While I expected nothing less from lame-duck tax-and-spender Kay Bailey Hutchison, Sen. John Cornyn’s decision to vote for a tax hike on 77 percent of American households is like a kick in the gut.
(The Texas delegation votes are found in Update 2, below.)
All those Republicans voting for the Obama tax-and-spend bill are weasels, one and all. Totally indefensible.
Of course, Mr. Cornyn also voted for the bailouts and the Medicaid expansion, so his willingness to vote for bad government shouldn’t have come as a surprise… But, well, I had hoped to see him do better.
My friend Erick Erickson at RedState.com has written an excellent review of the betrayal of conservatives brought forth by US Sen. Mitch McConnell.
The bill not only raises taxes, on most households, but the Congressional Budget Office says the bill actually increases spending by $330 billion! That is to say, it pushes us further along the path to fiscal insolvency by increasing the deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade. Way to go, Grand Old Party!
And, of course, President Obama wants even more.
To make matters worse, the incompetent US House GOP leadership (weaselship?) is preparing to join in the irresponsible fun. The vote could come as early as tonight!
(The congressional switchboard can be reached here: 202-224-3121.)
Congress behaves like drunken teenagers on a spending spree with stolen credit cards. It’s irresponsible to give them higher credit limits or more money.
In Washington, DC, the stupid party and the evil party have become mostly indistinguishable.
UPDATE:
The US House voted in the middle of the night. The measure passed, but a majority of the House Republican Caucus voted against it. Will post the Texas vote tally later this morning.
UPDATE 2:
Here’s how the Texas delegation voted. In the House, four Republicans and all Democrats joined the Senate in voting for higher taxes and more spending; one member (Ron Paul) did not vote.
The correct vote was “nay.” An “aye” vote is to impose higher taxes and new spending.
DISTRICT NAME Party HR8|Fiscal Cliff
SENATE John Cornyn R Aye
SENATE Kay Hutchison R Aye
CD-1 Louis Gohmert Jr. R Nay
CD-2 Ted Poe R Nay
CD-3 Sam Johnson R Nay
CD-4 Ralph Hall R Nay
CD-5 Jeb Hensarling R Nay
CD-6 Joe Barton R Nay
CD-7 John Culberson R Nay
CD-8 Kevin Brady R Aye
CD-9 Al Green D Aye
CD-10 Michael McCaul R Nay
CD-11 Michael Conaway R Nay
CD-12 Kay Granger R Nay
CD-13 William Mac Thornberry R Aye
CD-14 Ron Paul R Not Voting
CD-15 Rubén Hinojosa D Aye
CD-16 Silvestre Reyes D Aye
CD-17 Bill Flores R Nay
CD-18 Sheila Jackson-Lee D Aye
CD-19 Randy Neugebauer R Nay
CD-20 Charlie Gonzalez D Aye
CD-21 Lamar Smith R Aye
CD-22 Pete Olson R Nay
CD-23 Francisco Quico Canseco R Nay
CD-24 Kenny Marchant R Nay
CD-25 Lloyd Doggett D Aye
CD-26 Michael Burgess R Nay
CD-27 Blake Farenthold R Nay
CD-28 Henry Cuellar D Aye
CD-29 Gene Green D Aye
CD-30 Eddie Johnson D Aye
CD-31 John Carter R Nay
CD-32 Pete Sessions R Aye
