GOP tax win hammers home reality for Dems

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

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On the roster: GOP tax win hammers home reality for Dems - Rough week
ahead as shutdown looms - McCabe faces GOP criticism before testifying on
Hill - Senate rejects Trump pick to run Export-Import Bank - Beware the
‘sprout officer’

GOP TAX WIN HAMMERS HOME REALITY FOR DEMS
It has belatedly occurred to Democrats that their resistance wasn’t nearly
as formidable as they thought.

As House Speaker Paul Ryan brought the gavel down this afternoon heralding
the passage of a major tax cut, he was also breaking the spell that had
held many Democrats in its thrall since last November.


For too many Democrats “this can’t be happening” turned into “this isn’t
happening.”

Convinced of the illegitimacy of Donald Trump’s presidency and in firm
belief that his and his party’s goals would founder amid inexperience,
incompetence and cupidity, Democrats seem to imagine themselves still
somehow in charge.

Though the president is sorely mistaken when he dismisses evidence of
Russian interference in the 2016 election as phony, he is right about the
way Democrats have clung to the idea as a life preserver in the choppy
seas of minority.

It was easy for members of the Blue Team to dismiss the moment as when the
White House was in constant chaos and Congress could hardly pass an eye
exam, let alone major legislation.

But with final passage of Republican tax cuts just one more vote away from
reality, Democrats are being forced to confront reality. Looking back at
2016 there is, yes, the notable failure on health insurance, but a record-
setting pace for judicial appointments, major regulatory rollbacks, the
demise of Obama doctrine for foreign policy and now, this.

When think back about federal employees resisting the Trump
administration, some even with Harry Potter-inspired names, it seems
quaint and more than a little bit sad. These actions, like much of the
Democratic response since January tends to seem more like seeking an
alternate reality than confronting the challenging one in which they found
themselves.

In order to effectively challenge Republicans in 2018, Democrats will
first have to admit the low condition to which the party has fallen. And
if the Republican’s ability to pass this tax legislation doesn’t convince
Democrats of their current station, nothing will.

What’s in the daggone thing? - Policy analyst Robert VerBruggen helpfully
breaks down the major components of the tax plan. National Review: “The
legislation is a mixed bag. It adds to the deficit at a time when we’re
already drowning in debt, and it doesn’t simplify the tax code as much as
many had hoped it would. Nonetheless, there are some serious reforms here
that should endure even if Democrats retake the government soon. Let’s
take a tour of the major high and low points. 1. There are about $1.5
trillion in tax cuts over ten years. No, they won’t pay for themselves….
2. The individual tax code is reworked and simplified, to the benefit of
most…. 3. Business taxes get a much-needed overhaul too…. 4. No more
individual mandate, starting in 2019….”

A plan that will raise taxes on the wealthy but aid the super-rich - NYT:
“If you read the headlines, the spoils of the Republican tax plan will
disproportionately benefit the wealthy. It’s been called a ‘tax cut for
the rich,’ ‘a Christmas gift for the wealthy’ and more. And that’s true:
Any back-of-the-envelope math shows that in both dollar terms and in
percentage terms, the largest tax cuts clearly benefit the rich. And yet
virtually every private conversation taking place on Wall Street and in
corporate America among the wealthy these days seemingly comes to a
different conclusion. … You’re probably asking how a tax plan that seems
riddled with loopholes to benefit those who are well off – and the Trump
family – can be raising the tax bill of the wealthy when we’ve been told
the opposite. Here’s the nuance: The tax bill soaks some of rich Americans
– but it does not soak the richest.”

Pence nixes Israel trip to stay handy for tie-breaker - The Hill: “Vice
President [Mike Pence] is delaying his planned trip to the Middle East
until January as Congress prepares to vote on the GOP’s tax bill. … The
decision to postpone the trip comes after widespread outrage over
President Trumps decision earlier this month to recognize Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel. A spokeswoman for Pence’s office said the decision was
made to ensure that the GOP tax-cut bill is passed successfully.”

Corker pushes back hard on kickback claims - Politico: “The final House-
Senate tax compromise did nothing to reduce the measure’s trillion-dollar-
plus increase of the federal deficit, which [Sen. Bob Corker] cited as a
chief reason for rejecting an earlier version of the bill. … ‘On one hand,
you had the deficit issue. On the other hand, you had the economic growth
issue,’ Corker said. ‘I took a long walk on Friday morning and just
decided that from the standpoint of … is our country better with this or
not better with it? And I feel that we are.’ … Corker has accumulated
significant wealth through his real estate investments, and he immediately
came under fire from the left, which accused him of flipping his vote in
favor of the tax bill solely because of the real estate language.”

Manchin says he would have been ‘an easy pickup’ on taxes - Politico:
“[Joe Manchin] should be the most endangered politician in America,
followed closely by the nine other Senate Democrats running in states
Trump carried last year, many by wide margins. And they all should have
been poachable votes for the White House, if the president’s outreach to
red-state Democrats had worked, and if the agenda Republicans have chased
in search of something to call a win hasn’t consistently proved so
unpopular with voters… ‘I was an easy pickup. Very easy pickup,’ Manchin
said. ‘And a couple, two, three other Democrats would have been easy
pickups, if they had just made an effort.’ Not one of those Trump-state
Democrats has budged on Obamacare repeal or taxes, to the surprise of
Democrats themselves, who entered the year with their brains and
confidence scrambled by Trump’s win.”


--
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party has run out of gas.

Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for ending the disaster of the
Obama presidency.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.

ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.

Obama jobs, the result of ObamaCare. 12-15 working hours a week at minimum
wage, no benefits and the primary revenue stream for ObamaCare. It can't
be funded with money people don't have, yet liberals lie about how great
it is.

Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.