In a move all too reminiscent of the passage of the ever unpopular ObamaCare, last night the Senate voted 89 to 8 to approve the so-called “American Taxpayer Relief Act” (H.R. 8, as amended). The deal was negotiated by Vice President Joseph Biden and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

You can read the 157 page bill here-http://cayankee.blogs.com/cayankee/2013/...d-of-night.html

It is very unlikely that any Senator actually read the 157 page bill before they voted on it. It’s like former Speaker Pelosi said of the Democrats’ ObamaCare bill, “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill increases tax revenue by $620 billion while reducing spending by only $15 billion. That’s right a 41:1 ratio of tax increases to spending cuts. When Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush increased taxes in return for spending the ratios were 3:1 and 2:1 respectively. We should remember that while those tax increases happened, the promised spending cuts did not.

That history makes me question the wisdom of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s effort to “prevent very real financial pain” by agreeing to tax increases in exchange for another spending cuts to be named later:

READ MORE:http://www.redstate.com/2013/01/01/senat...-dead-of-night/

The eight senators who voted 'no'

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Md.)

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)