What We've Always Suspected

...even known to a certain extent. Now we get further confirmation.

IBT headline:

Senator Bob Corker Said He Hasn’t Read The Tax Bill, Denies Changing His Vote In Exchange For Personal Tax Breaks

Josh Keefe and David Sirota:

In a series of rapid-fire telephone interviews, Corker asked IBT for a description of the provision, and then criticized it. But minutes later, he called back to walk back that criticism, saying he wanted to further study the issue, and that it was more complex than he initially understood it to be. Despite potentially holding the fate of the entire tax bill in his hands, Corker told IBT that he has only read a short summary of the $1.4 trillion legislation.

“I had like a two-page summary I went through with leadership,” said Corker. “I never saw the actual text.” Despite not reading the bill -- and having time to read it before the final vote scheduled for this week -- he reiterated his support for the bill to IBT, support he announced hours before bill’s full text was publicly released on Friday.

Corker called IBT to respond to a series of IBT investigative reports showing that he switched his vote to “yes” on the tax legislation, only after Republican leaders added in a provision reducing taxes on income from real-estate LLCs. Federal records reviewed by IBT show Corker, a commercial real estate mogul, made up to $7 million last year from such income. President Donald Trump's financial disclosures listed between $41 million and $68 million of the same income. 

After the report, Corker called IBT and asked for a detailed description of the provision, insisting he did not know about. After the provision was described, he said: “If I understand what [the provision] does, it sounds totally unnecessary and borderline ridiculous.”

A few minutes later, however, Corker called back, and tried to back off that criticism.

So, it seems we get to decide which is worse - Corker trading his vote for personal gain, or that he doesn't know what's in the bill he says he's going to vote for.

At first blush - What the fuck is wrong with these people!?!

The only ray of hope here is that maybe Corker (and Collins, et all) are just stringing them along(?), and they plan on torpedoing the bill, as well as their fucked up leadership, and and and.

Here's an idea, disgruntled Repubs - switch sides.  Or at least caucus with the Dems for a while.

Or better yet - if you're going to trade your votes, trade them for some Honest-to-Pete Campaign Finance Reform.

The problems associated with Corker being so totally in the dark about this legislation are not limited to Bob Corker. Nobody seems to know what's in these things anymore, especially when Repubs are running the joint.

And I think it's because Congress Critters are over-worked. Not over-worked because they spend so much time and energy getting prepped and up to speed on bills and resolutions and stuff (they obviously aren't), but because they have to expend the majority for their efforts on the phones trying to raise enough money to get re-elected. That's an old one, but I think we're seeing a shitload of confirming evidence.

They have to find ways to put more hours into the day.  So basically, they're outsourcing (this is also an oldie but a goodie).  They "hire" staffers from the Lobbying firms or from the industry groups themselves, and hand the project over to them while their office management team oversees the thing - Management Staffers, btw, also often hired from the business interests they're supposed to be policing.

So weirdly, 45* and Bannon are right in saying "The Swamp" and "Deep State", but they're pointing at the wrong people. The professionals doing the real work of governance aren't the problem. The real problem lies in the process whereby we put people in charge of the government who're trying really hard to drive the rank-n-file bureaucracy (the parts that actually work) into the same fucked up swamp as the White House and Congress.

And while I'm at it, Grover Norquist is right too - unfortunately, he's got way too many people supporting his efforts to drown the wrong goddamned thing in that bathtub.

Remember though - it ain't easy. It's complicated and twisted and confusing; and for every difficult gnarly problem there's a solution that's simple and elegant and wrong.

But if we start with the money, the rest of gets a little smoother.

End Citizens United