Apparently thrilled that corporations are now able to hide their money in political campaigns, Republicans in unison, voted against allowing the Disclose Act from ending debate in the Senate, and preventing a vote on the bill itself, even though it passed the House three months ago.
If passed, the Disclose Act would have required corporations to disclose their political spending, and barred government contractors from spending directly on elections. Makes sense, because people should have the right to know which candidates companies are spending their money on, and contractors would have a clear, self-serving interest in supporting or getting rid of members of Congress, in what is an obvious quid pro quo. After all, wouldn't you want to know if KBR was pumping hundreds of thousands of dollars to support pro-war members of Congress, in an effort to maintain a war machine?
In related news, Senate leader Harry Reid has put off a vote on the Bush tax cuts set to expire this year, until after the elections.
That's a cop out and a failed strategy, if I've ever seen one. Seeing as only about 1/3 of Americans polled support extending all tax cuts, the Democratic leadership just caved in to their Blue Dogs for no good reason. That money could have been diverted towards the REAL small businesses whose direct investment in new software and equipment could have driven manufacturing and job growth, as opposed to tax cuts for those who pass their income directly to their 1040 via Schedule C.
I am annoyed.
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