Lazy poors

Jim Bunning is a crotchety old man. Really crotchety. He might be all crotch. He of course is the man singlehandedly holding up an uncontroversial vote on a bundle of several measures in the Senate. Because he's refusing to consent to a unanimous consent and voice vote and has forced a cloture vote, several days will have to pass before a vote can be taken and in that time several things will expire: unemployment insurance benefits and COBRA health care for laid off workers, highway funds that resulted in the unpaid furloughing of thousands of employees, a Medicare reimbursement rate that will result in a 21% cut for doctors, and provision that allows people to watch local TV on satellites. That last one isn't that important.

It's a small bill, around $10 billion, and it's passage was so obvious and necessary that even Senate GOP leaders were going to let it pass on a voice vote. Bunning had other ideas, gummed up the works, all these programs expired, and his response to the overwhelming negative reaction and demonization of his bullshit has been, alternately, to whine about how he had to miss a basketball game in order to fuck people over who lost their jobs, yell out "tough shit", and flip off reporters. Because he's an adult.

But because he's a Republican and Republicans can only be criticized for being too liberal and not too conservative, GOP Senators can't quite bring themselves to criticize this politically disastrous and unpopular move. John Kyl is one of those people.

Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Republican whip, argued that unemployment benefits dissuade people from job-hunting "because people are being paid even though they're not working."

Unemployment insurance "doesn't create new jobs. In fact, if anything, continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work," Kyl said during debate over whether unemployment insurance and other benefits that expired amid GOP objections Sunday should be extended.

Yes, life is grand on unemployment. Who wouldn't want to live on the king's ransom that is a sub-poverty level stipend that you will invariably use to buy cheap government COBRA health insurance to cover the health insurance you just lost. Or would, if Bunning didn't also block that. Plus in this economy, we all know the reason unemployment is at 10% is because people just don't want to take jobs. "Life's too good on unemployment," they say, "I'll just wait until something catches my eye." It's not so much an economic and jobs crisis in this country as it is a lazy poor people and socialism crisis.

Just when you think Demcorats have annoyed and pissed off enough people to make their loss in November all but ensured, the GOP roars back and yells at the top its lungs "Don't forget, we're massive uncaring assholes. Here, watch us spitefully hurt you for no reason!" Perhaps next time, head Crazy Uncle Jim off at the pass and explain to him why what he's about to do is a bad idea, and after he flips you off and ignores you, at least have the common sense not to publicly support it and claim that what he's doing is good, because in the long run it'll help with the self-esteem issues of the long-term unemployed. Just a suggestion.