Paul Begala One Of Few Democrats Willing To Pay Taxes
A very peppy Paul Begala, the Democratic strategist, chatted with Imus today and wished him a happy Patriot's Day on this Tax Day, April 15.
"This is the only day of the year that our government asks anything of us — it's the only day!" he proclaimed, and pointed out that half of the United States tax budget goes to Medicare, Social Security, and National Defense, none of which should ever be eliminated. "Because of Medicare my dad has kicked cancer's ass four times!"
He was disgusted by FOX News's plan to cover the "tea parties" being throw in various cities, where people are demonstrating against what they perceive to be too-high taxes. Ever the FOX News defender, Imus believes that most people, including FOX's own Neil Cavuto and Sean Hanntiy, don't mind paying taxes.
"Then why are they out there whining?" Begala demanded. "They're a bunch of wimpy, whining weasels who don't love this country. There are guys in Walter Reed who gave their legs for this country, and they're whining because they have to write a check?"
This "whining," as Imus sees it, is a result of the enormous amount of wasted money.
"You always position things that way to make us feel guilty, and to make us feel bad about ourselves, which you're great at doing," Imus told Begala. "Is that what you did to your dad while he was battling cancer four times — beat up on him? I'm battling cancer once and you're beating up on me!"
Begala conceded that nobody likes waste, and that the government ought to try to police it, which Imus wrote down just in case he ever forgets. The idea of these tea parties, however, seems a bit foolish to Begala, who confessed to being one of few Democrats willing to pay taxes at all (or at least compared to Obama's cabinet).
"The Boston Tea Party was about taxation without representation," he explained. "Mr. Cavuto and Mr. Hannity have representation — they just lost an election! That's not tyranny, that's democracy."
Naturally, Imus defended his friend Sean Hannity, which prompted from Begala, "Tell him to pay his taxes and support our country and stop whining about it!"
Begala took issue with where taxpayer money has been directed recently, using the National Cancer Institute as an example. Their budget, at $5 billion, is just three one-hundredths of one percent of what the U.S. government gave to AIG.
"I think we should spend more on cancer research, not less," he said, but insisted he is a patriot through and through. "My country has asked almost nothing of me, and it has showered me with the blessings of liberty. All I have to do once a year is write a check!"
Speaking of writing things, Wyatt Imus had recently sent Begala a humorous thank you note, which Imus advised his guest not to sell on E-Bay.
Said Begala, "He's quite a creative and prolific writer!"
-Julie Kanfer
Paul Begala 