The Hill News

The White House on Wednesday circulated two congressional Democrats' endorsements of its tax compromise in an effort to illustrate that the party is not united in opposition to the plan. 

In a rare move, the White House press office sent out press releases from second-term Michigan Rep. Gary Peters and first-term Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, who both expressed hope the proposal could forge bipartisan agreement in Congress.

{mosads}The administration flagged the releases partially due to the fact that hardly any Democrats in Congress have publicly announced their support for the accord, which includes a two-year extension of all the Bush tax cuts in exchange for a 13-month extension of unemployment benefits. 

With a number of key members of his party against or undecided on the deal, the tax deal, which most Republicans support, is in danger of collapsing.

President Obama has gone on the offensive this week in an attempt to sell the tax c! ut deal to skeptical members of Congress and liberal critics who say he ceded too much ground to Republicans in both the substance and politics of the agreement.

On top of that, Democrats in the House and Senate have long complained that legislation they passed, such as healthcare reform, has run into public opposition because Obama has failed to effectively market his agenda.

Now, the White House is using members words as part of its more aggressive strategy.

Webb called the deal the "ultimate stimulus plan" and echoed Obama by saying that passing the plan now will do good for the struggling economy.

“No one will agree with every provision in the proposed agreement," he said in his statement. "The simple reality is that the American people, and particularly those who are out of work, cannot afford to wait while politics-as-usual blocks an effective, bipartisan plan to stimulate the economy and restore growth.”