December 23, 2010--Home for Xmas
If you are wondering why the U.S. Senate has suddenly sprung to bipartisan life and in a few short days passed--
(1) A massive tax cut that includes much more spendable and thus stimulative money for the middle class than Republicans ever before voted for, including agreeing to extend unemployment insurance which they traditionally call getting something for nothing and which, they claim, discourages people from seeking work and gives lazy people money which they will then then spend on drugs. This latter slander made recently by Newt Gingrich who hasn't had a job in years.
(2) Do-Ask-Do-Tell legislation, something that homophobic Republicans such as John McCain and (here's a joke) the notoriously never-married Lindsay Graham find to be an anathema. What will all our straight-shooting boys, they fear, do when under attack while in their foxholes--fight or fool around? In the meantime, it passed easily with significant GOP support.
(3) The New SALT treaty with Russia that is primarily about allowing U.S. inspectors to return to Russia, after years of being excluded, to monitor if they are cheating on previous agreements. Again, John McCain and his fear-mongering friends see this as evidence that the hated-Obama is soft on communism and will sell out the U.S. for a cheap headline. About cheap headlines he and they are experts.
(4) And then the 9/11 health care bill was passed unanimouslyin the Senate. It will provide a little more than $4.0 billion over five years to allow for the treatment of rescue workers and nearby residents who are lingering victims of the 9/11 atrocity. After not even flinching for a millisecond when they blackmailed Obama into compromising away hundreds of billions in tax cuts for the richest 2 percent of Americans--billions not paid for at all and thus added to the very debt that the GOP daily rails against and blames on tax-and-spend Democrats--they for months refused to appropriate the money for those they, with tears in their eyes, call "heroes," because, are you sitting down, it is not paid for! $4.0 billion not paid for, which these days is mere chump change.
Well, when Mayor Rudy reminded his fellow GOPers that unless they came through with these crumbs of cash for these heroes they would forever cede claim to 9/11 as their exclusive political asset. If they allowed the Dems to capture the issue of being these heroes' patrons what would be left for Republicans to demagogue? Rudy, for one, would have nothing to talk about and would even have to look for honest work. And we know how had it is to find jobs these days.
So, after two years of failed attempts to work in a bipartisan way, colleagueship broke out all over Washington. Happy days must be here again.
Perhaps.
More likely two things were at work--
Republican regulars know that in just two weeks they will be joined in Congress by dozens of right-wing radicals and literally crazy people. My personal favorite in both of these regards--about-to-be-senator Rand Paul. And with them in town business as usual will be over. The Tea Party will rule. So mainstream Republicans wanted to get at least something done before full gridlock sets in.
Second, and I suspect more important, (Mormon) Majority Leader Harry Reid threatened to keep the Senate in session right through Christmas, and we know how much being home for Christmas means to John McCain. You know, sitting around the tree and opening presents with Cindy and daughter Meghan and of course having to explain to them why he voted against DADT.
And so I say, Merry Christmas to all!
(1) A massive tax cut that includes much more spendable and thus stimulative money for the middle class than Republicans ever before voted for, including agreeing to extend unemployment insurance which they traditionally call getting something for nothing and which, they claim, discourages people from seeking work and gives lazy people money which they will then then spend on drugs. This latter slander made recently by Newt Gingrich who hasn't had a job in years.
(2) Do-Ask-Do-Tell legislation, something that homophobic Republicans such as John McCain and (here's a joke) the notoriously never-married Lindsay Graham find to be an anathema. What will all our straight-shooting boys, they fear, do when under attack while in their foxholes--fight or fool around? In the meantime, it passed easily with significant GOP support.
(3) The New SALT treaty with Russia that is primarily about allowing U.S. inspectors to return to Russia, after years of being excluded, to monitor if they are cheating on previous agreements. Again, John McCain and his fear-mongering friends see this as evidence that the hated-Obama is soft on communism and will sell out the U.S. for a cheap headline. About cheap headlines he and they are experts.
(4) And then the 9/11 health care bill was passed unanimouslyin the Senate. It will provide a little more than $4.0 billion over five years to allow for the treatment of rescue workers and nearby residents who are lingering victims of the 9/11 atrocity. After not even flinching for a millisecond when they blackmailed Obama into compromising away hundreds of billions in tax cuts for the richest 2 percent of Americans--billions not paid for at all and thus added to the very debt that the GOP daily rails against and blames on tax-and-spend Democrats--they for months refused to appropriate the money for those they, with tears in their eyes, call "heroes," because, are you sitting down, it is not paid for! $4.0 billion not paid for, which these days is mere chump change.
Well, when Mayor Rudy reminded his fellow GOPers that unless they came through with these crumbs of cash for these heroes they would forever cede claim to 9/11 as their exclusive political asset. If they allowed the Dems to capture the issue of being these heroes' patrons what would be left for Republicans to demagogue? Rudy, for one, would have nothing to talk about and would even have to look for honest work. And we know how had it is to find jobs these days.
So, after two years of failed attempts to work in a bipartisan way, colleagueship broke out all over Washington. Happy days must be here again.
Perhaps.
More likely two things were at work--
Republican regulars know that in just two weeks they will be joined in Congress by dozens of right-wing radicals and literally crazy people. My personal favorite in both of these regards--about-to-be-senator Rand Paul. And with them in town business as usual will be over. The Tea Party will rule. So mainstream Republicans wanted to get at least something done before full gridlock sets in.
Second, and I suspect more important, (Mormon) Majority Leader Harry Reid threatened to keep the Senate in session right through Christmas, and we know how much being home for Christmas means to John McCain. You know, sitting around the tree and opening presents with Cindy and daughter Meghan and of course having to explain to them why he voted against DADT.
And so I say, Merry Christmas to all!
posted by Steven Zwerling at
3:56 AM
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