Dems: It Depends On What the Definition of "Taxes" Is

Here's some Bill Clinton-quality word parsing by the Democrats:

House Democrats have demanded that a deficit-reduction deal include measures to raise tax revenue but they argue those proposals shouldn’t be viewed as proposed tax increases.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (S.C.), the assistant House Democratic leader and a member of the debt-limit negotiating team, said Sunday that closing tax loopholes are not the same as tax increases.

“The fact of the matter is, we have on the table all kinds of revenue raises that [Republicans] keep calling tax increases. How do you call closing loopholes to oil companies that are making billions of dollars in profits, closing up these loopholes that would generate $40 to $50 billion in revenue, how do you call that a tax hike?” Clyburn said on ABC News’s "This Week".

“That is no tax hike. You only hike taxes when you raise rates,” he argued.

Uh..no. If you change the law in such a way as to require someone to pay more in taxes - such as removing a loophole or deduction - that's a tax hike.

Clyburn is proof that we don't send our best and brightest to congress.