If you awoke this morning to discover that your unemployment benefits had run out, you have an elderly Southern white man to blame. Of course. Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky used the power of his office to singlehandedly stall a 30-day extension on unemployment.
When Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) begged him to drop his objection, Politico reports, Bunning replied: “Tough shit.”
It’s tough shit that over a million Americans are depending on a couple hundred dollars a week, while the Senator has free, top of the line health care, a not insubstantial yearly salary, and whatever bribe money special interest lobbyists can stuff into his pockets when they think no one’s looking.
Does the plight of his struggling countrymen bore Bunning? All signs point to yes, because on Thursday night, while Bunning’s collages made a last-ditch effort to change his mind, the Senator complained
“I have missed the Kentucky-South Carolina game that started at 9:00, and it’s the only redeeming chance we had to beat South Carolina since they’re the only team that has beat Kentucky this year.”
Tough shit.
