The President and his cabinet take the Dubya dividend debacle dog-and-pony show on the road. But be careful if they come to your town – as per usual when Dubya and the economy are mentioned in the same sentence, you may just find yourself working overtime. Update: Proving once again the power of the Big Lie, Dubya accuses tax cut critics of “class warfare.” And in a joint statement, Montgomery Burns, Scrooge McDuck, and the Monopoly Guy asked, “Can’t we all just get along?”
Category: The Dubya Era
Oz the Great and Terrible.
Karl Rove, alleged architect of the Iraq war (and recently exposed as an Eric Foner fan in Nicholas Lemann’s New Yorker piece this week) steps out from behind the curtain to revel in the adulation of New Hampshire. If he only had a heart.
A Moment of Clarity.
Must be election season…Despite the desires of the NRA, Dubya plans to support a continued ban on assault weapons. I’m sure he can just have Ashcroft vacate it later.
The GOP Tax Pact.
With conservatives chomping at the bit to reduce capital gains taxes, the Senate GOP craft a compromise bill that appeases moderate holdouts like Senator Snowe. As I’ve said before, any tax cut given the current state of the economy and our budget deficits is a bad idea. And given how much of the heavy lifting Senator Snowe has already done, I’m surprised more Dems aren’t kicking up a fuss right now.
Feed the Rich, or else.
What do we want? Tax breaks for the rich! When do we want ’em? Now! Brushing up on his cheerleader skills in Arkansas (as a not-so-veiled threat to Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln), Dubya demands that Congress speed up passage of his fatcat cut. But so far, the all stick and no carrot tactics of the Bushies are only continuing to tick off GOP moderates like Olympia Snowe.
Quid Pro Quo.
Exhibiting yet again the Dubya administration’s flair for hypocrisy, recent documents reveal that Dubya’s top three fundraisers in 2000 were made Ambassadors of Switzerland, the Slovak Republic, and France respectively. Well, as long as they didn’t take tea in the Lincoln bedroom, I’m sure everything checks out.
The Other Shoe Drops.
As it turns out, the new GOP-spawned hybrid tax bill mentioned yesterday offers even more to the wealthy (and less to the poor) than Dubya’s dividend debacle. Why am I not surprised? If the Republicans keep prostrating themselves before the filthy rich like this, that giant sucking sound you hear will be the GOP moderates defecting en masse a la James Jeffords, who’s now comfortably ensconced in the Democratic leadership.
Pick your Poison.
Via Cheesedip and the Daily Show, President Dubya debates Governor Dubya on Iraq. Hmm…never thought I’d agree with Dubya on this issue, but there you have it. A must-watch.
Return I will, to old Brazil.
Two links stolen from Genehack to give you a creepy feeling in the pit of your stomach: 1) Dubya declared yesterday “Loyalty Day.” 2) The State Department thinks Canada cares too much about civil liberties. A connection, perhaps?
Grey Poupon Economics.
Conceding defeat on the full dividend debacle (while still planning evasive maneuvers to make sure it’s as large as possible), the Congressional GOP now shift their focus to another Republican shibboleth: a capital gains cut. One way or another, it seems, the GOP are hell-bent on ensuring that the wealthiest Americans catch some kind of break from the Dubya dip.