If you have not already figured out we live in a modern day version of DC Comics fictional planet Bizarro World, let me introduce you to the latest incarnation of Bizarro himself aka Mick Mulvaney.  During a speech to members of the American Banking Association, the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau revealed his litmus test for scheduling meetings with lobbyists.

We had a hierarchy in my office in Congress.  If you’re a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn’t talk to you. If you’re a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you.

On Mulvaney’s planet, “We, the People in order to form a perfect union” is now “We, the Lobbyists who can afford the cover charge.”  Yes, these are the people for whom too many elected officials now turn when crafting legislation.  And the bigger irony is those who are the beneficiaries of “pay to play” now have more resources to underwrite their access to the halls of the U.S. Capitol.  It is called the Jobs and Tax Cut Act of 2017.  And here’s the proof.

In 2017, finance and real estate lobbyists collectively spent $521.6 million for lobbying.  For the first quarter of 2018, these lobbyists anted up $135.4 million annualized at $541.6.  Studies suggest the banking industry alone will save $30 BILLION in taxes each year for the next 10 years.  The same numbers hold true for every major industrial sector–energy, health, transportation, etc.  Thus the title of this post.  Those who can afford the entry fee are represented and their reward is a reduction in taxes.  This is not “pay to play.”  This is much worse.  “Play and pay much less.”

Oh wait!  The middle class and working poor did have one lobbyist in the House chamber.  His name?  The Reverand Patrick Conroy, a Jesuit priest, appointed in 2011 by then Speaker John Boehner, to serve as the House chaplin.  That is, until April 15 when retiring House Speaker Paul “It’s Getting Hot in the Kitchen” Ryan asked Conroy to resign.  Keep in mind this is the same Paul Ryan who supported Mitch McConnell’s blocking consideration of Merrick Garland’s appointment to the Supreme Court because the people should have a voice in the decision.  But as a lame duck (sic) he had no problem removing the House of Representatives’ spiritual leader.  Leave that monumental decision to the next Speaker after the people vote? NO WAY.

What could Conroy have possibly done to precipitate Ryan’s rush to judgment?  Did he spend $41,000 on a sound-proof confessional?  Did he give his altar boys an unauthorized increase in compensation?  Did he fly first class to Guam so he could be among the first Americans to see the sun rise on Easter morning?  NO!  It seems he made the mistake of paraphrasing the Gospel on the morning of November 6, 2017 during the invocation preceding the House’s consideration of the GOP tax bill.

May all members be mindful that the institutions and structures of our great nation guarantee the opportunities that have allowed some to achieve great success, while others continue to struggle.  May their efforts these days guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans.

To the average American, this was affirmation of the Judeo-Christian tenets associated with economic and social justice.  In Paul Ryan’s mind, it was “The Sermon on the Dismount.”  In other words, Ryan invoked the old adage, “**** you, and the horse you rode in on!”

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP