THE COURAGEOUS 64.(A)

Against the wishes of party leaders still trapped in a pro-tax mind-set, these Democrats endorsed the Bush plan to cut the tax on married couples and double the child tax credit.

Out of conviction or simple self-interest, some Democrats are coming to the conclusion that tax relief is long overdue and that dogmatic opposition to it spells political oblivion.

Poll after poll, as we noted Thursday, confirms that the American people do not see Bush's tax package as "massive" or "risky." Rather, they like it, giventhe increasingly onerous tax burden the government has placed on them.

The surprise is not that the marriage-penalty relief passed. The surprise isthat it took so long to pass. How did our government ever get to the point of thinking that punishing people for marrying was a good idea?

The 64 Democrats deserve praise for seeing the significance of this political time bomb. The class-warrior Democrats like Dick Gephardt would do well to follow their lead.

The issue, after all, is high on the list of priorities for a large number of families in which one spouse works simply to pay taxes to the government -- only to see that government undercut the family through morally blank educationand social programs that reward single parenthood.

The family, as the fundamental source of stability in society, should be thelast, not the first, target for ...