WASHINGTON, April 30 — The Senate Republican plan to mail $100 checks to voters to ease the burden of high gasoline prices is eliciting more scorn than gratitude from the very people it was intended to help.
Aides for several Republican senators reported a surge of calls and e-mail messages from constituents ridiculing the rebate as a paltry and transparent effort to pander to voters before the midterm elections in November.
"The conservatives think it is socialist bunk, and the liberals think it is conservative trickery," said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, pointing out that the criticism was coming from across the ideological spectrum.
Angry constituents have asked, "Do you think we are prostitutes? Do you think you can buy us?" said another Republican senator's aide, who was granted anonymity to openly discuss the feedback because the senator had supported the plan.
Conservative talk radio hosts have been particularly vocal. "What kind of insult is this?" Rush Limbaugh asked on his radio program on Friday. "Instead of buying us off and treating us like we're a bunch of whores, just solve the problem." In commentary on Fox News Sunday, Brit Hume called the idea "silly."
The reaction comes as the rising price of gasoline has put the public in a volatile mood and as polls show that cynicism about Congress is at its highest level since 1994.
A couple things here. First, I'm surprised that Rush Limbaugh--that icon of neoconservativism--likened this $100 gas rebate idea as Congress treating Americans like they are whores. You know the Republicans are out of touch, when Rush Limbaugh starts criticizing them. And Faux News' Brit Hume calling the idea "silly?" Damn. Maybe the congressional Republicans are onto something here....
Continuing on with the Republican views on this issue:
David Winston, a Republican pollster who advises the Senate Republican leadership, called the rebate an intuitive way to show voters that Republicans were on their side. "It is like putting the American family budget ahead of oil company profits," Mr. Winston said. "How do you help the American families out? Well, give them some money."
Gee....Why am I not surprised? Of course, the oil companies are reaping billions in tax breaks and subsidies from the federal government, while each American family will be getting a measly $100 bucks. And it is still coming from the U.S. Treasury--Not from the oil companies. And who is to say that Big Oil won't get a big chunk of those $100 rebate checks when they start raising gas prices over the course of the summer?
But that is not all. Over at The Dark Wraith's blogsite, I came across a nice little plan I'd like to share. Why not allow the Republicans to give Americans their $100 rebate checks, and then have Americans pledge to sign over their rebate checks to a non-Republican political party of their choice? Here is what Dark Wraith had to say:
If the hundred dollar checks are indeed disbursed pursuant to an Act of Congress approved by the President, all who are opposed to the Republicans pledge as follows: Upon receiving the check for the sum of One Hundred dollars ($100.00), I shall immediately sign the back of the draft and send it to the non-Republican political party or candidate of my choice.
The Republicans will, then, have instituted de facto public campaign financing on a scale that could rival any formal campaign finance reform proposal. If one million households were to honor the pledge suggested above, one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) would flow into the coffers of the Democrats, the Greens, and other non-Republicans for the 2006/2008 election cycle. If the Republicans in Congress chose not to back down from their hare-brained, transparent vote-buying scheme, they would stand their shaky ground knowing very well that the commitment of non-Republicans to use their checks this way would be far greater than that of Republican voters to use their checks to support the GOP, especially considering how unpopular the Republicans are as we head into the jaws of the 2006 campaign season.
Talk about public financing here! In 2004, I donated $150 to John Kerry's presidential campaign. It was the first time I've ever donated any money to a political campaign, or to the Democratic Party. And I've vowed that it is the last time I will donate any money to a political party or campaign. In 2004, I've watched as Kerry's campaign imploded with Democratic campaign strategists' incompetence, stupidity, and Karl Rove's machinations (Think Kerry's response to Swiftboat tactics, or his I opposed the war while supporting it pledge). And yet even with all of Kerry's problems, and Bush's weaknesses, Kerry certainly came close to winning. I've certainly been angered and sickened by the Democratic Party's inability to formulate a clear opposition plan to fight against this abusive Bush White House. And I'm not alone, considering the comments I've seen here and in other liberal and progressive blogsites. So I'm no longer willing to donate my own money to the Democratic Party yet.
But I'm certainly willing to donate a $100 of the fed's money to the Democratic Party. The Republicans are giving plenty of the fed's money to Big Oil through tax breaks and reductions of royalty payments. And it is not just Big Oil that's getting these breaks--just about every corporate interest is getting something. This would be a nice little counter-weight to the millions that corporate interests give to their Republican lapdogs, even if it is a one-time only deal.
And one last thought. Think of the infusion of cash given not only to the Democrats, but also to the Greens, Libertarians, Peace and Freedom Parties....
I'll do it. How about you?
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