Act one: A blog post from Cheney vet/Heritage Foundation fellow David Addington, which now has more than 127,000 Facebook “likes.”
President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.
Act two: An actual statement from the National Christmas Tree Association, which wants the tax and the federal program.
“This program was requested by the industry in 2009 and has gone through two industrywide comment periods during which 565 comments were submitted from interested parties,” the National Christmas Tree Association said in a statement, adding that nearly 90 percent of the state and multi-state associations who commented on the program supported it.
“The program is designed to benefit the industry and will be funded by the growers at a rate of 15 cents per tree sold,” the release states. “The program is not expected to have any impact on the final price consumers pay for their Christmas tree.”
Act three: Jake Tapper.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is going to delay implementation a revisit a proposed new 15 cent fee on fresh-cut Christmas trees, sources tell ABC News. The fee, requested by the National Christmas Tree Association in 2009, was first announced in the Federal Registry yesterday, and has generated criticism of President Obama from conservative media outlets.
One reason that the conservative movement’s grip on the Republican Party has remained so tight – a reason that the Tea Party is so successful – is that its media and think tank infrastructure is so strong and so coherent. Here’s a perfect example. Former Bush administration official (A) goes to Heritage (B) and writes item that is picked up by Drudge (C) and discussed on terrestrial radio and TV (D). Obama administration folds like an oragami swan. And I’m betting this won’t be the last we hear of “Obama trying to put a tax on Christmas trees.”
Lordy, I just hope that the Apple Pie Local 451 didn’t demand any deals like this.
