The senator from Utah wants you to know that he comes from poor people and that he definitely cares about them, thank you very much. Hatch made the comments during a Friday hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, after Sherrod Brown accused Republicans, who are trying to pass a huge tax reform package that skews heavily toward the rich, of working on behalf of the rich. “It would be nice, tonight, just before we go home, to acknowledge who this tax cut is really for,” Brown said. “It’s not for the middle class, it’s for the rich. ... Spare us the sarcasm.”
Sherrod Brown really takes the fight to Orrin Hatch here. No Trumpian namecalling or low blows. Instead focusing on the GOP helping only the ultra-rich. Judging by how mad Hatch got, Brown hit a soft spot. pic.twitter.com/WxDFb8ipHB
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) November 17, 2017
Hatch did spare the sarcasm, but not the sanctimony:
“I’ve been here working my whole stinking career for people who don’t have a chance,” Hatch said. “And I really resent anybody who says I’m just doing this for the rich, give me a break.”
“I think you guys just overplay that all the time and it gets old, frankly you ought to quit,” he continued. “I get kind of sick and tired of it ... It’s a nice political play, but it’s not true.”
In reality, it’s hard to defend a bill that would both raise taxes for families making under $75,000 a year and cut taxes for owners of private planes as being beneficial for the poor.