Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren tore Republicans to shreds on Wednesday, saying the rush to pass a massive tax scam written by their donors is “exactly what is wrong with Washington.”
The Democratic senator told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes that the legislation is proof that Washington is “just not working for the rest of America.”
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‘Exactly What Is Wrong With Washington’: Elizabeth Warren Shreds GOP For Letting Donors Write Tax Bill pic.twitter.com/L1fsspQkYV
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— Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) December 21, 2017
Warren put Republicans on blast for crafting this corporate giveaway behind closed doors with their donors:
Let’s be completely clear here. They went behind closed doors, locked out the Democrats, would not talk about this with Democrats, and they horse traded among themselves and among their donors. And at the end of the day, they walked out with a package that they could sign off on and their big donors could sign off on. And I don’t care how many sympathetic faces they make, that’s what the process was all about. It is the ultimate view into exactly what is wrong with Washington. A Washington that works well for those who can spend a zillion dollars on campaign contributions, hire armies of lobbyists and lawyers, a Washington that’s just not working for the rest of America.
As Warren said, this rewrite of America’s tax code was essentially bought, paid for and written by GOP megadonors, and it certainly shows in the massive, permanent handouts it gives to billionaires and big corporations.
As if that wasn’t enough, those giveaways are funded by kicking 13 million Americans off their health insurance plans, which will have the consequence of raising rates for those who will keep their coverage.
Sure, Republicans and the lobbyists who cobbled this plan together behind closed doors threw temporary crumbs at (some) lower and middle-income folks, but those will dissipate, and the bottom 60 percent of households will be left with a higher tax burden by 2027 – while, again, the wealthiest individuals and corporations get to keep their lower rates.
If this disastrous piece of legislation sounds and looks like it was written by big corporations and their lobbyists, it’s because it was.
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.
