U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) faces reporters following a weekly lunch meeting with fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
The following is a PoliticusUSA editorial by co-publisher and managing editor Sarah Jones.
It took several years to put together the last major tax overhaul, which finally passed in 1986 but now Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is forcing through a 515 page tax plan that was only introduced last week.
McConnell is forcing the country to marry President Trump’s tax plan, having only known the Senate version for a week. In order to trick Americans into this, Republicans are lying about the bill.
But of course, we don’t even really know what Trump’s financial needs are, because Trump has not released his tax returns. Meanwhile, Republicans are pushing a huge change to the tax code that will positively impact the Trump family to the tune of a billion plus dollars in estate tax relief alone.
The Republican Majority Leader is assaulting the democratic process yet again, but this time he’s doing it for a President who is not only under FBI investigation for possible collusion with a hostile foreign power, but whose National Security Adviser just pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia, and who will reportedly testify that he was directed in his contacts with Russia by the President himself.
Even if that report isn’t corroborated, the question of Trump’s loyalty, his inner circle’s loyalty, and indeed many big players in the GOP’s loyalty hangs over any policy they try to push right now.
If the Republican tax plan is passed, “foreigners will see more money than all middle-income households in the United States combined,” according to Newsweek.
This isn’t the time to try to push a huge tax bill that benefits foreigners more than the middle class through in the dark.
Republicans need to slow the tax overhaul down until Donald Trump releases his tax returns and the FBI finishes their Russia probe. In the interim, Republicans could spend their time properly debating, amending and scoring their tax plan.
It is not clear whose agenda is being served in the Republican tax plan, but since it’s being rushed through without proper debate, it seems obvious that it’s not the public’s agenda.
Hell would freeze over before Republicans would allow a Democrat to pass something this huge with so much distortion and secrecy as the President stood not only under investigation but with the finger of collusion with a foreign power pointed at him by a close adviser.
Republicans would be shrieking so loudly on all TV networks around the clock that it would be impossible for Democrats to even consider passing something this huge under these circumstances. Of course, appealing to democracy doesn’t work on Republicans and neither does regular order or even patriotism.
Republicans have spit on their duty and honor with shameless glee in exchange for a moment in the glory of power.
If they pass their tax bill under these circumstances, they will have aligned themselves with Trump forever. Each vote cast for the tax bill is a vote in support of the assault on our country’s most cherished values by Donald Trump and his entourage.
They say there is no honor among thieves,
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