I am a Democrat and I've Paid My Taxes...

Guess I'm a rarity these days....the New York Times came out firing today on Health and Human Services Nominee Tom Daschle, and with good damn reason. You may have heard that there's been a bit of an "oversight"on his 1040EZ ...

"Mr. Daschle’s tax shortfall is particularly troubling because it comes on the heels of another nominee’s failure to pay taxes due. We were not pleased when the president’s Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, admitted that he had failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in federal self-employment taxes while working for the International Monetary Fund despite having signed paperwork acknowledging the obligation.

Now we are confronted with an even larger lapse by Mr. Daschle, who failed to pay $128,000 in taxes, primarily for personal use of a car and driver provided to him by a private equity firm for which he consulted."

Read the full editorial.

Okay, I can see maybe missing out on a couple thou, but this is borderline obscene. And these are my guys! This is not a good start.

Come on, Mr. President, where's the vetting? The campaign was inspiring, the inauguration was a seminal moment in American history...the first couple weeks in office....ennnnh. Two straight tax cheats in a row being pushed during confirmation hearings takes the heat off your stimulus plan. This is not the way to change the way business is done in D.C.! It's early, and my hopes are still high, but come on!!! Let's do this thing...

Daschle needs to withdraw, and someone who hasn't committed a felony level tax "mistake" nominated. What needs to be done in regard to health care is much too important for this distraction. Peace.