When I started working on Capitol Hill in 1980, it was a time when there were still some real live characters in the Congress, especially in the Senate.

One of them was Sen. Russell Long of Louisiana, who chaired the Senate Finance Committee.  He had a favorite line that still rings true today:

"Don't tax you, don't tax me. Tax that fellow behind the tree," Long would say.

I thought of that yesterday as word began to filter around Capitol Hill of tax plans that were being floated by Democrats in the House as a way to raise the needed money for health reform.

House and Senate tax writing committees have zeroed in on a couple of similar ideas, like taxing sugary drinks and increasing taxes on alcohol.

While the House and Senate are looking at taxing employer provided health care benefits for the first time, the House is evidently considering a Value Added Tax to bring in new money.

That ought to be a real winner when it comes to politics (add in major sarcasm.)

The AP was reporting last night that a new Medicare tax is also on the House list, along with a new tax on employers of 3%.

These are the type of details I've been talking about for weeks, that if Democrats really want to have major reforms, they are going to have to come with major new sources of money. As in new taxes.

We'll see how much they have in terms of guts on this subject in coming weeks, because this could be a major loser of an issue.