Not Leaving Without a Fight

Among the many entertaining and possibly celebratory moments this lame-duck session of Congress promises are the Going Out Fighting speeches of the irreplaceable Alan Grayson:



From his email:

Sometime between now and December 31, we will vote to extend the Bush tax cuts for the rich, or Obama tax cuts for the middle class. In the case of the Bush tax cuts, this money will go to the high and mighty. According to Citizens for Tax Justice, the top 1% of taxpayers -- people with more than $1.3 million a year -- will receive an average of $83,347 in Republican tax breaks.

Here are some possibilities of what those masters of the universe can buy, with their new government welfare:

- A brand-new Mercedes Benz E-Class car, $83,000. Every single year. And each year, they can give the "old" one to a spouse, a girlfriend, whoever.
- A Hermes "Birkin" handbag, $64,800. (Actually, though, if you need to know how much it costs, then you can't afford it.)

- Chateau d'Yquem wine from 1787, $56,588. That will leave each one with around $25,000 of loose change in their pockets. Enough for a nice lunch, maybe.

- 20,000 jars of Grey Poupon. So when people ask, "excuse me, sir, but do you have any Grey Poupon," the answer is "Yes!"

- 800 luxury cigars. One for the morning, and one for the evening, every single day. But how will they light them? Each one, with a $100 bill. That costs only $73,000 a year. Ah.

Thank you, Republican Party. You're letting the rich in this country enjoy two cigars a day, each lit by a $100 bill.

Now I have a question for you. What do you suggest that the wealthy purchase with their welfare, courtesy of the Republican Party? What new toys for the idle rich? A Mercedes? A Hermes bag? Cigars? They need your ideas, because they will all have so much more of our money.

So please, submit your ideas.

I am counting the days until November 2012 when Grayson crushes Taliban Dan in the rematch by 20 points.