February 20, 2002

Bitter over Campaign Finance Defeat, House Republicans Resort to Mafia Tactics to Get MORE Tax Cuts for the Rich

NY Times columnist Paul Krugman writes, "The hard men of the House leadership refuse to allow a clean vote on unemployment benefits. Instead they continue to insist that it's their way or no way: they won't allow a vote on benefits extension except as part of a bill that mainly consists of tax cuts for corporations and families in upper tax brackets... And they rammed that bill through last Thursday. Let's leave aside, for a moment, the economic merits of those tax cuts. What's really striking about this tactic is its sheer bloody-mindedness: the House leadership is willing to impose pain on some of the most vulnerable people in the country, desperate families whose breadwinners have been unable to find jobs, in order to push a divisive, partisan agenda... tax-cut advocates have moved from promises to threats. Support tax cuts for the elite, the House leadership says, or we'll cut off your unemployment benefits. So what's next? Support tax cuts or we'll break your legs?"
The NY Times, courtesy of Democrats.com

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