In November 2005, Grassley criticized oil companies for making profits, suggesting they contribute 10 percent of their profits to supplement the federal heating assistance program for the poor. He and other committee members threatened a windfall profits tax on oil companies, but did not advance the idea because of feedback from the public and possibly some of his clearer thinking colleagues. Instead, Finance Committee members proposed a “backdoor” tax on oil company inventories. Yes, this senator calls himself a Republican.

Most recently, Senate Republicans have been unable to pass a full repeal of the estate tax, the most immoral tax in the entire tax code. A number of liberal Republicans, including Senator Snowe, have voted against full repeal. While senators continue to debate various compromise plans to eliminate the estate tax for all but the wealthiest Americans, it is doubtful any of them will pass this year.

The Senate Finance Committee, one of the most powerful and influential committees in Congress, is in desperate need of an overhaul. The American people and American businesses deserve representation from a body that is focused on solutions, not assaults on capitalism. The first and best solution is to replace Senators Grassley and Snowe with conservatives who have the political will and ingenuity to fix Social Security, Medicare and the tax code.

Senators such as Jim DeMint (R-SC), Tom Coburn (R-OK) and John Ensign (R-NV) have demonstrated a willingness to speak out for fiscal conservatism and common sense this year on issues such as spending and dealing with illegal aliens. They would make fine replacements for Grassley and Snowe.

A second solution is to replace outgoing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist with a conservative willing to call the Democrats’ bluff and exercise the so-called “nuclear option” on legislation they threaten to filibuster. The American people sent a Republican majority to the Senate, but current leadership has proven incapable of breaking from inane Senate traditions that respect filibuster threats and other procedural roadblocks over solving the problem. That Democrat may be your “good friend” from so-and-so state, but to my fellow conservatives and me, he is an enemy of economic freedom.

It is frustrating to watch Republican majorities pass phantom taxes on pimps and prostitutes and continue their assaults on our free market economy. This week, as we celebrate our nation’s declaration of independence from tyranny just 230 years ago, we need independence from misplaced priorities and an unwillingness to lead.