Blanche Lincoln has been getting a lot of attention for calling the League of Conservation Voters extremists, and for obstructing progress on health care reform, particularly on the public option.
But let's put a spotlight on some of the other areas where Blanche Lincoln has been horrible for Arkansans and all Americans.
ESTATE TAX POLICY
The thing that leaped to my mind was Lincoln's going to bat for the super-rich at the expense of everyone else, when she signed onto a Republican plan in 2009 to cut estate taxes on the top 0.2% richest of the population by over $250 billion.
Follow below the fold for more.
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) have a $250 billion proposal to cut estate taxes for the children of multi-millionaires even more than George W. Bush already did, and it’s attracting a disturbing amount of support.
Their $250 billion proposal would raise the estate tax exemption from $7 million to $10 million per-couple and lower the top rate from 45% to 35%.
While opponents of the estate tax claim rolling it back protects small farms and businesses, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities points out that "only 0.2 percent of the additional cost of the proposal, relative to [the Obama proposal], would go toward tax cuts for small businesses and farms."
The rest of the cost, approximately $249.5 billion, would go to the inheritors of estates worth over $7 million. Paris Hilton, get excited.
Not to steal too much from Think Progress on this, but they make a damn good point about why this is so horrible:
Apparently, however, this isn’t enough for some Senators, who would gut revenues needed for investments in health care, education and energy in order to reward the inheritors of massive estates with $249.5 billion.
Blanche Lincoln joined in with the Republicans to try to get a two-fer: Reward their (and her) fat cat contributors and achieve the defunding of domestic spending programs so they can be more easily privatized.
She needs to go!
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UPDATE: Blanche Lincoln's concern for the rich doesn't extend to those who are out of work and receiving unemployment. She just showed that she agrees with Jim Bunning in saying Tough Sh*t to them by voting for his substitute amendment on the UI extension.
Do you recall something particularly egregious about Lincoln? Please share! (links appreciated, not required)