Republicans are desperately moving quickly to get their tax scam passed before Christmas
Doug Jones’s victory in the Alabama Special Election Tuesday has reportedly kicked off a wave of hysteria among the Republican Party. With an additional Democratic Senator in office, the Democrats will have a slightly easier time fighting any Republican legislative proposals as they narrow the margin of the GOP’s control of the upper house of Congress to only 3 seats (with 49 Democrats against 51 Republicans).
And when you consider that Republicans have already had a hard time getting some of their agenda (such the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill) passed due to swing votes like John McCain, Susan Collins, and Bob Corker in their caucus, that narrow margin of control could easily swing to the Democrats, on any vote. All it would take is just a few Republicans choosing to go against their party. And so the arrival of Doug Jones will ensure that 2018 will be a tough year for them.
It is also worth considering the recent surge in sexual harassment allegations being thrown against powerful men including multiple Republican congressmen and at least one Democrat. What began with allegations and evidence of sexual misconduct against President Donald Trump got new life as more than 80 accusers came forward with allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. The scandal has snowballed into the “#Metoo” movement, which has brought or severely damaged down the careers of a startling list of powerful men in entertainment, sports, politics, and the media. In Congress, Trent Franks (R-AZ) , John Conyers (D-MI), and controversially, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) have already resigned, while Blake Farenthold (R-TX) and Ruben Kihuen (D-NV) are also in hot water over allegations. In this climate of reckoning, it’s anyone’s guess how many more resignations may occur, or how it will affect the balance of power in Congress.
Not to mention the scandals President Trump is embroiled in. Sure, he’s seemed to be the “Teflon Don” when it comes to shrugging off scandals that would end any other career as simply “fake news”. But nevertheless, the writing appears to be on the wall when it comes to the Trump presidency.
As things stand now, Al Franken is out and Trump is still in, but the “#metoo” movement is turning full circle into the “#trumptoo” movement, seeking to hold the President, too, responsible for his alleged and evidenced sexual misconduct. With multiple accusers, and Trump having been taped both wittingly and unwittingly bragging about committing sexual assaults, from his gloating on the Howard Stern Show about barging in on teen beauty contest dressing rooms to ogle the girls as they dressed, to the infamous Access Hollywood bus tape, where he was caught bragging about forcibly kissing women and grabbing them “by the pussy”, it seems rather perverse that Trump, who as President should be among the most accountable of all men, and yet seems to be among the least.
Still, if that fails to that bring Donald Trump to a reckoning, he also faces Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump Campaign, Transition team, and Administration. And if, as seems likely given the many revelations and the mounting evidence, Mueller proves Trump’s involvement in, or knowledge of, treasonous collusion with Russia’s interference in the 2016 US elections, impeachment certainly may follow. Especially if Democrats regain power in Congress, either through resignations, or the upcoming midterm elections, which they could sweep over the backlash against Trump, and Republicans backing his agenda.
It should come as no surprise then that top members of the GOP are rushing to get their widely criticized overhaul of the U.S. tax code, officially called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, finalized for a closing vote to ultimately send off to President Donald Trump. While the Senate was set on their plan, Republicans in the House of Representatives requested alterations, resulting in it needing to get reworked again.
Related: Trump’s BS Tax Scam Will Give So Much Of Your Money To Billionaires You’ll Blow A F*cking Gasket
Today that plan has reportedly been completed according to top aides working in both Congressional Houses, and will be set to be revealed this week. Time is of the essence in getting the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act voted on this week as this Friday, December 15, the House will begin its winter recess while the Senate’s starts Saturday, December 16th. Jones will most likely take office January 3, 2018, when Congress comes back into session, thereby making it imperative for the GOP to get their horrible bill passed before December 15.
Democrats are trying to fight this by demanding Republicans wait until Jones is sworn in and can vote fairly. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is pointing to a similar instance in the 2010 Massachusetts Special Election. When Scott Brown surprised the political world by winning the seat vacated by the passing of “Lion of the Senate” Ted Kennedy, flipping that seat to Republican control after decades in Democratic hands, the GOP insisted on a stall in voting on the Affordable Care Act until Republican winner Scott Brown was sworn in and given a chance to cast a vote on it. This despite the ACA (aka Obamacare) being Ted Kennedy’s life’s work.
Now, as Democrat Doug Jones flips the seat vacated by the naming of former Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as the Trump Administration’s Attorney General into Democratic hands after a quarter century under Republican control, Senate Majority Leader, Republican Mitch McConnell is pushing for a vote before Jones can be seated, and Democrats are crying foul. Given the parallels to the Kennedy to Brown flip in 2010, the hypocrisy seems rather stark. But given the Republican party’s history under McConnell’s leadership, for instance in regards to the circumstances surrounding the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Merrick Garland, this might be wishful thinking on behalf of Schumer, and other Democrats.
Related: The GOP’s List of ‘Economists’ Backing Their Tax Scam Includes Office Assistants, Ex-Felons, and Dead People
And so, for Americans seeking to prevent the Republican party from fast tracking Trump’s “tax scam”, that sweepingly regresses America’s social safety net – gutting the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, the Children’s Healthcare Insurance Plan (CHIP), food assistance programs and much more, now more than ever is the time to call Congress and complain. Democrats may have won in Alabama, but the country as a whole continues to remain at risk due to the GOP’s drastically regressive agenda.
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
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