Martin Bashir Calls on Boehner and Cantor to Resign if They Won't Raise Taxes on Rich

MSNBC's Martin Bashir on Friday called for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Oh.) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to resign if they won't raise taxes on the rich (video follows with transcript and commentary):

 

MARTIN BASHIR: It’s time now to clear the air, and it’s almost exactly a year since the current Congress was voted into the House in November 2010. And what a session it’s been. We’ve had the scintillating contributions of Tea Party darling Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), a friend of this broadcast, but one who keeps being dragged before the courts to pay child support. We’ve had David Rivera (R) of Florida who according to the non-profit group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is being investigated by – grab a pen – the FBI, the IRS, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Well done, Mr. Rivera. What a great representative.

Along the way we’ve had Chris Lee (R-N.Y.) who sent pictures of his torso to a woman and then sent himself to purgatory resigning his seat in February. We also had Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) who sent something else out and eventually realized that sending images of his shaved genitalia wasn’t really the best way to further his own political career. He too resigned in June.

But for those who’ve stayed in, well they’ve had a pretty good year picking up a salary of $174,000 each. But honestly, what have they done? What have they done to address the persistently high level of unemployment? What have they done to reduce the vast gulf between the haves and the have-nots in America?

The irony of all of this is that Chris Lee and Anthony Weiner were actually the most noble of all these honorable members because they chose to resign when they realized how poorly they’ve performed. So here’s a message to the House leadership, Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Mr. Cantor. 68 percent of Americans and 68 percent of all millionaires believe that it’s time to raise taxes on the wealthiest individuals so that this nation’s economy can start moving again. And if you’re not prepared to do anything in response, then isn’t it time that you two did the honorable thing?

So it's come to this: anyone not willing to raise taxes on the rich should resign.

Shouldn't this include Barack Obama and the Democrats who controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress for two of the last three years and never once put forward a bill that would accomplish this?

And where was such a stand-alone piece of legislation this year from the President or any of his Party in the House or the Senate?

Using his logic, having failed this, shouldn't they all do the honorable thing, too?

Not surprisingly, Bashir didn't call for that.