THE HYPOCRISY, THE POSTURING – AT 10:41 A.M. ET:  Who will sacrifice if the U.S. can't pay its bills?  Why, we have one volunteer – Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the man married to the Heinz ketchup lady.  We're sure Kerry can come up with 57 varieties of sacrifice, but here's one, reported by the Boston Herald:

The bitter high-stakes debate over raising the nation’s debt ceiling escalated into Capitol Hill class warfare yesterday as Bay State lawmakers battled over who would place their salaries on the line if there’s no deal next month.

U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry said he’d go without a paycheck if congressional leaders and President Obama fail to reach a deal to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2.

But U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston) steadfastly said he needs his pay, arguing he doesn’t have a “trust fund” to fall back on.

“Would I work for free? No, I wouldn’t work for free. There are a lot of members of Congress who are millionaires and are very, very wealthy. Maybe they can,” said Lynch, who was raised in the housing projects of South Boston and was an ironworker for 18 years. “I don’t have a trust fund that I can lean on. I know a lot of members do.”

Kerry, who has been named the wealthiest member of Congress 13 times by Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, said he’s willing to give up his own pay. Reports placed the Democrat’s estimated wealth at $188 million last year.

COMMENT:  Three cheers for Stephen Lynch.  It's good to see some working stiffs in Congress.  Maybe they can show the Kerry crowd how the other half lives. 

July 16, 2011