Chutzpah

chutz·pah: supreme self-confidence : nerve , gall. In Hebrew, chutzpah is used indignantly, to describe someone who has over-stepped the boundaries of accepted behavior with no shame. In America in 2009, it could be used to define Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut. Last week, the good senator jumped on the Outraged at AIG Bonuses bandwagon and announced the government should move to impose a 100% income tax on those bonuses. Not a bad idea considering that AIG has received tens of billions of taxpayer dollars in an effort to stay afloat (which still seems questionable) and decided to pay a couple hundred million in executive bonuses. So where's the chutzpah? Well, just last month, Dodd blocked efforts to to keep bailout money from being used to pay bonuses. That's right - the Senator who is now all hot and bothered by the bonuses had no problem protecting those same bonuses last month. Or last fall, when the bailouts were being rushed through Congress with little discussion. Now, Sen. Dodd is claiming he did no such thing when he included an amendment to last month's bailout bill to protect bonuses; however, he stopped short of claiming someone forged his name, which is what he might as well do. Sen. Dodd was AIG's largest recipient of campaign cash in 2008 (yes, while AIG was going under and clamoring for a bailout, it was also giving away money to Congress). And one of AIG's largest offices is in Connecticut. Some coincidence? Oh, and this would be the same Sen. Dodd who deflected attempts to investigate the mortgage giant, Countrywide before its implosion. That would be the Countrywide that gave Sen. Dodd a sweatheart mortgage not available to most people. What does all this mean for Dodd? Well, for one, his hometown newspaper is saying his 2010 re-election bid is waning. But I bet that New England liberals will once again overcome their misgivings toward another corrupt politician and send the man back to Washington. After all, liberals love class warfare, and Dodd is sure to give them plenty of "turn on your fellow American" warfare before the election.