Sunday, December 3, 2017

Sauce for the gander

Mitch McConnell had no qualms dismissing the accusation that the tax bill was being rushed though with proper bipartisan consultation, despite the fact that amendments were hand written scrawls in a 500 page bill that almost no one voting on it had read in its entirety, and even those that had probably didn't understand much of it. His argument that "the rules were followed" is not an answer. Giving someone 5 minutes to read War and Peace may count as transparent consultation in the strictest sense but clearly fails the smell test.

It's worth noting in passing that McConnell was one of the loudest voices complaining about lack of adherence to process when Obamacare was passed even though as I recall far more more consultation took place for that piece of legislation. 

Two other noteworthy points; first what the GOP failed to do in their abortive "skinny repeal" they have managed to do in this tax bill, eliminating the individual mandate and effectively hobbling Obamacare. Whether this is the final straw remains to be seen but premiums will undoubtedly rise. For some this will effectively deny them health insurance; for others who qualify for the ACA's subsidies this will raise the federal deficit.  Second, while for obvious reasons, Trump has never released his tax returns, this bill will almost certainly benefit him personally and directly. That we have elected someone who stood for public office principally to line his own pockets and consistently lied about his motives is a terrible reflection on the motives and insight of the America electorate.

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