Tonight, the stench of hypocrisy rising from DC is overwhelming

Warning: rant ahead.

I had one more post for the week in me, but wasn't sure what it was going to be about.

I thought about writing about a web misdirection incident, first reported by Dan Nowicki at azcentral.com's Plugged In. Someone registered four websites that look like they belong to Republican candidate for Governor Don Goldwater. However, anybody visiting those sites would be redirected to Governor Napolitano's campaign site.

While it's worthy of a couple of chuckles, the prank is too sophomoric to be worth more.

I thought about writing about D17 State Rep Laura Knaperek's ties to the ultra conservative Christian political group The Center for Arizona Policy to illustrate the point I made in a previous post that she talks like a moderate when she is around constituents, but acts and votes like a hard-line ideologue when Joe and Jane Average and the little Averages aren't looking.

But that's a little too wonky, and that topic is better suited for closer to the primary and/or general election.

Then the U.S. House Republican leadership dropped a gift in my lap. A cynically, abominably hypocritical gift that stinks to high heaven, but a gift nonetheless.

They tied a minimum wage hike to permanent reduction of the federal estate tax and ramrodded it to a vote late on Friday night. Actually, 1:41 a.m. EDT on Saturday morning.

Bill Thomas (R-CA) controlled the debate on the Republican side, with Charles Rangel (D-NY) leading the Democrats.

The debate went as expected, with the Democrats decrying the crass politics involved, and the Republicans blatantly displaying their contempt for the Democrats, mocking them at every turn. This is one where the written record will in no way express the utter vileness of the Republican speakers. The Republicans to a man (and woman - Nancy Johnson (R-CT) was part of this little Republican railroad job) were openly smarmy, saccharin and sarcastic. Their tones of voice told a story far different than the words they were saying.

Anybody who TiVO'ed the debate, or might be able to get it from CSPAN or YouTube, should send it to the opponent of every Repub who spoke tonight. Letting voters see for themselves the open contempt with which they treated the Democrats and the working poor is the best way to defeat them.

JD Hayworth was the only Republican water-carrier from AZ who spoke on the bill.

He described the Democrats as "Orwellian" and quoted from Alice in Wonderland ("curiouser and curiouser") when belittling the Democrats' objections to coupling approx. $4000 per year of help for the 7,000,000 poorest working Americans (of course, only if they can work for it) with a blatant giveaway of BILLION$ to the wealthiest ones.

As bad as JD was, Thomas was the worst. After almost every Democratic speaker, he would take 30 seconds of his side's time to mock the Dem speaker. The FDA may have to declare the floor of the House to be a cancer 'hot-spot' because of the amount of saccharin he spewed tonight.

I expect this kind of behavior in the amateur hour known as the AZ Lege, but not in a body that is supposed to be the 'big leagues'.

Anyway, the final vote was 230 in favor, 180 opposed, 1 present, and 22 not voting. And 34 Democrats crossed over to support the Reps. Arrggghhh! They gave this one to the Reps.

For the AZ delegation:

Ayes - Hayworth, Franks, Shadegg, Kolbe, Renzi

Nays - Flake (WTF? Maybe he's got something the others don't. Like a soul. Or maybe he just hates poor people more than he worships the ultra wealthy. Got to look into that. ), Pastor, Grijalva.

Two weeks ago, I wrote that I was almost ashamed to be a Democrat (over the DCCC removal of an ad from their website due to Republican objections); tonight, I am proud to be one, thanks to Charlie Rangel, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Sander Levin, Jay Inslee, and the rest of the Democrats who stood up against the overwhelming hypocrisy of the Republicans. Still ticked about the removal of the ad, though. :)

The only shame that I feel now is that I have to tell people that my congressman is JD Hayworth.

That shame will turn around in November.

Note: a more objective (i.e. less angry) analysis of the events of the evening can be found here, and a news report here. Also, Desert Beacon has a pretty good, though almost as angry, recap (spread over a few posts).

Have a great weekend, everybody!