One Thing You Can Say about Jim Cooper Is That Crises Really Don't Effect How He Votes

So, Jim Cooper voted against tax relief for a Gulf Coast that has been suffering for much longer than the banking and finance industry because he thinks those cuts should be matched by cuts elsewhere. That's typical Blue Dog logic. Now if he opposes it because somehow it only really helps big business and does little to help displaced and burdened ordinary people, then he would be acting remarkably. A little populism once and a while might loosen Cooper up.

But my guess is that the Tennessee Democrat would much rather see the bail out work for the principle good of bankers and only the trickle-down good of ordinary people. And so, his seeming unconventional vote looks more like empty symbolism and callous indifference to the victims of not just one natural disaster, but multiple natural disasters. There's nothing really progressive about his taxation logic.