt Romney? 

The inability for graduates to find jobs happened on Barack Obama’s watch. The war on students Democrats are waging today actually began in 2007. Then-Senator Barack Obama found campaigning a more important issue than casting a vote to extend the law which suppressed student loan interest rates at 3.4%. 

Instead of playing along, challenge it, GOP. Democrats don’t need any help with their war on students.