Can Activism Stop the GOP Tax Bill?

FEATURING ARUN GUPTA – Republicans are still scrambling to pass their massive 500-page tax reform bill within the week and present it to President Donald Trump for a signature. After both the House and Senate rushed through their versions of the bill with barely any debate or analysis, last-minute changes are now emerging in the reconciliation process to win over every vote.

Bob Corker, who was the only Republican to have voted against the Senate bill has now declared his support for the bill but journalists and activists are pointing out that a newly added tax provision on real estate holdings would personally benefit him and other members of Congress. They have started a #CorkerKickBack on social media, putting some Republicans on the defensive.

Also jeopardizing the GOP plan is Senator John McCain who may miss the vote while in treatment for cancer. And, there is still wrangling between the two parties over the seating of newly elected Alabama Democrat Doug Jones who was expected to vote against the bill if given the chance. Jones has now worried Democrats with an interview where he did not unequivocally slam the bill and instead said he was simply unsure of it.

In the meantime, another change that has emerged in the reconciliation process is the nixing of a graduate student loan provision that hundreds of students protested against. Americans have been frantically calling their representatives and some have been holding sit-ins to block the hugely unpopular tax plan.

Arun Gupta, an investigative journalist who has written for dozens of publications including the Washington Post, the Guardian, The Nation, Salon, and Raw Story. He is also a contributor to the Intercept and author of the forthcoming book, “Bacon as a Weapon of Mass Destruction.” He is also a regular news correspondent for Rising Up With Sonali.