You could get whiplash things are moving so swiftly on Capitol Hill these days. No sooner is the Omnibus Spending Bill sent to sudden political Siberia then the tax compromise bill passes the House 277-148, less than 24 hours after it cleared the Senate.
Of course, they still found a few minutes to tweak the rich. But not all that badly. Says the AP:
After forcing a delay in the House early in the day, Democratic critics settled for a separate vote in their bid to toughen an estate tax rovision they attacked as a giveaway to the very rich. They were defeated, 233-194, with one vote of “present.
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What next? Reactions are coming in quickly on Twitter, such as this one by Ben Howe, the brother of prominent Red State blogger Caleb Howe:
“Wonder if Obama will have a signing ceremony? Maybe Bush will lend him his pen.”
For those who don’t get it (we know you do), the AP adds:
The bill provides a two-year extension of tax cuts enacted when George W. Bush was president, avoiding an increase at all income levels that would otherwise occur on New Year’s Day.
Happy spending.
Feel free leave your tweets here.
Mr. Simon, Thanks for your excellent columns today. I e-mailed all my Tea Party friends to read your site. I “borrowed” from your column and sent it to my Virginia senators Webb and Warner and to Senator McCain:
Dear Sen McCain,
I contributed to your senatorial campaign. I voted for you. You ARE a national leader. PLease stop Harry Reid and his liberal agenda.
Stop START.
Stop DREAM ACT.
Stop forced unionization of police/firefightes
Stop Omnibus bill with billions of earmarks.
Don’t repeal don’t ask don’t tell unless the Marine/Army generals say OK. (They haven’t) I am the mother of a young veteran who completed six years of service and is unable to find a job after 12 months of looking.
The November election is being disregarded by Reid/Pelosi who are acting like the fascist Hugo Chavez. You are my only hope to stop them.
According to my internet research, the 1,924 page Omnibus Budget Bill has revealed a “hit parade of senatorial malfeasance.” It’s a long list but, for your convenience, here are the Top Twenty “Earmarkers” in the Senate:
Cochran (R-MS) 230
Wicker (R-MS) 199
Murray (D-WA) 172
Harkin (D-IA) 152
Reid (D-NV) 129
Menendez (D-NJ) 123
Feinstein (D-CA) 121
Lautenberg (D-NJ) 120
Lincoln (D-AR) 114
Inouye (D-HI) 113
Schumer (D-NY) 106
Johnson (D-SD) 105
Landrieu (D-LA) 104
Specter (D-PA) 103
Pryor (D-AR) 96
Levin (D-MI) 93
Stabenow (D-MI) 91
Boxer (D-CA) 90
Brown (D-OH) 87
Grassley (R-IA) 86
How bad are these legislators? Pretty bad, I would say. I think there is actually an argument for calling them criminals. After all, what are they attempting to do? They are taking the American taxpayers’ money — MY money — and distributing it in near complete secrecy, with virtually no discussion and as quickly as possible, to their friends, supporters, pet projects, etc.
You are my national leader. Please oppose this malfeasance. The Congress is held in the lowest esteem in history. Please help restore the faith of your constituents in you and the political process. If you can stop Harry Reid, you will be remembered as much of a patriot as George Washingston and Patrick Henry.
Barbara
Unfortunately, also reminiscent of the Bush years, lots of tax cuts (a good thing) but nary a spending cut in sight. What the heck, though, it’s not like we have a deficit or national debt or anything, right?
Well, pokalus was defeated, so by Washington DC standards there was a sending cut.
Mr. Simon,
Imagine my satisfaction when I woke up this morning to see video of that wonderful old bull, John McCain, who, with 40 other stalwart conservatives, stopped the pork-laden ominibus bill. Hooray! If this means our elected officials will actually make a heroic effort to stop our headlong rush into bankruptcy, maybe there is hope for our republic!
I sent Senator McCain another e-mail to congratulate him this morning!
Dear Senator McCain:
YOU DID IT!
YOU DID IT!
YOU DID IT!
When I wrote to you 8 hours ago that you were our last hope and if you could stop the omnibus travesty you would be, once again, heroic in the shadow of George Washington and Patrick Henry.
CONGRATULATIONS1
YOU DID IT!
YOU DID IT!
YOU DID IT!
Barbara
I’m with Krauthammer.
The Repubs just made a giant contribution to Obama’s re-election campaign. Now he can claim to be a centrist, a compromiser, a tax cutter, a leader. Every one is a lie, but it won’t matter because there are millions of voters in the middle who don’t pay enough attention to the details, and he will make these claims with the full power of the presidency.
They should have stood firm on the tax bill and insisted that the extension of the Bush cuts be passed on a stand-alone basis, with separate votes on the pork components. It was a huge mistake and a giant warning sign about legislators who think their purpose in life is to “make a deal”.
The odds remain with the Republicans in 2012. We simply cannot take anything for granted. Our efforts must remain consistent. A lot of people indeed spend very little time following the political battles. We must guilt trip our relatives and friends into paying attention.
What is this guarantee that I keep hearing that a stand alone bill would be the R’s saving grace in the next Congress? I actually believe that if the taxes went up the D controlled senate and the Dhimmi in the WH would have none of it. A kind of, aha moment when the D’s say, gotcha. And the D’s play a game of look at those R’s, they let the taxes rise.
Krauthammer is wrong, provided that Rep. Ryan follows through on his House speech – in which Obama’s yearnings to raise taxes on January 1 were rebuffed, followed by the declaration that SPENDING CUTS would be the preferred move by the 112th Congress to employ in balancing budgets.
The ruling class is so deaf to that possibility that it has escaped notice by punditocratic warblers like Mr. Krauthammer. But even after a year of saturation of the Democrat/media alliance with daily piteous bleatings by carefully selected sufferers from lack of gummint largesse, the 2012 campaign will put before the public the improved fortunes of our grandchildren, due to the bending down of the spending/debt service curve toward a very un-Obama-like sustainability.
Now to remove some of the worst of the bureaucratic, rule-by-regulation morass from the stage, and revive some free enterprise. All do-able with the new Congress and the collapse of the leftist-Obamajuggernaut.