Dear Editor,

To borrow from Shakespeare, “hypocrisy, thy name is Mitch McConnell.” I was away for the Thanksgiving holiday and reading the weekend paper. I was amazed by the op-ed submitted by our senior senator.  

Jim Porter did a fine job outlining McConnell’s omissions from said op-ed. I would like to focus on two areas Jim did not address. First, McConnell states that working with Trump, they want to “fundamentally rethink the complex and outdated tax code.” He adds, “to make it actually work for middle-class families and small businesses.”

I applaud that idea. However, the proposed tax bill does not “rethink” or make it “work for middle-class families.”

This tax bill is a primarily a gift to corporations and the wealthiest Americans (many of whom own the corporations). Trying to sell it as a middle-class tax cut is a lie.

The horse trading to get the 50 votes necessary has been fevered. To secure Sen. Murkowski from Alaska, a provision to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration has been added. How does that benefit middle class families? To get our own Sen. Paul, a provision to repeal the individual mandate from the ACA is included. That will lead to 13 million more uninsured Americans. How does that benefit the middle class?

Experts on both sides of the political spectrum agree that this tax bill will explode the deficit in the trillions of dollars. How does that benefit the middle class? Jim outlines the deductions lost for the middle class in this bill but McConnell ignores those concerns.

Second, the most glaring hypocrisy is McConnell’s claim that the Democrats are a “party bent on opposition.” McConnell has selective memory as he turned the Republican party into the “party bent on opposition” when President Obama was elected and he failed to make him a one-term president. Right now, that Democratic opposition is all that stands between our democracy and an oligarchy.

This vote is imminent. Do your research. Do not just swallow what McConnell has said and written. The bill is being hurried to a vote through the budget reconciliation process even though it is a “complex” issue that impacts the majority of our economy.

Call Sen. McConnell at (202) 224-2541 and Sen. Paul at (202) 224-4343 and tell them that you want tax reform that is actually reform, not a gift to the wealthiest Americans.

Julie Pease

Danville