Speaking after the GOP tax reform bill passed, the first tax over haul in three decades, and a pro-growth plan meant to create economic growth, Rep. Jackie Spear, Democrat of California, had this to say:
"This is the ultimate bad Christmas carol story. This may be the most shameful day in the history of Congress," Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., said at a news conference.
"What we're doing here today is basically saying, 'Wealthy Americans, big fat Christmas present for you; Tiny Tim, we're taking your crutch away from you and all the other kids in this country, and we're putting a lump of coal into your Christmas stocking,'" Speier added.
Minority leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi also went for a Tiny Tim analogy, comparing the Dickens character to a real life boy with a rare disease. As recounted in the Free Beacon, here is what Pelosi said:
Pelosi said she spoke with a family of an 11-year-old boy, Simon, who has a rare disease and cerebral palsy, and his family was concerned about the effects of the GOP tax bill. The final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed the Senate Tuesday night, and passed the House after a revote earlier Wednesday morning.
"His mother spoke of how their family watches the Muppet version of A Christmas Carol, and how Simon sees himself in Tiny Tim, another kind boy with braces on his legs," she said.
"Unfortunately, this story as of today does not have the same kind of happy ending as A Christmas Carol, but this story is not over," she insisted.
Pelosi argued that "like Tiny Tim, Simon and his family may find their future in danger because of the greed of those with power, the cruelty that is in the heart of the tax scam."
"His mother spoke of how their family watches the Muppet version of A Christmas Carol, and how Simon sees himself in Tiny Tim, another kind boy with braces on his legs," she said.
If you've forgotten the fictional Tiny Tim, the Free Beacon has a good summation of the character:
In A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is initially dismissive of the sickly Tiny Tim, but later sees his future grave with the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. Tiny Tim is spared this grievous fate when Scrooge gives up his miserly ways and becomes like a second father to the boy.
It is understandable that young Simon, who is struggling with a rare disease, would see himself as Tiny Tim when he watches A Christmas Carol, and we're sorry that Ms. Pelosi, who supported the Affordable Care Act that has led to so many health insurance policy cancellations that have harmed needy families, is using the Republican tax reform bill to scare Simon and his family at Christmas time.
All Americans want a good health care system that benefits kids like Simon and others with physical challenges, but most Americans probably don't see themselves as Tiny Tim.
But that seems to be how the Democratic Party views us. The Tiny Tim analogy speaks volumes about how Pelosi and Speier think of the American public.
Or maybe not. Maybe scaring sick children at Christmas is just the new normal in our political debate.