This is a snapshot of the Republican news conference where their new budget proposal was unveiled. Steve Benen notes something about the picture:
What we saw was a House press conference held by 10 people who look remarkably similar to one another: 10 powerful, conservative, white men in dark suits, who make more money in a year than the vast majority of the American people.Well, that is how power looks in this country. Ringwraithy.
When I look at that picture I of course notice the "planet of the guys" aspect of it: how we fail to see that the groups is not at all representative because we are used to seeing that group as representative of all, but more than that I notice the "punitive authoritarians" aspect. These guys have come to whip us into some order. Austerity! Pulling yourself up by your bootstraps (or toes if you can't afford shoes)!
Except, of course, that their budget proposal gave lots of money to the rich. They want the top tax rate to be lowered to 25% and they want the Bush tax cuts to be permanent. The cost of that can be borne by the rest of us, especially by the poor.
If we were to use the argument (which I don't agree with) that the Republican Party is the authoritarian daddy party (while the Democrats are all for the nanny state), then this particular bunch of daddies is going to leave the children starving while increasing their own beer allowance.
More about the Medicare and Medicaid aspect of the proposal in a later post.