A Republican congressman was exposed on Wednesday for voting in favor of the GOP tax bill – a massive tax cut for the rich largely at the expense of everybody else – on the same day he purchased a multi-million dollar yacht.
According to Florida Politics, “Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) spent between $1 million and $5 million purchasing an Ocean Alexander yacht on Nov. 16, 2017, the same day he joined 226 other Republicans and no Democrats in voting for the first draft of the ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.'”
The report added that Buchanan was no stranger to the legislation he was voting on. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, he helped craft the measure he voted in favor of. In other words, he knew exactly what he was voting on – a massive tax giveaway for the wealthiest individuals and corporations.
And wealthy he is.
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Florida Politics notes that “his $73.9 million net worth makes him the eighth wealthiest member of Congress, and by far the wealthiest from the Sunshine State.”
The bill he voted on saves him over $2 million in taxes
Of course, anybody with even casual knowledge of Republican Party politics understood that the GOP tax bill was just the party’s latest effort to slash taxes for the wealthy at the expense of lower and middle-income Americans – and the programs they rely on, like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
Rep. Buchanan didn’t even pretend to make it look like he was doing otherwise.
According to Tax March, the bill he threw his support behind would save him as much as $2.1 million in taxes – around the same amount it cost him to purchase a luxurious yacht.
The Republican Party has long been detached from the struggles and concerns of the average American. After all, they convinced enough voters to support the GOP against their own interests in 2016, so why even pretend to care anymore?
Rep. Vern Buchanan isn’t an outlier in the modern Republican Party. He is just more brazen in his disregard for middle-class Americans.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
