Larry Kissell Will Go Down in Flames

who claimed he was going to Washington for the working person.

He votes against the Helping families Save Their Homes Act - a working person's piece of legislation and then votes to allow AIG to keep their bonuses - corporate legislation. So far he has voted with the banks and the um....banks.

Unfortunately, that won't be how the local papers portray Larry. They eat this mess up. He'll get reelected in 2010, so we'll have a Republicrat in the 8th and won't have to work to reelect him. We can expend energy and send money to other worthy candidates.

Washington, D.C.—Today, Congressman Larry Kissell demanded that American Insurance Group (AIG) pay back to the American taxpayers all of its obscene bonus payments as he voted against a measure that allows the government to enact retroactive taxes of up to 90 percent on businesses and individuals.

“Tax penalties should be used to go after those who violate tax laws,” Kissell said. “AIG and its executives should be severely penalized, but arbitrary and retroactive manipulation of the tax code is not the right way to do it. Rather than be taxed at 90 percent, AIG executives-- in America and abroad-- should be forced to repay at 100 percent the money they received as part of this bonus package. The American taxpayer is the majority owner of AIG, and we demand a 100 percent refund of these shameful and ridiculous bonuses. That is why I signed on to the bi-partisan Paulsen bill.”

Many of those who received bonuses from AIG work in the company’s London branch, and therefore are not subject to American taxation at any rate at any time. Therefore this legislation will not recoup any of that money, even if the measure stands up to likely legal challenges. The measure’s assertion that government has the right to retroactively tax certain individuals as well as to essentially dissolve legal contracts between employers and employees will no doubt place application of the measure in serious jeopardy. The Bi-Partisan Paulsen Bill, HR 1577, puts a two-week deadline on the U.S. Treasury Department to formulate a plan to recoup 100 percent of the AIG bonuses.

“Passing a 90 percent, retroactive tax sets a dangerous precedent from which no industry, business or person may be safe in the future,” said Kissell, a Democrat who represents North Carolina’s 8th District. “Egregious taxation is not the answer to our nation's ills, even those as blatant and shameful as the ones committed by AIG. The department of the Treasury has the responsibility to regulate these matters and they should do so. We must not always turn to tax hikes to solve every problem presented to us in Congress. ”

Meh

Its a stupid way to fix something we had 2 different chances to avoid and chose not to.

most of the 8th is pretty blue, but up around Biscoe it's mighty red. His wife works in the Moore County school system which is the red island the blue surrounds. There's a pretty good chance he's being inundated by a lot of r's. After all, Howard Coble represents Moore, (lucky us with a teeny, tiny portion represented by Hackney)

The Washington Post talks about another consequence of this quickly thrown together bill, which in my opinion was just a knee-jerk reaction from some members of Congress to appease a "lynch mob" mentality. I strongly believe we need to get these bonuses back, but HR 1586 is not the way to do it.

From the Washington Post:

But the bill's reach would extend to bonuses paid to tens of thousands of employees at the nation's nine largest institutions that have received at least $5 billion in assistance under the $700 billion financial rescue package Congress approved last year. The measure also applies to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants the federal government took over in September.

Because virtually all Wall Street employees receive bonuses -- in many cases making up the majority of their compensation -- firms would rather back out of the government's rescue programs than be subject to such harsh tax measures, industry officials said. The banks could still survive, but without federal assistance they would not have enough capital to restart lending, which is considered central to reviving the economy.

in the After Dark thread.

I didn't realize that one had already been started.

That said, there are very few times when a bill is both morally and politically defensible and highly publicized.

Kissell has had two such bills handed to him on a platter and voted against both.

There are only four explanations for this:

- the guy is a fraud
- the guy is incompetent
- the guy has been bought
- the guy is getting very bad advice

Before you call me a hater, know that I gave money to Kissell. I blogged for Kissell. I encouraged friends and family in the district to vote for Kissell, and I don't even live in the f***ing district.

All I can do is tell it like it is, and it is me being unhappy.

I have a guy that could run for that seat and win, hands-down. But he is further to the right than Kissell, or so I thought.

If this keeps up, I'm throwing his hat in the ring. He won't do it without me. If the Kissell camp thinks this is hyperbole, try me.

Larry is having his first open house in Cumberland County tonight, but I really need to get my laundry done.

I never said that Kissell was corrupt. My meaning was to be more general with those options as to why a candidate would vote against a bill that the American public views as both morally and politically correct.

My feeling is that we are in a crisis for the future of our country right now. This is not the time to "make a statement" or "go maverick."

Kissell has cast two very important votes that trouble me deeply. I don't hate the guy. I question not only his judgement on these votes but have to wonder what to expect from him in the future.

As bystander, I feel that Kissell needs to change is staff and stop listening to the wrong people. This is not the person that BlueNC stood behind and supported when no one else did.

For years, I have come to BlueNC to read the post of outstanding Democrats and it seemed that Kissell and his campagign workers were constantly on here. Where are they now? I am not connected to his former campaign or his present staff but I feel that he is being mishandled.

I have heard rumors for years about mistreating workers and black balling former staffers. The problem is these rumors keep popping up. Does this really sound like someone you want to lead the 8th District or the face of NC? The major issue is that running any Democratic against him in 2010 will hand the seat back to Robin Hayes. I don't want that. But what can be done?

NC needs to let Kissell know that you, the people elected and you can unelect him to. He seems to not understand that we (Americans) are hurting and he isn't listening to us. I don't live in his district or the state of NC but I am a proud Democrat that doesn't like to be handed a load of bull.

Therefore, Larry did the right thing by voting against it. This sets a bad legal precedent and will likely go down in flames after a protracted court battle. And with the news that bonuses are being given back voluntarily, maybe our Congress can move on to more pressing things.