Yes, it's time for another edition of Republican hypocrisy, and there's plenty of it to go around today. As an added plus, I've got some Tea Party hypocrisy thrown in for flavor.
The Senate GOP signals that they will block all tax initiatives that don't include an extension of Bush tax cuts for the rich before they don't.
An Associated Press story made waves this morning, by claiming that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had received a pledge from every member of his caucus to block tax legislation unless it extends all of the Bush tax cuts, even for the richest Americans.
This morning spokesman Don Stewart told TPM that article is incorrect. "They're correcting this story," Stewart says. "I only said what I've been saying for months: there are no Republicans who support tax hikes (and a growing chorus of Democrats oppose them too)."
Meanwhile, teabagger Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has sent a written request to Arne Duncan for $249 million in stimulus funds and will be requesting $289 million in Medicaid funds by the end of the month in order to balance the budget, while all the time hammering Democrats for passing the stimulus bill at all. Republicans' claim that government is expanding under the Obama administration is patently false, but they flog it anyway.
For all the hoo-ha over taxes from the Tea Party, it's worth remembering that head teabagger Jenny Beth Martin got a $510,000 bailout from the IRS (not to mention creditors' debt forgiveness) so she could be paid big bucks to spread tea and bile across the nation. Her excuse?
Martin claims that the recession -- and problems with a business partner -- led to the failure of her husband's business. That failure, she claims, led to her bankruptcy and her tax situation. She says those woes make her an "everyday American." But here's the thing: "everyday Americans" don't rack up $510,000 federal tax bills.
Indeed, they don't. It seems that teabagger tax protests involve tax dodges, while the rest of us muddle through without ducking our duty to pay taxes when they're due.
With the daily hypocrisy running rampant in our political news, can someone explain why Democrats don't use it to win the damned election?
