Cheney helps GOP deliver a lump of coal

December 21, 2005

The outcome wasn’t entirely unexpected, but the Senate vote on spending cuts for low-income families was depressing nevertheless.

The Senate narrowly passed a $40 billion budget-cutting bill today, with Vice President Cheney casting the deciding vote after the chamber split 50-50 on the measure.

Taking his seat as president of the Senate after cutting short a trip to the Middle East, Cheney announced he was voting for the legislation, making the final tally 51-50 in favor of passage…. The budget legislation would trim federal spending growth by nearly $40 billion over the next five years.

And when congressional Republicans do the other half of the budget — they split the budget process in half this year to help hide their recklessness — they’ll cut taxes by nearly twice as much. It’s how Republicans reduce the deficit — by making it bigger.

It’s what we’ve come to expect from GOP lawmakers, but it’s worth taking a moment to recognize where they’re cutting and what it says about their priorities. Specifically, the cuts target low-income health care, child-care programs, child-support enforcement funding, student loans, and foster care programs.

In all, every Dem voted against it, along with five Republicans (Sens. Snowe, DeWine, Collins, Smith, and Chafee). The country needed one more vote, but it wasn’t there.

The Veep definately lives up to his name. Dick!

  • Is this what we’ve come to? All that talk related to the Katrina victims was obviously just a lot of hot air. The reality is that we have a disdainful conservative philospophy – heck Im not even sure this is conservatism anymore…more like fascism.

  • Do Americans simply deserve the government they elected?
    Come ta think of it: was Bush really elected? Perhaps “placed” is a better fit.
    Think of what may be to come……these are early days in this administration.
    Poor electorate!

  • (Sens. Snowe, DeWine, Collins, Smith, and Chafee).

    I don’t see McCain in that list. Can we finally put to bed the notion that McCain is a moderate. Please.

  • Combine these cuts with the results of all of the previous and proposed tax cuts, and there is one obvious phrase that fits the bill:

    Class warfare

    Poor vs Rich, who has the tools & friends to win?

    And NONE of the silk-clad commentators will say it. Does it make anyone out there sick? I am outraged, sick, and depressed about the whole situation.

  • The Republicans declared war on the working poor with this bill. As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities pointed out, this reprehensible measure also rewrote the laws of welfare reform in a way the right could not accomplish through actual debate. More at my blog for those interested, or cbpp.org.

    But the point is, we have to start winning elections.

  • Nice to see that their vaunted “Christian” morals guided the majority on this vote. Screw the poor and give more money to the rich. I’m sure that’s just what Jesus would have done.

    But as long as they’re against abortion and gay marriage, then the religi-zealots are just fine with it.

    Hypocrites!

  • If the Republicans were the minority party in the Senate, I could live with Mike DeWine and George Voinovich (who, to his shame, voted in favor of the budget bill). There’s little resemblance between those two and the radical wing of the GOP.

    But since the Republicans are not the minority – at least for now – they both have to go, starting with DeWine in 2006. And I wold be surprised if Voinovich runs again in 2010.

  • I`m in Ohio too KT,and to me this action is just more of the same thing we`ve had here under a one party rule.Our senators are just part of the old boy`s club running this country. The hole stinking bunch needs to go. I`m popping the popcorn now for the Ney trial and it will be a pleasure to finally see what greed and power has brought to bare on this poor stooge.

  • I’m also waiting to see Ney go down. At least his friends Pryce, Tiberi, and Hopson threw a fundraiser for him a couple of weeks ago. It costs money to mount a competent defense.

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