Tam has the snark.
I find it mildly ironic that Rep. Frank, generally a big fan of rules and regulations, got all bent out of shape when some got applied to him, as though he were some... some... commoner or something.
On the plus side, he's been pretty foursquare against various national ID proposals, so maybe he was just being ideologically consistent.
And, seriously, Barney... a dollar? All this fuss for a buck? How come you never raise this kind of a stink when it's my money you're spending like a drunken sailor on shore leave in Bangkok?
It's the commoner part.
Victor Davis Hanson has some related thoughts. Specifically on Kerry's tax haven boat.
Second, there is a disturbing pattern here: Those who are most adamant in pressing for higher taxes, rather than emphasizing spending cuts, themselves seem to be the most ready to cheat on their own taxes — think of a Dodd, Geithner, Kerry, or Rangel. That narrative of hypocrisy ties into a larger and disturbing trend: Could it be that leftist populists who rail against the unfairness of the system and activists who call for radical political and lifestyle changes are motivated by a need for psychological exemptions for their very concrete indulgences?
Surely if one were to collate what John Edwards has said about two Americas, what Al Gore has said about frivolous consumption and its effect on the environment, and Tom Friedman’s eloquent warnings about unsustainable Western lifestyles, one would never imagine the thousands of square footage in living space that each sees as essential to his own existence.
Not only do you get to save the world, but you get to be well-compensated and have your position secured.
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