FOXNews.com: Obama warns Republicans rejecting tax offer will spoil Christmas

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Obama warns Republicans rejecting tax offer will spoil Christmas Nov 26th 2012, 19:19 President Obama returned to campaign mode on Monday – casting Republicans as against the middle class by saying their failure to accept his offer for a limited extension of tax breaks will essentially ruin Christmas for consumers and retailers. Obama laid out his case in an open letter that starts by underscoring its timing -- coming on one of the busiest shopping days of the year, Cyber Monday, in which consumers take advantage of online bargains. The president has promised he will immediately sign an extension of the lower Bush-era tax rates, but only for American families bringing in less than $250,000 annually. Republicans want to preserve the lower rates for all Americans, including the 2 percent of households that make more than $250,000. Obama starts the two-page letter by appealing to all of Congress to accept his offer, but he notes near the end that "congressional Democrats" already are on board with the deal. "Stop holding the middle class and our economy hostage over a disagreement on tax cuts," the letter states, as Congress returns to Washington this week to try to reach a deal that would avert the $500 billion mix of tax increases and budget cuts set to take effect in early January. The National Retail Federation was among the first Monday to take issue with the letter. "It is encouraging to see the administration's acknowledgement that retailers and their customers will be among the hardest hit if our elected officials fail to address ongoing economic uncertainty," group spokesman Stephen Schatz said. "However ... cherry-picking reforms only serves to reinforce the well-placed fears of American consumers and retailers that the status quo will once again rule the day." The president's pitch also comes one day after two top congressional Republicans – South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and New York Rep. Peter King -- went on TV to say they would break a long-standing pledge not to increase taxes as part of an effort to reach a deal with Democrats that would keep the economy from going over the so-called "fiscal cliff" early next year. They followed Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss who on Thursday said: "I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge."

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