Well given those taxes are passed on to the middle class, and the fear is that a new tax will also be passed on to a middle class, I don't see any irony.

I even suggested that lowering taxes on the middle class and below while introducing a new tax on the rich would be the a method to prevent people from being concerned with the tax eventually impacting them. With all the 'tax the rich' rhetoric, why not include a 'and not the poor' as well?