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Hollywood actress Alyssa Milano has accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of being “evil” as per his desire to prevent debt-addled blue states from exploiting the coronavirus crisis to pay off their self-inflicted financial woes.
She posited the hysterical accusation after reading the following tweet from former Republican turned far-left zealot Bill Kristol:
McConnell’s office is distributing a document titled “Stopping Blue State Bailouts.”
So it’s probably time for Joe Biden to echo his old boss: There’s not a Blue State America and a Red State America. There’s the United States of America.— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) April 23, 2020
Instead of taking any time to perform her own research and think critically about the matter, Milano immediately jumped to conclusions after reading Kristol’s tweet.
“Holy s–t. Is this true, @senatemajldr? You’d rather see the people who live in blue states suffer than give bailout money?” she wrote.
“How about the blue states who are donor states to the federal government? You’d rather see these blue states file for bankruptcy? You’re evil.”
No, actually, this is not true.
View her tweet below (*Language warning):
Holy shit. Is this true, @senatemajldr? You’d rather see the people who live in blue states suffer than give bailout money? How about the blue states who are donor states to the federal government? You’d rather see these blue states file for bankruptcy? You’re evil. https://t.co/RqulTkVrSp
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) April 23, 2020
McConnell opposes state bailouts, period, because he recognizes the risk that debt-addled states might use the money from such bailouts not to deal with the coronavirus crisis but rather to pay off all the debt they’ve incurred from their unsustainable pension programs.
“Congress is passing its fourth coronavirus relief bill this week, and already Democrats are teeing up the fifth. The main goal this time will be to bail out state governments, especially those run by Democrats and their allies in public unions,” The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board reported Wednesday.
That’s not a right-wing claim; that’s a fact.
The board further noted that left-wing governors like Andrew Cuomo of New York are trying to pass the buck for self-made problems.
“The Governor blames the pandemic and recession, but states like New York were already in trouble from their own mismanagement,” the board noted.
This is particularly true of Illinois, where “Gov. J.B. Pritzker in February proposed a $40.8 billion budget that included $9 billion for public pensions.”
“Mr. Pritzker raised taxes in 2019 and wants to make the state’s current flat tax progressive if voters approve a constitutional change this fall. Yet he and the unions who own the state house have blocked pension or spending reforms,” the board wrote.
And that’s the key problem. Instead of reining in spending by making needed cuts, Democrat governors like Pritzker prefer taking in more via taxes and other means — and thus “they see Covid-19 as their main chance” to get the takings of a lifetime.
“Illinois Senate President Don Harmon last week sent a plea for a $41.6 billion federal bailout to his state’s Democratic Congressional caucus,” the Journal’s report continued.
“He wants $15 billion in no-strings-attached cash; $6 billion for the state’s unemployment trust fund; $10 billion for pensions; and $9.6 billion in unrestricted aid for cities including Chicago and its unreformed pensions. Oh, and he also want the federal government to pick up 65% of the state’s Medicaid costs though Congress’s second relief bill already increased the rate to 56% from half.”
Wondering why Democrats are secretly asking for more than a $40 billion bailout — an amount roughly the same as our annual budget? Democrat “Chicago-style” rule has bankrupted IL and now they need $$ to erase their massive failures. #twill https://t.co/7bilArcMCw
— IL Republican Party (@ILGOP) April 18, 2020
This is exactly the sort of chicanery McConnell was referencing when he spoke out Wednesday against the idea of state bailouts.
“I said yesterday we’re going to push the pause button here, because I think this whole business of additional assistance for state and local governments needs to be thoroughly evaluated,” he’d said to conservative radio show host Hugh Hewitt.
“You raised yourself the important issue of what states have done, many of them have done to themselves with their pension programs. There’s not going to be any desire on the Republican side to bail out state pensions by borrowing money from future generations.”
These remarks were included in a press release published by McConnell’s office later that afternoon. The part of the release specifically pertaining to bailouts was listed underneath a subheading titled “On Stopping Blue State Bailouts.”
This is what Kristol had been referring to:
“Blue State Bailouts”
That’s the term Mitch McConnell’s office is using for federal assistance to state and local governments (particularly governments with unfunded pension obligations).https://t.co/SIt5YYIrd4 pic.twitter.com/W4epJSb8yn
— Tom Dreisbach (@TomDreisbach) April 22, 2020
The fact that the document contained the words “Blue State Bailouts” has obviously led some left-wingers, including Milano, to falsely presume that McConnell is only interested in blocking bailouts to blue states. This, of course, is false.
The Senate leader wants to block all state bailouts. But as usual, it’s of course fiscally irresponsible blue state legislators who’re crying foul the loudest. And as usual, their supporters are buying their false narratives hook, line and sinker.
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