Democrats and the Bush tax cuts

It is hilarious watching the liberal talking heads freaking out about the possibility of extending the Bush tax cuts. Obama is hinting at compromise with Republicans which is not going over well with a lot of liberals in the Senate. I was watching Keith Olbermann on his show last night and it was remarkable how much liberal pundits are foaming at the mouth over this.
Their belief is we should extend the cuts for the middle class but extending the cuts for the rich is out of the question. They insist the rich are doing fine and that's the end of it. The problem is, that's not the end of it.
Former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich favors extending the cuts for the middle class, raising the taxes on the rich and distributing the estimated $70 billion in revenue to state and local municipalities to give to government employees and he is convinced they will spend it and the economy will be fine, whereas the rich will just sit on their money and not create jobs and do nothing to help the economy. Reich also went on to say Clinton raised taxes in the 90's and we came out okay.
Yes taxes were raised in the 90's but our economy wasn't in the condition it is now. We can't afford to gamble that it will pan out the same way as in the 90's.
Also, giving tax revenue to middle class government employees is a horrible idea and will not stimulate the economy. You don't give tax breaks to people whose entire paycheck comes from tax payers. They can't create jobs and the little bit of spending they will do won't help anything.
Liberals have a hatred for the rich that clouds their judgement when it comes to this. They would rather risk doing further damage to the economy (which we can't afford) than extend the cuts and let the private sector fix the economy. Should the cuts be permanent? No. I think they need to extend the cuts for at least a year and then see how the economy is doing.
Olbermann made a claim last night that job creation is inevitable and is coming and if the tax cuts are extended, Republicans will point to the tax cuts as the reason for the job creation and score political points. That's what it comes down to. Forget our economy and the risks of a further recession and possibly worse, risk our fragile economy on the CHANCE we will rebound so Obama looks better in 2012.
They just don't get it.