Republicans Hold 9/11 first responders and America Hostage for Billionaire Tax Break
In a segment titled "Lame-as-F@#k Congress," Comedy Central's Jon Stewart ripped Republicans Monday for using tax cuts as an excuse for not to pass other important legislation.Poor misunderstood Republicans. They see Billionaires as people who work their asses off to make America a better place, and average working people like EMTs, fire fighters and police as peons who should be grateful to their wealthy overlords for even having a job.
As the lame duck session began, all 42 GOP senators signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid promising to prevent a vote on any legislation until the Bush-era tax cuts had been extended for every American.
As a result, the Senate won't take up take up the repeal of the military's gay ban, known as "don't ask, don't tell." The DREAM Act which would have provided a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who entered the US as children won't be voted on. And the 9/11 first responders health care bill won't be passed.
"I get the other two but since when does the Republican Party make 9/11 first responders stand over in the corner with the gays and Mexicans?" Stewart joked.
"That's inspiring. When a party stands together there's nothing it can't prevent from getting done," he said.
One Republican that caught Stewart's attention was Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming.
In a New York Daily News op-ed, Enzi complained that some of the previous money appropriated by Congress to help 9/11 first responders had gone missing.
Stewart noted that Enzi did support Iraq funding after the Pentagon announced $15 billion had mysteriously disappeared.
At the time, Enzi said, "This isn't a perfect bill... The fact remains, however, that we need to fund our troops... so I will support the supplemental bill."
"Unless any of these guys are 9/11 responders and in that case, fuck those guys," Stewart added.
