Mend The Estate Tax, Don't End It

The first major blogger weighs in, so far as I know, and it's the esteemed Ezra Klein at Tapped, the blog for the American Prospect:

THAT EXPLAINS IT. If you're ever confused about the GOP's puzzling determination to eliminate the broadly supportable estate tax, this report showing that George Bush, Dick Cheney, and their cabinet will personally gain between $90 and $340 million dollars from the tax's repeal clarifies things considerably. As for amassing the political will for the battle, a recent Center for Public Integrity report found that a handful of superrich families had spent $490 million lobbying against the tax. If they succeed, these same families will gain almost $72 billion. Now that's what I call a good investment.

Who could be puzzled by this I'm not sure, except maybe the 101st Fighting Keyboarders who probably support obscene divestments of the public funds to the layabout IIIs and IVs of this country, but any reasonable person shouldn't be surprised.