The top pollster for Joe Biden's presidential campaign is advising the White House to do something that often makes Democrats nervous: Talk loudly and proudly about raising taxes on the rich.
Why it matters: John Anzalone tells Axios his extensive polling and research has found that few issues receive broader support than raising taxes on corporations and people earning more than $400,000 a year.
- Anzalone's view — which he pushed during the campaign, and which the new president's inner circle seems to share — is that Biden should go on offense on tax hikes.
- He should make raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations a standout feature of his messaging, rather than a necessary evil to fund his $3 trillion-plus spending plans, Anzalone argues.
- This could immunize Biden from GOP attacks, boost his popularity and help congressional Democrats, he says.
Between the lines: "Democrats, in general, are afraid of the tax issue and we let the Republicans brand us as wanting to raise middle-class taxes," Anzalone tells Axios.
- "It's a mistake because we can take control of the tax narrative like we did in the Biden campaign — which was to say, 'No, that's not true, your taxes aren't going to increase, it's only those who are making over $400,000 and big corporations, who haven't been paying their fair share of taxes over the years.'"
- That quick pivot to "tax fairness"— which Biden's team used every time the Trump campaign hammered him on taxes — served Biden well.
Anzalone says Republicans will brand Democrats as "tax increasers" regardless of what they do, so they would be best served by framing the...