Republicans in the U.S. House missed a golden opportunity when they put the unchanged “fiscal cliff” tax bill up for a vote.
If the Senate-passed bill was to be considered (a mighty big “if”), the House first should have scrubbed it like they did the Hurricane Sandy relief bill. Both were laden with pork. That was too much dirt for the Sandy measure, but the lard in the tax bill got a free pass from the House GOP.
Requiring a “clean” tax bill would have publicly exposed the hysterical hypocrisy we’ve heard from the Left and from big media (the twins!).
A liposuction of the pork would have forced the Senate to return to session to approve the amended and cleaned-up bill. Had they been willing, Senators could have acted quickly, as they had just proven they could do.
Middle class Americans were used as pawns to create a headlong rush for tax relief. As they drove this runaway train, the Left snuck aboard their agenda of bigger government and crony capitalism.
Only if the pork was first stripped out should the House GOP have permitted the bill to be enacted with mostly Democrat votes. That would not make it good legislation, but at least it would have been better.
Not even Gov. Chris Christie would have dared defend that fattening-up of the all-important middle class tax relief. And if they tried, President Obama and the Senate would have been stammering like Lindsay Lohan in front of a probation officer.
Imagine their claim: “We refuse to approve tax relief for the middle class until the House Republicans approve our handouts to Hollywood, our toast to liquor distillers, and our windfalls for windpower.”
Read the rest of Ernest's article here.