In what must be the 1000th example of the Republican Party placing partisanship ahead of patriotism, the GOP blocked a bill in the Senate yesterday that would have provided federal health benefits to those fireman and police officers who risked their lives rescuing others on September 11, 2001. Even the Rupert Murdoch owned New York Post called this act a "disgrace."
The bill received 57 votes in favor, but in the upside down world of the US Senate, the Republican minority was able to stop the bill with only 42 votes. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the Republican stunt, "a devastating indictment of Washington politics, a tragic example of partisan politics trumping patriotism...The attacks of 9/11 were attacks on America, and we have a collective responsibility to care for the heroes -- from all 50 states -- who answered the call of duty, saved lives, and helped our nation recover."
Every single Republican in the US Senate voted AGAINST helping New York firefighters, police officers, and other first responders. I seem to remember just a few years ago when every Republican within 50 feet of a camera wore a FDNY cap to show that they stood with the heroes of 9/11. I guess the millionaires and billionaires who pull the strings inside the Republican Tea Party feel that their tax cuts are more important than a firefighter afflicted with leukemia from inhaling toxic dust getting medical care. Now I understand the Republican priorities, and they sicken me.
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