It is a script that the American people have seen too often. Congressional Republicans are going to try to sneak tax cuts for the rich through Congress before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) announced the GOP’s plan:
Goal is to get the tax bill through the Senate before Thanksgiving, says @JohnCornyn. Reconcile with House after that.
— Richard Rubin (@RichardRubinDC) October 26, 2017
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There are several problems with this scheme. The tax cuts for the rich legislation doesn’t exist yet. Of course, this didn’t stop Republicans on health care, but they are already signaling that they are going to use the same haphazard process that tried with Obamacare repeal in tax cuts. Republicans have about three weeks to write the bill, hold hearings, get it through committee, debate, and vote. If they try to short-circuit regular order, Senate Republican leadership will be courting another rebellion from moderate Republicans.
The Republican plan to push to shove this bill down the throats of the American people is centered around the hope that you won’t be paying attention. Maybe, you’ll be distracted by Thanksgiving, and then the holiday season to not realize that Republicans are trying to give tax cuts to the richest Americans by blowing a $1.5 trillion hole in the deficit. It is a hole that they plan to close by cutting Medicare and Medicaid.
The tax cuts are everything to Republicans and their donors. If the tax cut bill fails to pass, it will signal Armageddon for the Republican majorities in the House and Senate.
The fate of the midterm election will start to take shape over the next three weeks, and if you want a Democratic-controlled Congress, the first order of business is to stop the tax cuts for the wealthy.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
