Why am I not surprised?

This story should be stunning. We should be reeling, and angrily calling for an investigation. But it isn't going to happen. It's not enough that George W. Bush sells out to corporations, he has to give it the personal touch, too. He sells out to individuals. All part of the fine service he provides to his "base."

And you don't need to read the whole story. You don't even need to read all of the first five paragraphs: read the first two paragraphs, skip two, and read the fifth.

The federal government is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half the lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service who audit tax returns of some of the wealthiest Americans, specifically those who are subject to gift and estate taxes when they transfer parts of their fortunes to their children and others.

The administration plans to cut the jobs of 157 of the agency's 345 estate tax lawyers, plus 17 support personnel, in less than 70 days. Kevin Brown, an IRS deputy commissioner, confirmed the cuts after The New York Times was given internal documents by people inside the IRS who oppose them.

The Bush administration has successfully lobbied Congress to enact measures that reduce the number of Americans who are subject to the estate tax -- which opponents refer to as the "death tax" -- but has failed in its efforts to eliminate the tax entirely.

Brown said Friday that he had ordered the staff cuts because far fewer people were obliged to pay estate taxes under President Bush's legislation.
But six IRS estate tax lawyers whose jobs are likely to be eliminated said in interviews that the cuts were just the latest moves behind the scenes at the IRS to shield people with political connections and complex tax-avoidance devices from thorough audits.

Sharyn Phillips, a veteran IRS estate tax lawyer in Manhattan, called the cuts a "back-door way for the Bush administration to achieve what it cannot get from Congress, which is repeal of the estate tax."

There really isn't much more to say after that point. This is the only Administration in the history of the world who cut taxes during a time of war. And now we're cutting them more. But we're only cutting the taxes of the people who can afford to pay.

This is why America is going broke.

There are no "conservatives" in the Republican Party any more. Why do they keep using that word to refer to themselves?