Paul Waldman looks at conservatives gearing up to defend the expiring Bush-era tax cuts.:
The idea of legislators shaping policy to directly benefit their own personal bank accounts is largely a relic of a bygone era. It may happen from time to time, but today’s professional political class is usually more interested in helping the patrons who put them where they are. Not that it doesn’t feel personal for some people. You might remember that when Paul O’Neill, George W. Bush‘s first Treasury secretary, objected in late 2002 to cutting taxes for the wealthy because it would increase the deficit, he was shot down by Dick Cheney. “We won the midterms,” Dick Cheney said. “This is our due.” It certainly helped the VP — one analysis showed the Bush cuts were worth $110,932 to the Cheneys in 2006 alone.
