Thinking about the #CorkerKickback as I watch “All The President’s Men”

I know I should be studying up on the so-called “Corker kickback“, and what appears to have been a successful attempt on the part of Republicans to actually purchase a vote for their unpopular tax plan, but, with all last night’s talk about Nixon and the Saturday Night Massacre, I’ve decided to just lay in bed with a pint glass of scotch and watch All The President’s Men.

Before I leave you, though, here’s just one thought about Republican Bob Corker, who, as you’ll recall, initially voted against the tax bill because it would increase the federal deficit… “I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that I believe, based on the information I currently have, could deepen the debt burden on future generations,” Corker said a few weeks ago, when he was the single Republican to vote against the controversial legislation, which would transfer billions of dollars in wealth from working American families to the super rich. Now, though, Corker says he intends to vote yes on the bill, even though it would still add an estimated $1.5 trillion to the deficit – the same as the original bill he voted down. While the impact on the deficit didn’t really change, however, a few other things did. For instance, the Republicans, just prior to Corker’s change of heart, added a provision in the bill that would further enrich the Senator from Tennessee, who is already worth approximately $50,717,522. When asked about this strange coincidence today, Corker, the former “deficit hawk,” responded by saying that he wasn’t aware of the change. In fact, he said he hadn’t even read the bill he’s now supporting. “I never saw the actual text,” he told reporters… which kind of begs the question, “Why, if this bill still adds $1.5 trillion to the deficit, did you decide to change your vote, especially without having read it?” Far be it for me to tell anyone what to do, but, if I lived in Tennessee, and had a net worth of less than $10 million, I’d be looking for something to smash and set on fire right now.

[Information on how to push back against this horrifically cruel and poorly thought through tax bill, which is supposed to go to a vote on Tuesday in both the House and Senate, can be found here.]