No No, Lindsey. Don’t Help. We’re Fine Here. Please.
I really do want to like Lindsey Graham. He reminds me of a kid who used to play on my soccer team when I was young. He was earnest and tried really hard, which made you feel like you had kicked a puppy if you got mad at him. Actually, I should say “when” because getting upset him was as inevitable as the sunrise. See, the kid found a way to make your life harder when he was on the soccer field. He didn’t do it on purpose; he was just inept at the game. He didn’t often decide to really get after the ball, but when he did, he’d find some way to foul up a beautiful pass or get in the way of our best forward’s shot or, worst of all, blunder into the ball and bang it into our goal. The kid was, as a soccer player, entirely hopeless.
Leading voices in the Senate are considering a new tax on gasoline, as part of an effort to win Republican and oil industry support for the energy and climate bill now idling in Congress.
The tax, which according to early estimates would be in the range of 15 cents a gallon, was conceived with the input of several oil companies, including Shell, BP and Conoco Phillips, and is being championed by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
It is shaping up as a critical but controversial piece in the efforts by Graham, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to write a climate bill that moderate Republicans could support.
If Graham gets his way, this will be an own goal to end all own goals. As Ed notes, new taxes are about as popular as scabies right now. There is absolutely no sane reason for Graham to become Senator Helpy McHelperson for the Democratic majority. They can pass this tax increase without him, except that they desperately want some Republican stooge to come on board so they can claim bipartisanship and have some small amount of cover from the enormous helping of voter anger they’ll reap if they jack up our taxes once again.
But, bless his heart, Lindsey Graham can’t help but get involved. Like that kid on my soccer team, he wanted to try, even if trying meant crushing failure for everyone else around him.
Other Posts of Interest:
- Crisis in South Carolina: Graham May Have to Remove His Head from McCain’s Posterior.
- This is Why Republicans Can’t Win Elections These Days
- You Just Know the Republican Party Will Screw this Up
Category: The Economy and Your Money, The Republican Minority
Lindsey Graham just doesn't know when to stop. When is he up for re-election? South Carolina needs to wise up by then.
Ha! Ha! Americans, want stuff but don't want to pay for it, such commies at heart.
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