t r u t h o u t - Max J. Castro | Republican Budget Bill Savages the Poor

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Max Castro is appalled, as should be we all, by the hypocracy and inequities of the Republican Congress' approach to both their fiscal and tax responsibilities:

"They are at it again. Anyone who hoped that the images of the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, which made the extent of squalor in America visible and dramatized the life-and-death consequences of inequality, would stir the conscience of our ruling party was wrong. Dead wrong....

"The 'Christian' Republicans who run Congress and the 'Christian' president who sits in the White House consistently turn this fundamental Christian principle exactly on its head. They do so not only through budget cuts that savage the poor but also through lavish tax cuts that benefit the rich."

Perhaps most puzzling and most depressing is this:

"The latest Republican attack against the "poor and defenseless" was so cruel and brazen that 14 Republicans withstood withering pressure from their party's leaders in the House and voted their conscience in opposition. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, that champion of Little Havana's viejitos, was not among them. What business does Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, whose district includes few millionaires but many poor senior citizens and children who will be the main victims of the perverted priorities embodied in the Republican budget, have voting for these shameful cuts?"

Letters, people. Write letters, call, scream, do whatever you have to do to make your representatives listen. Demand that they stop playing political pork games with your tax money. Demand that they start easing the burden on those who need the most help and stop giving handouts in the form of more tax breaks to the rich. Demand that they start balancing the budget now and stop adding to the debt of our children. Let them know that everyone -- even their rich corporate doners and constituents -- should be happy to sacrifice during a time of war and you are sick and tired of putting all of that burden on the shoulders of those who can least carry it. Tell them your priorities: Health care for ALL. Quality education for all. Tell them to cut their rediculously bloated military budget. Tell them you want accountability for every dime spent in Iraq or Afghanistan -- and you're tired of the stories of money being misused or pilfered in those countries. Tell them, very simply, what you expect them to do for you--if they want your vote.