On Thursday, Democrats left the House in tears. It was one of the strangest scenes I have ever seen on Capitol Hill. This is not a hyperbole. I’m talking about Democrats who started literally crying.
What made them so agitated? Speaker Mike Johnson, along with other Republicans, passed a bill that would fully fund Israel’s aid using the IRS funds not yet spent.
.@kadiagoba on Jewish Dems leaving the House floor in tears last night pic.twitter.com/xxY0o7JmV2
— Ben Smith (@semaforben) November 3, 2023
Let me clarify. They aren’t moved to tears because their Jewish colleagues, Rashida Bush and Cori Tlaib, actively support Hamas. But the IRS spending cuts are what makes them cry? This is a contradiction.
This is a context of an increase of $80 billion in funding for the IRS, passed as part of the laughably named Inflation Reduction Act. In July I wrote, citing government numbers, that this “investment” was a complete bust. Increased enforcement will only recoup a tiny fraction of the unpaid taxes, compared to what taxpayers have spent or will spend.
I can already hear the retorts. But that $80 billion would help fund increased enforcement over decades! First off, it wouldn’t. The IRS will increase its funding at some point in that time period because the government is never static. Second, even if IRS funding remains the same, it will take taxpayers hundreds of years to recover their investment.
Johnson and his company took money that would have been completely wasted and used it to re-arm Israel for its war against Hamas. What’s wrong with that? What makes that a reason to cry?
This bill will be argued to be dead in the Senate. It’s all well and good, but why should the Republican House submit to a Senate margin of one seat? Why don’t the Democrats pressure Majority Leader Chuck Schumer into negotiating offsets to get Israel aid?
I’m pretty sure I know the answer. It’s really about Ukraine funding. Democrats and Republicans in the Senate seem to be obsessed with linking Ukrainian aid to Israeli assistance, despite both conflicts being totally unrelated. Ukraine has received hundreds of millions of dollars of worldwide aid and the conflict is still in a deadlock nearly two years after it began. Israel, on the other hand, has the ability to eliminate Hamas in a short time. The dynamics of the two are completely different.
It is funny that Johnson was brought to tears by the idea of cutting IRS funding. In the Bible, where does it mention foreign aid or the IRS? This whole meltdown is juvenile and stupid. These Jewish Democrats are certainly trying to help Israel. But they should be held accountable for their actions instead of blaming those who actually try to send money there.
