WTF? Why was Gabby Giffords alone in the Arizona Democratic delegation in voting with President Bush and the GOP crazies to permanently and completely repeal the dynasty tax?
On Wednesday the House, voting 196 for and 212 against, defeated a
Republican motion to HR 3056 (above) that sought to permanently repeal
the estate tax on Jan. 1, 2011.The levy, one of President Bush’s tax cuts, is being reduced
between 2001 and 2009 and repealed in 2010, and then will return in
2011 at pre-2001 levels.A yes vote backed the GOP motion.Yes: Renzi, Franks, Shadegg, Flake, Giffords.No: Pastor, Mitchell, Grijalva.
Even Mitchell, whom I have pilloried several times for his support of making the Bush dynasty tax cuts permanent, had the good sense to say no to this outrageous attack on economic fairness and meritocracy in this country.
I’m open to explanations. I have asked Giffords’ office and haven’t yet received any acknowledgment or explanation of what is, obviously, a very unacceptable vote for plutocracy in America. This vote violates the fundamental core principles of the Democratic party. If she cast this vote, Gabby should be ashamed.
Discover more from Blog for Arizona
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
With Motorcycles in her livingroom(saying she wants to motorcycle to Panama through Mexico) and three personal houses dating an astronaught who has had girlfriends who use diapers to plan on killing other girlfriends does not sound like Giffords is planning on passing on anything!
From IRS.gov:
“Most gifts are not subject to the gift tax and most estates are not subject to the estate tax. (Only about 2% of all estates are subject to the estate tax).”
“Most relatively simple estates (cash, publicly traded securities, small amounts of other, easily valued assets and no special deductions or elections or jointly held property) with a total value under $1,000,000 and a date of death in 2002 or 2003, under $1,500,000 and a date of death in 2004 or 2005, and under $2,000,000 and a date of death in 2006 or 2007 do not require the filing of an estate tax return.”
As far as I’m concerned, they can up that two million to four or five million. Then we can be assured that the estate tax will only affect the wealthiest of the wealthy.
I guess we can presume that the Giffords family has more than two million to pass on to the next generation.
She is no Kucinich or Grijalva…
Those guys have a solid record of putting people before profits.
Gabby votes for her class, because she is a class act.
And profits are what makes for class warfare, and classless comments about Gabby’s obvious self interest.
Gabby’s CD 8 district is NOT majority Republican. The indies and democrats together leave the Republicans looking for voters, as they have a plurality, not a majority.
Registering independent is a purgatory for those who dislike ‘belonging’ to an organization, or team. Independents force the parties to either pander or ignore their status as protest voters.
Voting against the Estate Tax is not an independent vote, and it surprisingly does not get that many Rs excited.
But it will make Gabby much wealthier, long term. She wins.
The choice would not be Bee, of course.
I would hope that she would see a primary challenge from a non-blue dog Democrat.
I suggest that repeal of the inheritance tax is a very real social issue.
And she is on the wrong side.
There are probably not a hundred people in her district who would be affected by a phase out of the Inheritance Tax.
If they are controlling her, she is not much better than Bee.
If she lacks the ability to understand the issues there, she shouldn’t be in Congress as a Democrat.
The choice would not be Bee, of course.
I would hope that she would see a primary challenge from a non-blue dog Democrat.
I suggest that repeal of the inheritance tax is a very real social issue.
And she is on the wrong side.
There are probably not a hundred people in her district who would be affected by a phase out of the Inheritance Tax.
If they are contreolling her, she is no better than Bee.
If she lacke the ability to understand the issues there, she shouldn’t be in Congress as a Democrat.,
Meta,
She voted for the SCHIP program as she has on many important social issues. If you have forgotten, the GOP and Tim Bee will be reminding you just how liberal she is in the coming months.
No…she is no Kucinich or Grijalva…I agree, but her district is majority republican and yet she has still done quite a lot for what most of us stand for.
She is the same as a Republican.
If she votes against the S-CHIP veto override, ie with Bush on that one too, I will be looking for a recall movement.
It’s mostly the Blue Dogs. When you are part of a coalition you have to be somewhat in agreement with their positions and vote accordingly.
CD8’s got a Blue Dog.
Woof.
I suspect that Duke is absolutely right. Not saying that she might not simply believe in her vote, mind you, but it looks like triangulation on a bill that she knew was going down to defeat…kind of strateegery for the campaign.
Duke,
Good points.
Michael,
This goes back a ways, but I do not think that their position has essentially changed. This is from a 2001 interview with two Blue Dog Reps. (Boyd, DeFazio):
“The framework for the Blue Dog budget is rooted in fiscal responsibility. We advocate the need to pay down the national public debt and ensure the solvency of Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds. The Blue Dogs’ budget proposal for fiscal 2001 followed the model of 50-25-25, meaning that 50 percent of the budget surplus (excluding Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund surpluses) would be used to pay down the national debt, while 25 percent would fund tax cuts, and the remaining 25 percent would be used to fuel the nation’s priority programs. This plan would have eliminated the national publicly held debt by 2010 (two years earlier than other plans). This plan also would have provided significant tax relief, targeting much-needed areas such as the marriage penalty and the eventual repeal of the estate tax.”
I agree with Duke.
I think there is some degree of personal interest too — Giffords’ parents are reasonably well off, to the extent any inheritance might be affected by the estate tax … but as Duke notes, if her vote were needed she would have voted against. Since Dems had enough votes to win, she voted the way she did to retain a more centrist position for the 2008 election.
I thought you guys were a bit sharper when it comes to political strategy. Gabby must distance herself as much as possible from Nancy Pelosi so Tim Bee can’t draw the comparison. While in the incumbent protection program, the Dem house leadership allows freshmen in swing districts to occasionally vote with the opposition on somewhat conservative issues when the Dems have enough votes.
Rest assured if it was close, Gabby would have voted with the Dems. Since there was a buffer, they let her vote with the right.
If you guys aren’t happy with her, why don’t you recruit Jeff Latas to run?
He’d at least maintain a degree of integrity if he were up there.
Michael,
One of the comments above is from me and I think I mentioned all the popular arguments in favor of repealing the estate tax permanently. There aren’t that many. What it comes down to is that wealthy people want to pass on their wealth to their heirs without it being taxed. Heirs want to inherit their wealth without paying taxed.
As for Giffords, maybe it’s the position of the Blue Dogs.
This is not one of your more complex issues. Wealthy people want to keep all of their wealth.
I think we get the idea, Dwight. Does anyone OTHER than Dwight have some insight on this?
As the Sectretary of the Treasury said yesterday Paulson the past CEO of Goldmann Sachs that we have 59 and a half TRILLION Dollars of UNFUNDED LIABILITIES in the U.S. Government and China is now holding ONE and a HALF TRILLION of U.S. Treasury in there banks!
Do you think any President or Congress or Senate Candidate has any credibility promising you and me the Taxpayer MORE Government run programs like National Healthcare masked as being for the Children under the S-Chip Program insuring 10 million kids of families who earn 100,000 per year?!
33% of those kids are illegal Mexican Nationals?
This will only cost 50 BILLION more of The taxpayers money charged off to the States says the millionare Pelosi from the weird city of San FranCisco!
Most of the Giffords millionaires tracks to Pelosi and Boxer and Barbara Fenstein worth over 100 million each and Harry Reid the Nevada Property swapper in Arizona!
These are people who represent the Middle Class and poor Democratic Voter ; another laugh; Ha;Ha;Ha;Ha;Ha!!!!!!!
Its more than just putting a Democrat in the White House or in the House or Senate!
Lets try getting some representation of we the taxpayers instead of those who demand MORE and MORE of our tax DOLLARS for there stupid programs; as Hillary said are “TO MANY TO FUND??????????????”
I think some people on this blog are living to close to the UofA and The City of Tucson; CD* represents some pretty demographically high income groups; Oro Valley’s average income per family is $90,000 per year compared to The City of Tucson’s average of $25,000 per year.
Giffords herself own’s three houses plus business property and is the manager of El Campo LLC.
You think she speaks for the average voter?? Ha;Ha;Ha;Ha;Ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Liza your on the right track; Giffords is AGAINST removing the Capitol Gains Tax that is included in the Estate Tax Bill; as a New York Stock Broker she is working for people like Goldman Sachs.
As for Mikes reference to Click Automotive Giffords as El Campo Tire was CONTRACTED BY JIM CLICK to do work on used cars for his dealerships; she is a HACK for Jim Click also!
“I’m open to explanations.”
She probably does not want to pay estate taxes, but I’m sure someone in her office is working up some blah blah blah on why she voted this way. Isn’t there some argument about how estate taxes are really a double tax or a tax on the dead or a hardship for farm families? Maybe she’ll say that tax cuts stimulate the economy and trickle down to the impoverished people.
I’m going to go with my first impression.
Face it Folks would’nt it be great to have a REAL DEMOCRAT speaking your voices instead of that of The Tucson Chamber Of Commerce and The Atuo and Real Estate Lobby?
I think Giffords Money Problem of McNulty wanting $4 Million in the Bank to run against Bee is a Joke!
Giffords mailed me one of those MONEY ENVELOPES and I put a Clinton 3 Dollar Bill in it and mailed it back to her!
(during the Clinton Administration Clinton 3 dollar bills were the rage and I bought a briefcase full, they are a scream with for sale signs posted on the White House Lawn ; saying The Disgruntled States of America and a Queer Reserve Note; and a serial number of 00ICU812!
In THREE DOLLAR BILL WE TRUST!!
Boy I can’t wait to take on this Money @^^$# in the 2008 Campaign; the Hell with Bee!
Might I ask how many of you on this blog have a Personal Family Trust as does Giffords?
Trust Babies hate paying Estate Taxes!
As Lisa put it a few blogs ago : “Giffords is nothing more than a Property Manager!”
As I have put it for over a year ” Giffords is a Republican Businesswoman turned Democratic for Political opportunity!”
Look at her personal contributors , they are Republican Business People!
I also point out her FAMILY TRUST being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year by the City of Tucson’s Mike Hein for a El Campo Property NOT located in the rio Nuevo Project for 55 yaers , for almost 6 million dollars of Tax Payers Money and Enviornmental Clean-up plus all property taxes!
Anyone who wants MILLION DOLLAR BILLS for her Congressional Campaign spits on you and me the taxpayer!