Rude!

It’s rude to call someone selfish. But how are rich people refusing to pay a cent more when the nation is in peril not selfish? Sure, they have eagerly lapped up the line that they are “job creators” – that it would presumably be better for America if they paid no tax at all, so they could create even more jobs. (What’s magic about a 15% rate on dividends and capital gains? If it’s better than the 28% rate Ronald Reagan had them pay, wouldn’t 7.5% be better still? Wouldn’t a 2% rate just swamp us with jobs and prosperity?) No more wanting to feel selfish than anyone else, rich Republicans have embraced this line. But could many of them actually believe it?

We all know selfish people, or a least know of them. Intuitively, how many of them do you think typically vote Democrat?

It’s rude to call someone a bully. But how is it not bullying to tell a poor 81-year-old in a wheelchair, who’s voted all her life, that to vote this time she’s going to have to get herself to the bus and down to the Department of Motor Vehicles – with her birth certificate – and stand in line for however long it takes to get a photo ID? How is it not bullying to send Republican staffers to pose as outraged locals and pound on the windows to shut down the Florida recount? How is it not bullying for the Wisconsin Republicans to ram through a bill that strips government workers of their collective-bargaining rights? How is Karl Rove not a bully?

We all know bullies, or a least know of them. Intuitively, how many of them do you think typically vote Democrat?

This not to say that all Republicans are selfish bullies. Obviously. But quite a few seem convinced that ours is a Christian nation, and that Jesus would never have stood for taxing the rich or aiding the poor, or for forging compromise. No bleeding-heart, other-cheek-turner, He.

I rant. I drip with sarcasm. But do you know what? Given the damage that’s been done to our country over the past decade, and that’s being done now, a little ranting and sarcasm may not be entirely out of order.

Peter Stolz: “This is a great article that very clearly explains that the Republican spending cuts will be the equivalent of the largest middle-class tax increase in history. I would only add that tax cuts for the rich should hereafter be referred to by every Democrat as ‘The Republican $700 Billion Dollar Stimulus Program for the Rich.’ Because that’s exactly what it is.”