Tax Cut And [Hose] Job Bill

I cannot speak for others but I am hoping that I will be able to say I am thankful for Senators who had the conscience and good sense to vote against Republican tax bills. As usual it is only large corporations and the rich (the donor class) that will really benefit from any bill put forward by the party of Greedy Old Plutocrat. In the bills the Republicans have proposed in both the House and the Senate the tax cuts given to corporations and the wealthy are permanent whereas the sun set provisions in those bills mean that the middle class and the poor will actually see tax increases by 2027. Furthermore the PayGo budget rule will result in decreases in the benefits from paid benefits programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. I should add the provision in the proposed Senate bill eliminating the individual mandate in the ACA will also result in a steep increase in the cost of health insurance. So to all you white males out there let me say you are well advised to set aside your feelings because the feelings you are getting from the Republican Party ain't a prostate exam!

Hand Wringers Still Wringing!

The pundits are all a twitter. Look at the division in the Democratic Party they chirp: “They have no single message. They have no party talking points or policy statements! They can't win without some sort of manifesto!"

As usual the pundits have turned up the drama at the expense of reason and reality. As Will Rogers said: “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.” Even in Presidential years when the parties set forth their platforms there is rarely the sort of lock step unity the pundits seem to be demanding because “all politics are local.” This is not to say that there is not a difference between the parties. There is a huge difference between Franklin Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover, between George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and between Donald Trump and anyone who has any knowledge of history and/or government!

Democrats have good reason celebrate the results of the last election. It was a disaster for Republicans and many voters said Trump was one of the reasons why. Some of the results were really amusing as well as heartening. Consider the following:

The NRA (National Rats Ass) can't win 'em all: Chris Hurst, a former news anchor whose girlfriend and colleague, Alison Parker, was shot and killed on air in 2015, defeated NRA backed Joseph Yost to win the 12th House District seat in the state’s Legislature.

Hell hath no fury like a woman mocked: Atlantic County Freeholder John L. Carman, had posted a picture on Facebook the day of the Women’s March. The picture was of a woman stirring a pot over a kitchen stove. Above the picture was the meme: “Will the woman’s protest be over in time for them to cook dinner?”  Ashley Bennett was so offended by the picture and the meme that she ran against him and defeated him! That earns a big: “Way to go girl!”

Where's a homophobe to go? Or a defeat for potty politics: Danica Roem, a transgender candidate for a seat in the House of Virginia Delegates, defeated incumbent Bob Marshall, who is perhaps the most anti-LGBTQ politician in America and has held that seat since 1992.

What is not funny or heartening is the Republican nomination of accused pedophile Roy Moore for the office of Senator from Alabama and the way Republicans are defending him against what appear to be well founded accusations. Using the Bible to defend Mr. Moore in this instance is like singing hymns while lynching people. Unfortunately many Trump chumps are so morally and intellectually bankrupt that they will try to rationalize anything in their opposition to the Democratic Party.

Fortunately the tide seems to be turning. The Democratic Party cannot take the voters for granted but Trump's absurdly destructive behavior, his incompetence, his obscene and possibly illegal conflicts of interest, and his pandering to Putin are even making traditional Republicans think twice about what they have wrought. Furthermore, the Democratic Party does have a program; it is comprised of the very things Trump is destroying: affordable health care, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, a real State Department, Environmental Protection, Regulations to prevent another 2008 style economic crash, and a tax code that is not weighted in favor of the rich at the expense of the poor and the middle class.