The Republicans passed their disastrous tax legislation yesterday, in a sweeping move to give massive tax cuts to the wealthy and connected while saddling the middle class with higher, oppressive taxes in the long term.
The bill is a Frankenstein’s monster stitched together in backrooms by lobbyists and Republican corporate donors, and puts the interests of big business over those of the American people.
Of course, the Republicans don’t really care about the crushing blow they’ve just delivered to most families, they’re just glad they can finally claim at least one “win” after an entire year in which they controlled every branch of government and accomplished nothing.
President Trump is thrilled that he can claim to have a large piece of legislation under his belt now, even if that legislation represents a cynical betrayal of the people who so foolishly voted him into office. The majority of Americans are opposed to the bill, but as usual, the GOP demonstrated that they have little concern for the wishes of their electorate.
Today, Trump took to Twitter to attack Democrats ahead of the looming government shutdown. Congress has to pass a Continuing Resolution to fund the government, but due to the president’s incompetence, inability to lead, and complete disinterest in bipartisanship, it has yet to happen. Desperate to get ahead of a possible fiasco, Trump tried to pin the delay solely on Democrats, ignoring his and his party’s role in the problem.
Even more preposterously, Trump claimed that Democrats were holding things up because they want to distract from the “very popular” tax bill. As recently as this past Tuesday, a CNN poll showed that 55% of Americans opposed the legislation ahead of the vote while only 33% approve. Disapproval is certain to have risen since then, as more details about the bill come to light. In other words, the bill is not popular but deeply unpopular.
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Trump is demonstrating yet again that he lives in a complete fantasy world. He is trying to convince himself that the country likes the horrific bill he just helped ram through Congress because to admit otherwise would be to admit that he has no idea what he’s doing, no idea how to govern, and no idea what is best for the United States.
He tweeted:
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House Democrats want a SHUTDOWN for the holidays in order to distract from the very popular, just passed, Tax Cuts. House Republicans, don’t let this happen. Pass the C.R. TODAY and keep our Government OPEN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2017
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To make matters worse for Trump, not only do most Americans dislike the bill, most now intend to vote for Democrats over Republicans in 2018 by a stunning margin.
A generic CNN poll — conducted before the congressional vote but taken in an atmosphere in which the bill loomed heavy in the political zeitgeist — aimed at seeing which party Americans plan to vote for in 2018 shows Democrats up 18% points.
56% of those polled said they plan to vote for Democrats and a measly 38% are leaning Republican. The difference is the largest yet recorded by CNN going into the 2018 elections.
Nate Cohn of The New York Times took to Twitter to compile a list of other polls that, with some minor variances, confirm what the CNN poll states: Republicans are in serious trouble.
Live interview generic ballot polls in December
CNN D+18
Quinnipiac D+15
Monmouth D+15
Marist D+13
POS (R) D+12
NBC/WSJ D+11— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) December 20, 2017
