Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch has had enough of Democrats accusing GOP senators of pushing tax reform to benefit “the rich.”

In a Senate Finance Committee meeting Thursday where lawmakers ultimately endorsed the latest version of the GOP tax bill, Chairman Hatch, R-Utah, angrily rebuked Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown for again claiming the plan helps the wealthy and not the middle class.

“I come from the poor people. And I’ve been working my whole stinking career for people who don’t have a chance. And I really resent anybody saying I’m just doing this for the rich,” Hatch said in response to comments from Ohio Sen. Brown. “I think you guys overplay that all the time and it gets old and frankly you ought to quit it.”

Brown interrupted Hatch, saying: “Mr. Chairman, the public believes it.”

But a visibly irritated Hatch raised his hand and said: “Wait a minute! I’m not through.”

He continued, “I get kind of sick and tired of it. True, it’s a nice political play, but it’s not true.”

Brown fired back and said he “gets sick and tired of the richest people in the country ... getting richer and richer and richer.”

The hearing room, typically subdued, broke out into shouts and yells calling for “regular order, Mr. Chairman, order, order,” as Hatch began banging his gavel on the lectern throughout Brown’s rebuttal.

“We do a tax cut for the rich and the middle class gets [inaudible] over and over and over again,” Brown shouted amid the chaos. “How many times do we do this before we learn this?”

“Listen—I’ve honored you by allowing you to start off here and what you said is not right – that’s all I’m saying. I come from the lower middle class originally and we didn’t have anything,” Hatch said. “So don’t spew that stuff on me. I get a little tired of that crap.”


The explosive exchange occurred during the fourth day of a mark-up on The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which was slightly altered by Hatch to temporarily cut taxes for individuals and ax the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. The bill, which passed out of committee late Thursday 14-12, also includes a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.

Earlier in the day, the House passed its version of a tax bill in a 227-205 vote.

The legislation still faces hurdles in the full Senate. But Republicans celebrated the advance of the bills, claiming they would support the middle class in America, while denying Democratic lawmakers’ accusations that the bill favors the wealthy and big corporations and will potentially leave millions of Americans without health insurance.

Link

Video at https://www.realclearpolitics....y_help_the_rich.html

It was broadcast on C-Span so there are some theatrics involved.

By COB, they'll be back patting each other on the backs on the Beltway cocktail circuit and high fiving as they sexually harass interns and staffers.

Aren't some of the richest congress critters democrats?

Hatch is only doing this because he might need to run again. We never hear from him until right before campaign time.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
It was broadcast on C-Span so there are some theatrics involved.

By COB, they'll be back patting each other on the backs on the Beltway cocktail circuit and high fiving as they sexually harass interns and staffers.

I doubt you find Hatch on the cocktail circuit, high fiving....

He is up for election in 2018, but is 83 yo.

Age won't stop Hatch. He says he'll run if Romney doesn't. They are both squishy progressive Republicans. Hatch does not want a real conservative to replace him. If Romney won't run or it looks like he may not prevail, Hatch will find yet another excuse to break his promise of only serving two terms. He's a dinosaur. He's been in office during the arc of this country's most precipitous decline. He is a do nothing, unprincipled, calculating brick in the wall between the people and true liberty.

It seems a little late in the game for Hatch to begin developing a spine, but I suppose stranger things have happened. There's a lot of us that have grown tired of that 'tax cut for the rich' song and dance. It's about time someone called the bluff.

As if the Left doesn't represent the Rich already.

We need some common sense solving of disagreements.

darthfuster, it's no good to keep your opinions to yourself. You need to speak your mind.

When they go to blows, let me know. Short of that, its all just BS.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
When they go to blows, let me know. Short of that, its all just BS.

Yea that's true. Everyone needs sound bytes for their respective bases. I'd wager, being a Friday, they were sipping martinis together at some posh club after the few hours of "tough" work they put in for the week.

Well, whatever. Y'all can be cynical, but I appreciate nonetheless Hatch going off on that slimy democrat. I'm just so darn tired hearing that crap over and over again about a "tax break for the rich." Sick and tired.

I've always considered Hatch one of the really admirable among those of his profession. This is not to say I have agreed with every one of his votes, etc. but he has always been a man of intelligence and integrity, and very tolerant of the antics of others, up to a point which was apparently exceeded yesterday.

quote:

Originally posted by deepocean:
darthfuster, it's no good to keep your opinions to yourself. You need to speak your mind.

Sometimes I get a little frothy.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Well, whatever. Y'all can be cynical, but I appreciate nonetheless Hatch going off on that slimy democrat. I'm just so darn tired hearing that crap over and over again about a "tax break for the rich." Sick and tired.

Of course you are right. He said the right thing. I just wish he would have fought it decades ago...

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Well, whatever. Y'all can be cynical, but I appreciate nonetheless Hatch going off on that slimy democrat. I'm just so darn tired hearing that crap over and over again about a "tax break for the rich." Sick and tired.

Of course you are right. He said the right thing. I just wish he would have fought it decades ago...

No doubt. None of this changes the fact that I would've voted him out a decade ago if given the chance (I've only been in Utah since 2005). I like Hatch, but he's well past the time that he should be retired from public service.