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The Unrepresented Republican Voter

Republicans have spent decades instructing their faithful on the need for low taxes on the rich. Yet a Pew survey on deficit reduction options finds Republicans split 49-49 on increasing taxes on income over $250,000.

Meanwhile, Republican elected officials and presidential candidates are split 100-0. Not even the handful of GOP senators from heavily Democratic states favor it. It would be interesting to see what would happen if a Republican presidential candidate decided to cater to the half of his party that favors higher taxes on the rich, a la John McCain in 2000 attacking George W. Bush's tax cuts as unaffordable and unfair. Instead we seem to have a competition focused on pushing those rates lower still.