Death And Taxes

For Democrats, it seems, only one of these is certain, so we can eliminate the guy on the right; the one with the briefcase. Death comes to all whether we decide to go or not, but for Obama cabinet nominees the tax man only comes when they are caught.

Tom Daschle is the latest Obama nominee to be diagnosed with the affliction commonly known as tax cheat. And yet, simply because he is a democrat, he still has the full support of the new leader as well as that of his former colleagues in the senate. Daschle has been tapped by Obama to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Department of Health and Human Services is the principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans. It is comprised of the Office of the Secretary and 11 operating divisions.

Now, I can just envision a man like Daschle doling out good advice - or mandates - about what we should eat or drink for our own good while he dines at fast food restaurants at will. After all, why should he have to abide by his own rules dictated to the masses? Alas, I wander too far...

The Daschle debacle is merely another example of the elitist mindset in politicians. Timothy Geithner is now the head of the U.S. Treasury despite his own tax problems and Congressman Charlie Rangel is still the House Ways and Means Committee chair even though he, too, failed to pay taxes. But Daschle may have a bit of a problem clearing his confirmation process in spite of the dem majority. The reason is his antagonistic relationship with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who’s been in a long-running feud with Daschle.

Baucus, who came to Geithner's defense, has been mute regarding Daschle, so it's not as if ol' Max is being noble in his efforts to stymie Daschle, but at least may end up doing something right in spite of himself. And while Obama has been steadfast in his support of Daschle, it might be wise to remember the words of his own vice president a short while ago: Joe Biden told Katie Couric that paying taxes was the patriotic thing to do. I wonder if it will be chic now to accuse some members of the Obama cabinet of being unpatriotic.

And we must also consider how Tom Daschle felt about tax cheats a decade ago. He said, "Make no mistake, tax cheaters cheat us all, and the IRS should enforce our laws to the letter." Sen. Tom Daschle, Congressional Record, May 7, 1998, p. S4507.

And also keep in mind, as this process goes forward in the media, that body's reaction to the paltry sum owed by an ordinary citizen in Joe the Plumber. Consider that $1200 in back taxes instantly rendered Joe a liar and not credible to criticize Obama. What does that say for Daschle, who owed more than one hundred times that amount? Why of course, it means that we should trust his judgement regarding our health, right?

It's time for Americans to wake up and realize that we are not the free society we always dreamed we were but rather a bunch of peons being ruled by an elite class of well-paid criminals. That's the very thing we fled well over 200 years ago.

A parting thought, courtesy of Jim DeMint of South Carolina: "...I can see now why liberals don't mind if the tax rate goes up, because they're not gonna pay it anyway."

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