Well, once again today as a proud Kentucky Progressive I must apolegize to all of the Enlightened world for Mitch McConnell. He is proving once again that he is not clueless, just a constant bullhorn for the greediest and least patriotic among us. For whatever reason, greed or stupidity his office felt like issuing yet another pathetic, poisonous spewing about several things at once. Read on and wince:
‘Americans are telling us that health care is too important to base our decisions on this issue solely on the estimates that we’re getting from the same people who brought us the stimulus and Cash for Clunkers’
http://mcconnell.senate.gov/...
OK Senator McConnell. You wanted to go there. I am so sick and tired of disgusting hypocrites like you who have crashed our economy and almost completely wrecked our country off a cliff and actually gotten rich doing it now crying because there is no more money for you to pick clean. So since you guys brought it up lets break this quote down for you.
Starting with the "Cash for Clunkers" bit. Are we not talking about a program that was wildly popular and successful because it benefitted everyday Americans? Of course Senator McConnell, you could have not a thing to do with that. An extra $2 billion?? How much has been wasted on your watch and what have you chosen to spend money on??? Lets look at some of the things Senator McConnell has spent on.
First, in 1999 Mitch McConnell led the whole Kentucky delegation, including my Congressman Exxon Ed Whitfieldin de-regulating the banking industry which was the root of the crash last year:
But there was little dissent in 1999, when Sen. Mitch McConnell and the rest of Kentucky's congressional delegation voted to deregulate Wall Street banking and investments. They — and most other members of Congress — brushed aside concerns that deregulation could create massive financial institutions that would be "too big to fail," requiring a government bailout if they started to stagger.
http://www.kentucky.com/...
This led to his good buddy Shotgun Cheney begging for hundreds of billions of dollars for both of thier bosses, the banking industry:
Vice President Dick Cheney and other Bush administration officials hit Capitol Hill on Tuesday to sell the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, getting a mixed reception from lawmakers who argued about the role of government in business.
I guess you can say over $4 million in your career from one sector does seem to build that corporate loyalty huh??:
McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, collected more than $4.3 million in donations from the financial sector in the last 20 years, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan watchdog group.
But of course McConnell had been there for Cheney before when the call came to investigate companies like Darth's beloved Halliburton:
Voted NO on investigating contract awards in Iraq & Afghanistan.
To establish a special committee of the Senate to investigate the awarding and carrying out of contracts to conduct activities in Afghanistan and Iraq and to fight the war on terrorism. Voting YES would: create Senate special committee to investigate war contracts, taking into consideration: bidding, methods of contracting, subcontracting, oversight procedures, allegations of wasteful practices, accountability and lessons learned in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Reference: Committee to Investigate War Contracts; Bill S Amdt 2476 to S 1042 ; vote number 2005-316 on Nov 10, 2005
http://www.ontheissues.org/...
In McConnell's mind, hundreds of billions can always be afforded for tax cuts to the very rich though:
Voted YES on $350 billion in tax breaks over 11 years.
H.R. 2 Conference Report; Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. Vote to adopt the conference report on the bill that would make available $350 billion in tax breaks over 11 years. It would provide $20 billion in state aid that consists of $10 billion for Medicaid and $10 billion to be used at states' judgment. The agreement contains a new top tax rate of 15 percent on capital gains and dividends through 2007 (5 percent for lower-income taxpayers in 2007 and no tax in 2008). Income tax cuts enacted in 2001 and planned to take effect in 2006 would be accelerated. The child tax credit would be raised to $1,000 through 2004. The standard deduction for married couples would be double that for a single filer through 2004. Tax breaks for businesses would include expanding the deduction that small businesses could take on investments to $100,000 through 2005.
Reference: Bill HR.2 ; vote number 2003-196 on May 23, 2003
http://www.ontheissues.org/...
And how much money has been wasted on the failed Middle-Eastern initiatives of President George W. Bush which Mitch McConnell used his signicant clout to push off on America, even calling those of us who questioned unpatriotic for opposing his insanity?? Where is all the outrage every time we are voting hundreds of billions of more dollars into those wars??
So now Mitch McConnell is complaining about what is mere pocket-change in a highly popular and successful government program as compared to the probably TRILLIONS of dollars he and his cronies ran away with. He is so critical of a stimulus that was needed to try and prevent an emerging Depression brought upon by Mitch McConnell and his cronies. Now that it is slowly working he is getting desperate.
Mitch McConnell and his ilk among the Republicans and some Democrats do not care one bit about whether money gets wasted or not. Their only concern is making sure that the same people pocket all the wealth and cut them a share and they consider the other 98% of us irrelevant. They simply do not want healthcare because like Cash for Clunkers it is something that help everday Americans and not his corrupt profiteers. It should be insulting to Americans everywhere that Mitch McConnell has anything to say whatsoever about anything because he is telling them he thinks they are idiots.
I just hope they are insulted. Keith Olberman sums them up nicely, as he always does:
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