To Republicans, Closing Foreign Tax Loopholes And Keeping 100,000 Teachers Working Amounts To "Job Killing Legislation" For "Special Interests"

A couple days ago, a congressional friend of Blue America's called from his home and told me he's getting a great deal accomplished on the break in terms of getting out and meeting his constituents and organizing his staff for a tough reelection battle. He also told me he's a rare exception and that most Members of Congress-- both parties-- split their summer vacation time between selling their asses to corporate special interests and just shutting down entirely and forgetting about the miseries of Washington (including even reelection). When I saw John Boehner's tweet (above) late yesterday-- responding to Speaker Pelosi ordering the House back in session to deal urgently with saving teachers' jobs... stuff Boehner and the GOP think of as "special interests"-- I thought of the contrast with the tweet he was responding to:


Boehner rose to political power selling his ass to the highest corporate bidders and if he's most famous for handing out tobacco lobbyists' checks (bribe money, as many Republicans confirmed when Boehner was caught) on the House floor, he certainly hasn't been ignored by the Finance Sector ($3,612,064), the Medical Giants ($1,473,347), or the Insurance Industry ($1,000,996). Lobbyists have directly given him-- apart from what they donate to his shady leadership PAC-- almost 300 grand.



So I don't know if Boehner was pissed off because he wanted to spend the break filling his coffers with more corporate cash or because he was eager to raise the numbers of days on the links from 119 in 2009 to 129 in 2010. But once Collins and Snowe did all they could to weaken the $26.1 billion bill-- cutting the food stamp program by $11.9 billion starting in 2014-- and agreed to help fund education and healthcare assistance to the overburdened states and then crossed the aisle to vote to shut down the GOP filibuster, it was almost inevitable that Pelosi would recall the House to give final approval so it could go to the president and he could sign it. Over 100,000 teaching jobs are a stake (unlike Big Tobacco or Wall Street, a "special interest" for John Boehner and his caucus). Here's the announcement Pelosi had Hoyer make yesterday and what sent Boehner off into a twittery rage:

Next week, the House will return to session to vote to keep teachers on the job and provide assistance to states to ensure health services continue for those in need. Both of those provisions have already passed the House twice, and now that the Senate is moving forward to pass this critical aid, I look forward to bringing it to the House Floor for a vote. 

The House will meet in pro forma session on Monday, and will be in at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday to vote on the bill and send it to the President for his signature.

Boehner's official website went on the attack and I figured I'd reproduce it here in case he comes to his senses and decides to remove it when he realizes how heartless it makes him and his party look:

“The American people don’t want more Washington ‘stimulus’ spending-- especially in the form of a pay-off to union bosses and liberal special interests. This stunning display of tone-deafness comes at the expense of American workers, who will be hit by another job-killing tax hike because Washington Democrats can’t kick their addiction to more government ‘stimulus’ spending. Democrats should be listening to their constituents-- who are asking ‘where are the jobs?’-- instead of scampering back to Washington to push through more special interest bailouts and job-killing tax hikes.

“The best way to address the challenges our cities and states are facing is to get our economy back on track, not kick the can down the road and double down on the same failing policies. Republicans are listening to the American people and offering better solutions to cut wasteful Washington spending and help small businesses put people back to work.

“Next week, the House will also consider Rep. Tom Price’s privileged resolution regarding Democrats’ plans to pass controversial job-killing legislation during a lame-duck session. This will be yet another opportunity for Democrats to promise to respect the will of the American people, or stick with their liberal Leaders’ desire to not ‘rule out’ passing a national energy tax or massive spending bills in a lame duck.”

As you know, the Party of Hypocrisy, doesn't believe in doing anything important during a lame-duck session-- just little inconsequential things like when Boehner helped railroad through some fatuous impeachment articles through against President Clinton, articles that were rejected by the Senate. But of course the Republicans are resisting coming back to Washington to pass this legislation. It helps the country recover and it helps average American families, anathema to the GOP. North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall phrased it well yesterday when Richard Burr voted with the other Republicans in opposition to the legislation:

Senator Burr voted against bipartisan legislation Wednesday that closes foreign tax loopholes and protects the jobs of over 4,500 teachers in North Carolina and 140,000 teachers nationwide. The cost of the bill is completely offset by closing foreign tax loopholes and by spending cuts in other areas. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said today that the legislation would actually decrease the deficit. Republican and Democratic Governors across the country support the bill, but Senate Republicans opposed the measure, not wanting to give Democrats a legislative victory...

After 16 years in Washington, Senator Burr just doesn’t get it. North Carolina families are getting hit on all sides, but he still thinks he represents the powerful interests who fund his campaigns instead of the people of our state. Now, he's standing up for corporate tax loopholes when he should be keeping teachers in the classroom.

UPDATE: And Take THAT, you... you... you... Boehner!



See what it says there: "Records show that Mr. Boehner took 180 trips to destinations outside his southwest Ohio district from 1999 to 2005. Most of them were to exclusive golf resorts, including-- yes-- St. Andrews, Pebble Beach in California, and Pinehurst in North Carolina. While golfers are plentiful among the denizens of Capitol Hill, the group pointed out that these junkets exceeded the 149 plane trips the congressman made at taxpayer expense between Washington, D.C., and home during the same time span... Aides to Mr. Boehner... did not dispute the statistics."

So their disputations this week are, like... pretty funny.


UPDATE: Big Ed Liked Our Billboard Campaign-- And We Liked His Framing!