A news flash today from the web site of Peter Roskam: ROSKAM INTRODUCES HISTORIC LEGISLATION HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF CONGRESSMAN HENRY J. HYDE.

Please. This is liable to put me off my feed.

Henry Hyde was born. He became a politician of some talent. He occasionally used that talent to benefit humanity. And then he died.

Along the way, Henry used all of his powers to cover-up the real corruption of a President of his own party, Saint Ronald Ray-gun, aiding and abetting his waging of a campaign of terrorism against the people of Nicaragua, financed by illegal arms sales to Iran (Iran!!!) and CIA-assisted drug trafficking in the U.S. And did I mention, they sold arms to friggin’ Iran!

He later used all his powers to persecute another President of the opposing party based upon some phony charges invented out of thin air by Richard Mellon-Scaithe and his cronies, all the while moralizing about that President’s extramarital adventures, despite Hyde’s own history as a serial adulterer.

He became an extremist in the cause of restricting the right of women to control their own reproductive systems, even to the point, as Bridget in the 6th has helpfully pointed out, of legislating against freedom of spech and of the press.

And he found time to become embroiled in a major Savings and Loan Scandal.

During his twilight years he worked unceasingly in Congress to enable the many wonderful blessings that the George W. Bush administration has brought to us. Boy, have we been blessed.

And now we’re being asked to beatify Henry. Well I’m sorry, but I find very little to celebrate in Henry’s legacy.

Peter Roskam has a lot of nerve. In a new op-ed on his Congressional web site entitled “Tax Season Might Just Get Worse”, Roskam warns his constituents that they may become subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax due to Congressional inaction. Peter is trying to pull the wool over your eyes. What he is not telling you is that he VOTED AGAINST a measure designed to relieve middle class taxpayers of threat of liability for the AMT. He voted against it because the bill, H.R. 3996, which is now in the Senate, is designed to reduce the tax burden on the middle class. Peter Roskam has no particular interest in the middle class. His goal is to help his wealthy clientele escape paying any tax whatsoever by totally eliminating the AMT, a change that will ultimately shift more of the tax burden to low-income and middle income taxpayers. Roskam’s Republican Party will attempt to obstruct the bill’s passage in the Senate and then try to blame it on the Democrats. If worse comes to worse, President Bush will find some lame excuse to veto it.

If you are a low-income or middle-income taxpayer, Peter Roskam is not your friend. His mission in Congress is to aid George Bush in his project to help the wealthiest individuals and corporations become wealthier, at the expense of the rest of us. Peter should be ashamed for trying to deceive you.