I’m not one of those conservatives who tag as “RINO” some moderate Republicans elected from Democratic-leaning states. The only Republicans who I would so label are those like former Nebraska Senator Hagel and former Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee as well as former Republican Lowell Weicker (he left the GOP after Joe Lieberman beat him in 1988) who regularly badmouth their party and belittle its policies
While some Republicans,including Maine’s two senators don’t always toe the party line, neither do they bash their party to curry favor with the MSM and the Washington establishment as did those three individuals. It is a question of tone. When they’re at odds with their party, they may take issue with the GOP leadership, but on the level of ideas.
I have always had a soft spot for Susan Collins, Maine’s junior Senator. Maybe it’s that she holds, with ease, a seat in a state that hasn’t voted Republican for president since eight years before her first election. Or maybe it’s that she’s shown a commitment to the GOP in rhetoric if not (entirely) in record.
Today, via Allahpundit, who offers some gratuitous attacks on her (calling her RINO), we see her explaining her vote against the confirmation of Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary. I know there was a reason I liked this lady!
This good woman just doesn’t mince her words. Kudos, Senator.
Oh, and, if you hadn’t known Andrea Mitchell worked for a “news” network, you’d think she was a flack for the Obama Administration.
UPDATE: McCain was not among the 10 Republicans voting to confirm Geithner. So far doesn’t look like McCain is caving to Obama to curry favor with the media, as some conservatives predicted he would. Had the Republicans united against him, he would have been confirmed with only 50 votes.
One of tax cheat Tim Geithners first proclamations should be to forgo pending tax cheat prosecutions.Then pardon any tax cheat convictions that took place from 2000 til now, the period of his illegalities. If I were questioning him during hearings I would have gotten this promise. Then still voted against him. The fact that he got a majority of Senators to confirm him, proves how out of touch all of them are. Dems and Repubs conbined. A tragedy. It astounds me that the people don’t hold their representatives accountable for these kinds of atrocities.
I was wondering why the GOP didn’t try filibustering this nominee the way the Dhimmicrats attempted to do so during the Bush years.
Whoever voted for this lying cheating loser for Treasury Secretary on the GOP side deserves to lose in their party primary in 2010 or 2012.
Regards,
Peter H.
Did Andrea Mitchell, NBC News, Washington, just say that Geithner is “uniquely qualified”?
Qualified to do what, exactly? I don’t think I’d let him prepare my tax returns (paltry as they will be). His work (or Paulson’s, W’s, etc) hasn’t been all that helpful.
Kudos, Senator Collins.
I might add that Senator Inhofe’s comments were on point as well.
I emailed her and thanked her. If you want republicans to stand up for what’s right more often, it doesn’t hurt to praise them when they do it.
The two aren’t mutually exclusive. The MSM looks more and more like the Ministry of Truth every day.
Truly, our first Douche Bag Treasury Secretary.
Okay, maybe not the *first*. But definitely, the biggest douche bag.
Therefore, I assume that Robert Reich would qualify as the smallest douche bag Treasury Secretary.
With this vote today, the Senate didn’t just confirm a new Treasury Secretary. They simultaneously voted to change the substantive tax law to include the “Geithner Defense.”
Dan, thanks for giving a moderate GOPer credit where credit is due.
If there was an Obama cabinet choice that should have drawn 41 GOP No votes, it’s Timmie-the-Tax-Cheat. McConnell needs to either find some balls & discipline those 11 GOP Senators who voted for this bold-faced tax cheat or step aside from minority leader.
McConnell’s inside-the-beltway antics make Bob Dole’s legacy look positively shining by comparison. Why did the conference have to pick him?
(btw Bruce, I think midget boi robbie reich was Labor Sec, not T-Sec)
Yea, Sen. Collins! You did our state proud by declining to vote for the tax cheater. Now, for all those who dismissed Sue Collins as a RINO: aren’t you glad she’s in the Senate & not Tom Allen (who surely would have voted to confirm)?
I find the paranoia you have towards the media to be quite funny.
I find Kevin’s non-sequetors to be quite annoying.
The Tim Geithner On-Line tax calculator.
Geithner was confirmed. Collins just won herself a huge constituency.
I’m still unconvinced by the accusation “tax cheat”. He made an error in withholding for four years; the error was corrected at audit prior to his being nominated for Treasurer; and tax, interest and penalty was immediately payed for the two years that were legally-due under US tax law…and he paid the additional two years later to avoid the “appearance” of impropriety even though legally he had no legal obligation to do so.
So what…..? Adjustments, corrections and interest and civil penalties occur all the time in unscheduled and scheduled audits. Even CPA and tax accountants can disagree over deductions and filings on the same return. This happens all the time without the intent of evasion. Having an adjusted or corrected tax-filing serve as a defacto disqualification for public service is ridiculous and petty…
Ted, the tax cheat angle is legit, fair and an honest label.
Timmie-the-tax-cheat was employed by the non-withholding International Monetary Fund. The IMF, enjoying the parallel tax status of the UN, World Bank and other “international” institutions operating inside the US doesn’t withhold and posit federal, state or local employment taxes to the US Treasury. It’s the workers’ responsiblity to see that task is done.
Employees are required to forward those payments and the necessary forms. The employees’ salaries are padded to accomodate their obligation to self-pay taxes under fed requirements. If timmie-the-tax-cheat was making about $193,000 at the IMF as, what you and I would think of his “take home pay”, the $193k would have been padded with an additional 21.8% to allow timmie-the-tax-cheat to pay what you and I would think of as his employers’ conventional tax obligations for fed, state and local payroll/income taxes. By not paying those taxes, timmie-the-tax-cheat pocketed those funds –until he got caught. Plus, of course, his own share of employee taxes which he also didn’t forward to Treasury.
The IMF has 7 tax attorneys on staff and 9 attys/CPAs on retainer to assist employees with any questions they have regarding their required self-payment of tax obligations. Additionally, each employee is given repeated advisements, memos, pay stub inserts etc to keep the employees apprised of those obligations. Quarterly “training sessions” are held to inform employees of their obligations. And on and on and on. Was he an Ivy League-trained bad reader? Was he a poor listener because of his silver-spooned life-long embrace of elite privilege? Or did he think those nasty tax obligations were for the common people to pay… not someone as privileged as Timmie. He says it’s because he thought the IMF was taking care of those payments… even though his pay stub never showed disbursements or withholdings to that effect.
And let’s remember, he never paid the taxes until he was caught and even then he got a big-assed, not for you and I, tax break from the IRS.
It’s kind of hard to sit back, as Timmie-the-tax-cheat just did, and credibly claim he made an honest mistake.
He meant to say “It’s an honest mistake I hoped the IRS wouldn’t catch me on since they very, very rarely audit international agency employees”. In fact, the international agencies have a special diplomatic protection that doesn’t require them to even disclose their employee lists in-country.
Tax cheat is a fair label. Unfortunately, in DC and on the Hill, nearly everyone there is a tax cheat on one level or another… so it’s like someone claiming you lied to Congress… which of course, the only members & staff get to do with great pleasure every single day of the year to anyone they come into contact.
Tax cheat is being fair. And it’s being kind to Timmie-the-tax-cheat. He’s a willful evader –or else he’s the world’s worst reader and listener.
by nearly a 2-to-1 vote, he was confirmed. Those voting against him will rue the day they did. Why does the GOP hate America so much?
By nearly a 2-to-1 vote, he was confirmed. Those voting for him will rue the day they did. Why does the Dhimmicrat Party hate America so much?
There, nutso – fixed it for you. Because, as we all know, if it’s good for America, it’s bad for the Dhimmicrats. And vice versa.
PS – Remember the Fiesta Bowl 2009. My team clobbered your team. Deal with it.
Regards,
Peter H.
Speaking of Sen. Snowe – she and her compadre Olympia Snowe (RINO – Maine) as well as Arlen Specter (RINO – Pa) have voted to allow the Mexico City Abortion funding along with 57 other Dhimmicrats.
The killing of innocent babies is on YOUR heads, ladies. I hope you can sleep tonight.
Regards,
Peter H.
Peter, I think our former President’s outgoing words of advice to GOP stalwarts was on target: He advised the GOP to move away from all the litmus tests, the issue purity tests and the obsession with making over the GOP into something that excludes many and includes only white, angry male cynics.
The tent ain’t getting filled if GOPers continue to exclude actual office holders who get elected in their respective states. You might not want NARAL or NEA or UAW leaders heading up the next GOP Convention’s Platform Committee, but pro-Choice GOPers aren’t the enemy. They’re a GOPer who gets us one step closer to majority.
#18 – MMatt, with all due respect I disagree. The GOP is not made up of “angry white males” and I am certainly not one of them. Also, we should learn from our mistakes in 2008 – if you hack off your base of conservative, pro-life, anti-big-government voters with your choice of candidate, you will lose the race. Conservatism wins every time it has been implemented.
Furthermore, it is the DNC which is adamantly pro-choice and has consistently refused to let their pro-life members address their conventions, much less contribute to their party platform. Why not allow their disaffected voters to crossover vote with us, rather than having this type of wedge issue cleave the GOP in two?
Plus, I find it completely hypocritical that Catholics in the DNC (Kennedy, Kerry, Pelosi to name a few) are so vehemently pro-choice and are not called down for it. Madam Speaker herself wants to implement a Mao-type family planning solution using contraceptives!
Sorry, but I think the more the GOP sticks to its core beliefs, the more likely it is for us to regain the majority and perhaps the White House.
I saw one guy refer to himself as “a member of the oogedy-boogedy wing of the GOP.” I guess you could that I’m a proud member of the gayfella-feigala wing of the party. Rock on.
Regards,
Peter H.