-By Warner Todd Huston
Keep the following names in your wallet just in case the IRS comes knocking at your door to arrest you for any possible “mistakes” in your payment of federal taxes, won’t you? For these are the names of those Republican Senators that one can rely upon to absolve us for being a tax cheat. In fact, if you play your cards right, you might even get a cushy government job out of the deal. These are the Senators that don’t think being a law abiding tax payer is a necessary requirement for being Secretary of the Treasury:
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
Ensign (R-NV)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Shelby (R-AL)
Snowe (R-ME)
Voinovich (R-OH)
On the other hand, here are those unrelenting bores that seem to insist that tax laws are written in stone and that, darn it all, one should not be given high public office when it is discovered that one is a tax cheat!
Alexander (R-TN), Barrasso (R-WY), Bennett (R-UT), Brownback (R-KS), Bunning (R-KY), Burr (R-NC), Chambliss (R-GA), Coburn (R-OK), Cochran (R-MS), Collins (R-ME), DeMint (R-SC), Enzi (R-WY), Grassley (R-IA), Hutchison (R-TX), Inhofe (R-OK), Isakson (R-GA), Johanns (R-NE), Kyl (R-AZ), Lugar (R-IN), Martinez (R-FL), McCain (R-AZ), McConnell (R-KY), Murkowski (R-AK), Risch (R-ID), Roberts (R-KS), Sessions (R-AL), Specter (R-PA), Thune (R-SD), Vitter (R-LA), Wicker (R-MS)
Heartless of these stick-in-the-mud Senators to expect someone to have actually followed tax laws when being proposed as Secretary of the Treasury, isn’t it?
(And, to be fair, here are the Democrats and Independents that voted against Geithner’s confirmation: Byrd (D-WV), Feingold (D-WI), Harkin (D-IA), Sanders (I-VT))
The following list was obtained from the Senate website:
| Akaka (D-HI), Yea
Alexander (R-TN), Nay Barrasso (R-WY), Nay Baucus (D-MT), YeaBayh (D-IN), Yea Begich (D-AK), Yea Bennet (D-CO), Yea Bennett (R-UT), Nay Bingaman (D-NM), Yea Bond (R-MO), Not Voting Boxer (D-CA), Yea Brown (D-OH), Not Voting Brownback (R-KS), Nay Bunning (R-KY), Nay Burr (R-NC), Nay Burris (D-IL), Yea Byrd (D-WV), Nay Cantwell (D-WA), Yea Cardin (D-MD), Yea Carper (D-DE), Yea Casey (D-PA), Yea Chambliss (R-GA), Nay Coburn (R-OK), Nay Cochran (R-MS), Nay Collins (R-ME), Nay Conrad (D-ND), Yea Corker (R-TN), Yea Cornyn (R-TX), Yea Crapo (R-ID), Yea DeMint (R-SC), Nay Dodd (D-CT), Yea Dorgan (D-ND), Yea Durbin (D-IL), Yea |
Ensign (R-NV), YeaEnzi (R-WY), Nay
Feingold (D-WI), Nay Feinstein (D-CA), Yea Graham (R-SC), Yea Grassley (R-IA), Nay Gregg (R-NH), Yea Hagan (D-NC), Yea Harkin (D-IA), Nay Hatch (R-UT), Yea Hutchison (R-TX), Nay Inhofe (R-OK), Nay Inouye (D-HI), Yea Isakson (R-GA), Nay Johanns (R-NE), Nay Johnson (D-SD), Yea Kaufman (D-DE), Yea Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting Kerry (D-MA), Yea Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea Kohl (D-WI), Yea Kyl (R-AZ), Nay Landrieu (D-LA), Yea Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea Leahy (D-VT), Yea Levin (D-MI), Yea Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Nay Martinez (R-FL), Nay McCain (R-AZ), Nay McCaskill (D-MO), Yea McConnell (R-KY), Nay |
Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
Merkley (D-OR), YeaMikulski (D-MD), Yea Murkowski (R-AK), Nay Murray (D-WA), Yea Nelson (D-FL), Yea Nelson (D-NE), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Yea Reed (D-RI), Yea Reid (D-NV), Yea Risch (R-ID), Nay Roberts (R-KS), Nay Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea Sanders (I-VT), Nay Schumer (D-NY), Yea Sessions (R-AL), Nay Shaheen (D-NH), Yea Shelby (R-AL), Yea Snowe (R-ME), Yea Specter (R-PA), Nay Stabenow (D-MI), Yea Tester (D-MT), Yea Thune (R-SD), Nay Udall (D-CO), Yea Udall (D-NM), Yea Vitter (R-LA), Nay Voinovich (R-OH), Yea Warner (D-VA), Yea Webb (D-VA), Yea Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea Wicker (R-MS), Nay Wyden (D-OR), Not Voting |
| Alabama: | Sessions (R-AL), Nay | Shelby (R-AL), Yea |
| Alaska: | Begich (D-AK), Yea | Murkowski (R-AK), Nay |
| Arizona: | Kyl (R-AZ), Nay | McCain (R-AZ), Nay |
| Arkansas: | Lincoln (D-AR), Yea | Pryor (D-AR), Yea |
| California: | Boxer (D-CA), Yea | Feinstein (D-CA), Yea |
| Colorado: | Bennet (D-CO), Yea | Udall (D-CO), Yea |
| Connecticut: | Dodd (D-CT), Yea | Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea |
| Delaware: | Carper (D-DE), Yea | Kaufman (D-DE), Yea |
| Florida: | Martinez (R-FL), Nay | Nelson (D-FL), Yea |
| Georgia: | Chambliss (R-GA), Nay | Isakson (R-GA), Nay |
| Hawaii: | Akaka (D-HI), Yea | Inouye (D-HI), Yea |
| Idaho: | Crapo (R-ID), Yea | Risch (R-ID), Nay |
| Illinois: | Burris (D-IL), Yea | Durbin (D-IL), Yea |
| Indiana: | Bayh (D-IN), Yea | Lugar (R-IN), Nay |
| Iowa: | Grassley (R-IA), Nay | Harkin (D-IA), Nay |
| Kansas: | Brownback (R-KS), Nay | Roberts (R-KS), Nay |
| Kentucky: | Bunning (R-KY), Nay | McConnell (R-KY), Nay |
| Louisiana: | Landrieu (D-LA), Yea | Vitter (R-LA), Nay |
| Maine: | Collins (R-ME), Nay | Snowe (R-ME), Yea |
| Maryland: | Cardin (D-MD), Yea | Mikulski (D-MD), Yea |
| Massachusetts: | Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting | Kerry (D-MA), Yea |
| Michigan: | Levin (D-MI), Yea | Stabenow (D-MI), Yea |
| Minnesota: | Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea | |
| Mississippi: | Cochran (R-MS), Nay | Wicker (R-MS), Nay |
| Missouri: | Bond (R-MO), Not Voting | McCaskill (D-MO), Yea |
| Montana: | Baucus (D-MT), Yea | Tester (D-MT), Yea |
| Nebraska: | Johanns (R-NE), Nay | Nelson (D-NE), Yea |
| Nevada: | Ensign (R-NV), Yea | Reid (D-NV), Yea |
| New Hampshire: | Gregg (R-NH), Yea | Shaheen (D-NH), Yea |
| New Jersey: | Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea | Menendez (D-NJ), Yea |
| New Mexico: | Bingaman (D-NM), Yea | Udall (D-NM), Yea |
| New York: | Schumer (D-NY), Yea | |
| North Carolina: | Burr (R-NC), Nay | Hagan (D-NC), Yea |
| North Dakota: | Conrad (D-ND), Yea | Dorgan (D-ND), Yea |
| Ohio: | Brown (D-OH), Not Voting | Voinovich (R-OH), Yea |
| Oklahoma: | Coburn (R-OK), Nay | Inhofe (R-OK), Nay |
| Oregon: | Merkley (D-OR), Yea | Wyden (D-OR), Not Voting |
| Pennsylvania: | Casey (D-PA), Yea | Specter (R-PA), Nay |
| Rhode Island: | Reed (D-RI), Yea | Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea |
| South Carolina: | DeMint (R-SC), Nay | Graham (R-SC), Yea |
| South Dakota: | Johnson (D-SD), Yea | Thune (R-SD), Nay |
| Tennessee: | Alexander (R-TN), Nay | Corker (R-TN), Yea |
| Texas: | Cornyn (R-TX), Yea | Hutchison (R-TX), Nay |
| Utah: | Bennett (R-UT), Nay | Hatch (R-UT), Yea |
| Vermont: | Leahy (D-VT), Yea | Sanders (I-VT), Nay |
| Virginia: | Warner (D-VA), Yea | Webb (D-VA), Yea |
| Washington: | Cantwell (D-WA), Yea | Murray (D-WA), Yea |
| West Virginia: | Byrd (D-WV), Nay | Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea |
| Wisconsin: | Feingold (D-WI), Nay | Kohl (D-WI), Yea |
| Wyoming: | Barrasso (R-WY), Nay | Enzi (R-WY), Nay |
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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, Human Events Magazine, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston
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Cornyn? I am disappointed, definitely didn’t see that one coming.