Ahh, the Party of Hypocrites strikes again:
A Republican election-year effort to combine a cut in inheritance taxes on multimillion-dollar estates with the first minimum-wage increase in nearly a decade was rejected by the Senate late Thursday.
Republicans needed 60 votes to advance their bill, which links a $2.10 increase in the $5.15 federal minimum wage over three years to reductions an estate taxes next decade. But the measure fell four votes short, 56-42.
The Demorats are worked up into a lather over the estate tax, something that most rich people do not worry about, since they hide that money in trusts. Just ask Ted "Swimmer" Kennedy and the rest of his clan what old Joe did with his money, which provides a nice dividend to the Kennedy's.
Democrats said voters would understand their opposition. "The American people won't fall for it," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Will they? Or will they just see that the Democrats voted against raising minimum wage because of a tax that doesn't effect those making minimum wage?
The estate tax effects the middle class more then any other. They cannot afford to hide their money like the really rich do. But, that doesn't matter to the Democrats. They have to stick to their "hate the rich" talking points to a higher extent then to their "we care about the poor."
"While we have strong concerns about the minimum wage hike, we're supportive of permanent relief of the estate tax," said a letter to lawmakers from Dan Danner, executive vice president of the National Federation of Independent Business. "If Congress needs to address the federal minimum wage level this year, we believe it should be addressed in a package that also provides significant relief for small businesses. … The bill does just that."
Hmmm, small business supported it. Must have been a good Bill, since usually you hear that a raise in the minimum wage would hurt them the most.
Only four Democrats crossed the line to vote for the Bill (HR 5970), Nelson (Fla), Nelson (Wa), Byrd, and Lincoln. Voinovich, Chafee, and Frist voted nay from the GOP side. So, 39 Dems said "NO" to helping the poor. Baucuss and Lieberman did not vote.
Also, what the hell is Frist talking about?
A bill combining an estate tax cut with a boost in the federal minimum wage, an election-year combination engineered by Republicans, may see another vote this fall.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., told senators who voted against the bill to "rethink long and hard" during the four-week recess that began early Friday. Congress reconvenes in September.
Unless there was a mistake in the Roll Call, Frist voted against cloture to consider the measure.
Quick update: what the article that refers to Frist failed to mention is that, once he saw the Cloture would fail, he switched his vote to Nay, which will allow him to reintroduce the measure in the fall.
