Kent Conrad: Deficit Hypocrite

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Written By:
Rob Port

Dec 2, 2010
9:20am

In the Wall Street Journal, Senator Conrad gives voice to America’s dire fiscal situation:

We are headed for a fiscal cliff. America is in danger and we can either look the other way, hope somebody else does something, or we can act.

Unless, of course, acting means ending subsidies for a product so worthless its production has to be subsidized, its use mandated and its industry protected from foreign competition but is produced by Senator Conrad’s constituents. Then, naturally, we must keep the gravy train flowing:

Sen. Kent Conrad, D-ND, was the first elected leader to jump on the bandwagon in support of the proposal during Wednesday’s meeting. “This is a moment of truth,” he said. “The nation is headed for a fiscal cliff. We have to act. This is the time for us to pull together. If not now, when?”

A few hours later, Conrad and 14 farm state colleagues from both political parties sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. They called for immediate renewal of the volumetric ethanol excise tax credit, the small ethanol producer tax credit, and the cellulosic producer tax credit, which reduce income tax collections by about $3.5 billion a year.

Business as usual.