Caving...or, proof that I was right

The Republicans won again against President Obama, despite the fact that their politicking was completely transparent, and tremendously corrupt.
Last week, the House passed a bill to extend the Bush era tax cuts on every dollar made under $250,000 per family. On Saturday, the Senate brought the bill to the floor, where Republican opposition stopped it from moving forward. An alternative version was then brought to the floor by New York Senator Chuck Schumer-D that would extend the tax cuts up to $1 million. Still this was too low for Republicans, who are on record now as willing to stick lower and middle class Americans with a tax hike if they can’t get tax cuts for their rich donors.
Nevertheless, Obama just cut a deal with Republicans to extend the tax cuts for two more years, in exchange for a 13 month extension of unemployment insurance, a small payroll tax cut, and a few other tax initiatives aimed at student aid. Worse, for no apparent concession at all, he also agreed to cut the estate tax, which only effects the richest 1% of all Americans.
WHY? Well, who knows? The fact is that we are talking about personal income and estate tax cuts for people that already have a ton of money; not business or corporate taxes, or payroll taxes, or any kind of tax cut that would be directly linked to job creation. The idea that this kind of tax cut is actually going to stimulate the economy in any measurable way is absurd—it’s simply another way in which the rich will avoid having to pay their fair share for the administration of government services, they of all of us, benefit from the most.
Progressives everywhere are sitting now with their faces in their palms asking over and over, “why, why, why? We had those corrupt bastards right where we wanted them! Why?” I mean, why not just let the tax cuts expire, and then pin down the Republicans continually for their malfeasance and their crass political maneuvering? Think about it: every time they complained about the economy, or tried to say that Democrats didn’t do anything for ordinary Americans, Dem’s could turn around and say, “We tried, but the Republicans thought it was more important to stall government to get tax cuts for their ultra wealthy. We voted on extending middle class tax cuts, but the Republicans wouldn’t pass the bill! Republicans refuse to help the middle class—they refuse to help the unemployed—they are more concerned in representing the interests of the rich and powerful than helping the ordinary Americans hit hardest by these economic times.”
Now it is much harder to say that, because Obama gave in to Republican demands, thereby agreeing, albeit passively, with their agenda.
Oh, and one other thing—the hypocrisy of the Republican Party stinks to the high heavens. Just last month, before the election, weren’t they complaining about the deficit? Weren’t they crowing about irresponsible, out of control spending, and government pork projects? Well, that is exactly what this agreement is: its not paid for by anything but deficit spending, it is the very height of irresponsible tax policy, and what the Republicans wanted in exchange for the passage of middle class tax cuts and the extension of unemployment insurance is a pork project for their constituents, the super rich.