Nelson, Bayh, the Budget and the rich

The following is derived from Think Progress.

First of all, when the Senate passed President Obama's budget, NOT one Republican voted Aye! Which is what we've come to expect from these partisan asshats who cry about the need for bi-partisanship while undermining bi-partisanship at every opportunity.

What we don't expect and what we don't need are hypocritical Democrats who go against the president in order to fulfill some deranged commitment to a "principle" in which they don't really believe.

We're talking about Ben Nelson from Nebraska and Evan Bayh from Indiana, both of whom joined with the Repugs and voted NO.

In a statement explaining his negative vote, Nelson harped on how Obama's budget had "trillion dollar-plus deficits" and would increase the debt, blah, blah, blah.

Bayh said essentially the same thing in his statement.


Both of them are full of horsehockey. As Think Progress asks, "why then did they also vote ... in favor of a $250 billion tax cut for the rich? ... Bayh and Nelson along with eight other 'moderate' Democrats broke with Obama and voted to reduce estate taxes from which 99.7 percent of Americans were already exempt."

Yup. Ten Dems in total voted for an amendment (introduced, by nogoodniks John Kyl, Repugnican from Arizona and Blanche Lincoln, Democrat from Arkansas, which would "slash estate taxes for the heirs of multmillion-dollar estates."

The Democrats were (and you may wish to join other progressives in trying to remove these bums from Congress):

Baucus (D-MT), Bayh (D-IN), Cantwell (D-WA), Landrieu (D-LA), Lincoln (D-AR), Murray (D-WA), Nelson (D-Fl), Nelson (D-NE) Pryor (D-AR), and Tester (D-MT).

Think Progress quotes from The New York Times: "99.8 percent of estates will never -- ever -- pay a penny of estate tax. The heirs of the remaining 0.2 percent of estates are who Ms. Lincoln and Mr. Kyl are so worried about."


One cannot help but wonder about the motivation of these dismal Democrats. Again, of all the problems we have in our country and in the world, the problems (hah!) of the super rich aren't among them!

Or maybe these Democratic senators are in that 0.2 category?

Or maybe they owe their election to the people in that 0.2 category?

It makes no sense. And it is extremely discouraging that people like Nelson of Nebraska and Bayh of Indiana, who pretend to be so worried about deficits and debt, vote to "slash" $250 billion in taxes from the federal treasury!