December 17, 2017 10:15 AM UTC

Coffman Still Playing "Undecided" Game That Nobody's Buying

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• by: Colorado Pols

A carefully-staged photo from Rep. Mike Coffman yesterday could have you believing he might possibly be something other than a “hard yes” on the final version of GOP tax cut legislation released by the conference committee between the U.S. House and Senate late last week:

Rep. Coffman reviewing #HR1 this afternoon. If you haven’t yet, you can see the bill details here: https://t.co/YR2j75RPj1 pic.twitter.com/WVLFd21SYe

— Rep. Mike Coffman (@RepMikeCoffman) December 17, 2017

Coffman is a big fan of these staged photos of himself reading at his desk–here’s one of him reading the failed Affordable Care Act repeal bill, which he ultimately opposed, and an earlier version of the tax cut bill he supported. Here’s Rep. Coffman signing form letter responses to “over 109,000 pieces of correspondence.” If you look closely at this latest photo, you can see Spanish vocabulary flash cards and what looks like an Ethiopian motif scarf just “casually” lying in place–both token nods to communities in Coffman’s district. It may make Democrats’ blood boil, but Coffman or a thoughtful staffer has got a real streak of showmanship that shouldn’t be underestimated.

The only problem with this carefully concocted scene is, Coffman sent this Tweet the day before:

Because every American deserves to keep more of their paycheck. I invite you read the final Tax Cuts and Jobs Act bill for yourself…. https://t.co/YR2j75RPj1 pic.twitter.com/r2fIH8agLK

— Rep. Mike Coffman (@RepMikeCoffman) December 16, 2017

Followed by this Tweet earlier in the day yesterday:

As I continue to review #HR1, I want to share these policy highlights provided by @WaysandMeansGOP Committee. pic.twitter.com/egFskjF2aj

— Rep. Mike Coffman (@RepMikeCoffman) December 16, 2017

Both of which could reasonably be considered cheerleading, not “reviewing.” Coffman, like Sen. Cory Gardner and other swing-state Republicans in Congress who welcomed the GOP’s complete takeover in the 2016 elections but are now quite nervous about whether the party will survive the Trump era, has played very close to the vest on the major pieces of legislation debated in 2017. But this time, despite the fact that the so-called “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” is historically unpopular in public opinion polls, Coffman and Gardner have been much more openly supportive–to the point of making their usual “undecided” posture look silly (see above).

It’s also worth noting that Coffman will be abandoning one of the key defenses he offered for his vote for the House version of the tax bill if he votes in favor the conference committee report–from Coffman’s November 20th op-ed in the Aurora Sentinel:

This tax plan maintains the top income tax rate as it currently stands – 39.6% – for individuals making over $500,000 or couples making over $1,000,000.

We can only hope he notices while reading the final version that it does indeed cut the top income tax rate. Interestingly it does not cut the next-to-top 35% tax bracket, which if we’re not mistaken covers many more “job creators” in Coffman’s district than the very tippy-top. Apparently the mere bourgeois didn’t have enough juice.

As the Denver Post correctly states, the margin of error in the House for this final vote is quite low, and just a few GOP representatives breaking with leadership could be enough to scuttle the whole thing–indeed the last such opportunity to prevent this unpopular legislation from becoming law. We can’t rule that possibility out, but Coffman has given us little to suggest he’s going to change course.

That being the case, this charade is getting awfully tired.