Community | September 14, 2010 | 44 comments

What Republicans Don't Want Voters To Know About Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

source: http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-republicans-dont-want-voters-to.html

Image
toyotabedzrock
When Bush pushed CAFTA through Congress, it was a very close win for the GOP's
Big Business allies.

The final vote was 217-215(http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll443.xml).
Although 187 Democrats voted against it-- only 15 joining the Republicans in
favor-- Boehner, Blunt, Cantor, Ryan delivered for their corporate masters
once again.

For the last month Boehner has been running around the country like a bright
orange chicken without a head squawking, "Where are the jobs, Mr. President?"

It's an ironic question coming from one of the engineers responsible for
passing trade policies that have systematically decimated the basis of America's
manufacturing base. Boehner and his cronies-- their wallets fat with gargantuan
payoffs from outsourcers-- have voted for every single bad trade bill that has
ever promised to ship American jobs overseas. For Boehner to publicly ask where
the jobs are is a slap in the face to every American worker and an insult to the
intelligence of every Ohio voter. In the Senate, Obama looked at the exact same
CAFTA bill Boehner and the Republicans did. Then-Senator Obama voted against it.
(http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?con...)
Several conservative Senate Republicans voted NO as well (John Thune,
Lindsey Graham, David Vitter, Mike Enzi, Richard Shelby...) but voting to send
American jobs to slave wage economies: Jim DeMint, Richard Burr, Mike DeWine,
Chuck Grassley, Blanche Lincoln, John McCain, Ben Nelson and, of course
Miss McConnell. All the Democrats voted against it with the exception of a small
handful of corporate whores who habitually vote with the GOP against
working families.

But let's go back to the House for a moment, where every member has to face the
voters in November. Why are Ohio voters thinking of reelecting John Boehner, who
has screwed them on WTO, screwed them on CAFTA, screwed them on NAFTA and has the
temerity to be boosting plans for more unbalanced trade legislation with a
handful of more low-wage countries. I know he wants to destroy the standard of
living of American workers and make them into serfs but who does he think will be
buying American goods and services to keep our consumer-driven economy afloat if
there are no decent jobs? Not everyone can be a caddy or bartender!

Instead of asking Justin Coussoule for another quote about Boehner's record on
jobs and how it has devastated businesses and the economy from Butler County up
through Darke, Miami and Mercer, we took a look at a perfectly framed ad by
Rob Miller, the former marine running against Joe "You Lie" Wilson. Although
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham warned that CAFTA would be disastrous
for South Carolina's textile industry and small businesses (and voted NO),
at the last minute Wilson was persuaded by Boehner's slick blandishments and
voted YES, along with Gresham Barrett and Bob Inglis, both of whom have been
disposed of by tea party activists. Miller's TV ad should leave Wilson reeling:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUWs7IlR020)

We caught up with Rob this morning and asked him if Wilson, just one Member of
Congress, really hurt South Carolina with his vote. We knew the answer but we
wanted to see how Rob would put it. He put it well:

> When Joe Wilson went to Congress in December 2001, South Carolina’s
> unemployment rate was 5.7 percent. Today, 10.8 percent of
> South Carolinians are without jobs, including 112,500 people who
> have lost their manufacturing jobs.

> Manufacturing was the backbone of South Carolina’s economy, until
> unfair trade deals like CAFTA went into effect. CAFTA sent thousands
> of our jobs overseas, and people all across the state knew that
> would happen before the first vote was cast.

> But that didn’t stop Joe Wilson. Joe Wilson voted for CAFTA and broke
> his promise to protect South Carolina’s workers, sending their jobs to
> Central America. The real insult is that Joe Wilson cast the deciding
> vote for CAFTA. If Wilson voted “No” CAFTA would not have passed.

> It was that simple, and Joe Wilson didn’t have the courage to do what’s
> right. South Carolina towns are dying-- people are struggling to put
> food on the table-- and it all comes down to Joe Wilson turning his back
> on South Carolina’s workers by voting “Yes” for CAFTA.

I hope lots of Democrats watch Rob's ad. Similar ones would be especially
effective against Roy Blunt (R-MO), Mike Castle (R-DE), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and
John Boozman (R-AR) four particularly corrupt Wall Street darlings who are all
trying to upgrade from the House to the Senate. It may also be useful for
Democrats in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and New Mexico to keep in mind as Charlie
Bass, Mike Fitzpatrick and Steve Pearce try to slip back into office without
letting voters know they were major players in the battles to pass CAFTA and
similarly toxic trade bills.
  1. groups:
    Community,   Politics,   US Politics,   Progressive America,   10 more
  2. tags:
    Republican,  Bush,  Outsourcing,  GOP,  6 more
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44 comments // What Republicans Don't Want Voters To Know About Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

  • masterzip
    • 0
      masterzip  

    • every trade agreement will be unfair, as capitalist powers will always see to it that money is the sole reason for developing a legal agreement in the first place, thus making our laws the basis for why we do not like our own government

    • 1 year ago
  • derk
    • +2
      derk  
    • Image

    • Free trade is a joke ... don't be fooled by straw man economics.

      "Prominent among the critics of CAFTA is economist Joseph Stiglitz, who argues that without fairer trade agreements, the benefits from trade will not be realized. He says that NAFTA and CAFTA will increase poverty because they prematurely open markets to US agricultural goods which are subsidized, making local farmers unable to compete with imports, and the nations in question do not have the ability to bear the costs of switching resources with their available capital, nor deal with the consequences of even short-term unemployment. He argues that these agreements have been more geo-political than economic, and that the essential problem with recent bilateral agreements, including CAFTA, is that they are not free-trade agreements."

      From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Republic_%E2%80%93_Central_America_Free_T...

    • 1 year ago
  • figgdimension
    • +1
      figgdimension  

    • TAR & FEATHER the traitors and fascists ...WORKERS unite! Time for legislature of the people and courts presided by our peers not our aristocracy of multi-billionaire over-educated elitist class they are ALL FIRED .... and bring on the public humiliation and TAR & FEATHERS like our forefathers did

    • 1 year ago
  • figgdimension
    • +1
      figgdimension  

    • Its not a party war its a class war they want us divided F.U John Boehner Ohio rejects you!!! These guys think we're not on to them or that the tea-baggers gonna save there little closed private neighborhoods and golf coarse life styles they have no value to our lives time to liquidate there combined assets and get out the TAR & FEATHERS old-school style!

    • 1 year ago
  • mitekillem
    • +6
      mitekillem  

    • Ok. I live in SC, so I know a bit about this. My Dad works for a Textile industry. ...they're still around. Luckily. SC started losing our textile industry when NAFTA passed, when Clinton was in Office. Most of the jobs have gone to Mexico or Central America.
      The thing I don't understand is the fact that the only politicians that win in Elections in SC are Republicans. It's retarded how nobody seems to get that we need change, not the same old thing.
      And there's a saying here too: If Jesus came back as a Democrat and Satan was a Republican, Satan would win. (Even though we're in the Bible Belt.)

    • 1 year ago
  • Admirable
    • +4
      Admirable  

    • A pox on both their houses! Both Republicans and Democrats. None of the 535 millionaires in congress care about middle class white collar and blue collar workers nor have they done anything for the working poor in the United States. The Dems and Clinton shoved NAFTA up our asses and Bush and the Republicans gave us CAFTA. Then they both parties teamed up to give us the friggen PATRIOT ACT! The Democrats are the party of no ideas and the Republicans are the party of horrendous ideas. Both parties have collaborated with Wall Street and the Banks out of political self interest and avarice with little empathy for the people they represent.

      Sigh...

    • 1 year ago
  • mayonnaise
  • cool0ne
  • Saladin
    • +6
      Saladin  
    • cool0ne:

      While it is true that Republicans and Democrats share appalling similarities in their allegiance to corporate domination, it IS a joke to say that there is no difference.

      Seriously, if you think the Bill Clinton and George Bush were equal presidents, you're completely insane.

      The choice is between bad and worse, true. But that doesn't mean that worse is the same as bad.

    • 1 year ago
  • grandavi
  • Saladin
    • +2
      Saladin  
    • grandavi:

      You're gonna tell me that Samuel Alito is pro-abortion? Are you kidding me?

      And there is NO federal funding for abortion clinics, not planned parenthood or any of it.

      And the Bush administration DID do anti-abortion shit. They tried to have the HHS declare birth control a form of abortion and they supported and funded Crisis Pregnancy Centers, right-wing activists who would set up outside abortion clinics and guilt-trip women into not having abortions.

      While it is true that Democrats have basically abandoned the working class, who has the Iraq war and the response to Hurricane Katrina on their shoulders?

      Seriously, they are not the same.

    • 1 year ago
  • toyotabedzrock
  • ryanmac3
  • libertyforall
  • libertyforall
  • libertyforall
    • -2
      libertyforall  
    • Saladin:

      You put too much importance on the shoulders of the President when Congress is what matters.

      Who controlled both houses of Congress until from 1995- 2006? Who controlled Congress since 2006? I think that answers a lot of questions about our current crisis.

    • 1 year ago
  • bike10
    • 0
      bike10  

    • The GOP could use old trick of the past to warn workers if the vote for the ofher party they will not a job the next day.

    • 1 year ago
  • Saladin
    • +5
      Saladin  

    • Republicans do not and have never cared about the state of the economy.

      What they are interested in is BUSINESS, more specifically, BIG business. All they care about is green, and fuck everyone else who gets shafted as a result.

      Free trade has been the greatest failure to the America economy since the free market of the 1920's.

      They know this, they aren't stupid. They just don't care. Unemployment and suffering don't bother them. They openly say that unemployment is good for the economy because it kills off the weak and the useless.

    • 1 year ago
  • addie340
  • Saladin
    • +2
      Saladin  
    • addie340:

      What drives the American economy is consumption and investment.

      How do you get people to consume? Give them good jobs that pay well. How do you get reasonable investment? By making sure the rules make sense, that there's no fraud and that insane bubbles aren't allowed to grow and propagate.

      Republicans deny all that, hate small businesses and have spent the past thirty years deregulating and giving tax breaks to massive corporations who take the jobs overseas.

      You can't have a consumer class without local jobs that pay well and investment is useless if you have a massive crash every 8 years.

    • 1 year ago
  • Dazedandconfused
    • +6
      Dazedandconfused  

    • I'm a 16 year old self proclaimed extreme liberal, and im already fed up with all the bullshit that chokes american politics and keeps anything from getting done, it seems were not a progressive nation anymore but one that argues and just argues

    • 1 year ago
  • vicgal
  • oppressed1
    • 0
      oppressed1  

    • You guys forget about Nafta rather quickly when it fits your democratic templates. Dont forget who supported that back in 94.

    • 1 year ago
  • Saladin
    • +4
      Saladin  
    • oppressed1:

      What are you talking about?

      Bill Clinton was not a liberal and I dare you to find me a single liberal who supports NAFTA.

      Is this really who you wanna be dude? Do you LIKE deluding yourself? Is hate really that valuable to you?

      You're too smart to be palling around with a band of idiots.

    • 1 year ago
  • ThatCrazyLibertarian
  • oppressed1
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  
    • ThatCrazyLibertarian:

      Shit, I had forgotten about Al Gore. My foot is officially in my mouth.

      Still, I was mainly referring to the left when I said liberal. And I can't think of many people who still think free trade is a good idea, even among the Democratic base.

      Of course Democrats are always a different story, being the spineless, backstabbing big business assholes that they are these days.

      My main point is this, the left is NOT for free trade. It's an exclusively right-wing, right-center and Libertarian phenomena.

      Pretty much the whole world is still drinking the free trade kool-aid, you can probably count the number of mainstream economists who are against it on your hands. There's not even a discussion about how bad it is for economies these days.

    • 1 year ago
  • Saladin
    • +1
      Saladin  
    • oppressed1:

      What's the point dude?

      Just think about this for a minute.

      Let's assume that liberals did support NAFTA and no longer do. Does pointing that out change the reality of the situation right now?

      Another thing, who CARES what we think? What do YOU think?

      In what fucking universe is a GOOD idea to say "I hate free trade, but I hate the liberals who hate free trade even more so I'm going to side with Republicans who support free trade unequivocally just to spite them."

      That's the kind of behavior I'm talking about, it's totally asinine.

      The label you follow is IRRELEVANT, it's the BELIEFS you hold that matter.

      Hating liberals isn't a political viewpoint, it's a useless bias. Whether it's justified or not, it's not an argument for any issue.

      My gut feeling is that you hate NAFTA and all that shit as much as I do, so why come into the thread to hate on people who feel the SAME WAY as you? How useless is that?

      I hate libertarians, but I'm not about to piss all over one when I agree with them just because of who they are.

      Just because we are monkeys doesn't mean we have to act like them. We don't have to form little tribes and ostracize people that aren't members, especially when it has no utility or morality.

      I'd like for you to tell me that you're just trolling and that I just went on a long diatribe for no reason. But if not, I'm concerned about the state of your intellect and reasoning.

      Seriously, think about it.

    • 1 year ago
  • ThatCrazyLibertarian
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  
    • ThatCrazyLibertarian:

      It had a lot to do with that huge market crash that happened, you know the one that liquidated trillions of dollars out of the economy?

      It also doesn't help that those companies had idiots for managers and shitty cars, but that's another story.

      Whether you want to admit or not, NAFTA was a free market ploy, it came from YOUR crew.

      While corporatism has been alive and well in America since Reagan took office, it is ASININE to think a free trade agreement was narrowly tailored for corporate interests alone OR that even if that wasn't true, we wouldn't still have the exact same economic results that we do right now.

      The free market that naive Libertarians dream of (you know, not the evil ones like Objectivists) is a myth. It does not, will not and cannot exist. It's based on a model DERIVED from classical economics, most of which are fallacious assumptions long since proven wrong theoretically, mathematically and scientifically.

      The business world, in reality, is what causes corporatism, not government. Rich, wealthy businessmen will pollute whatever atmosphere they're in because they don't NEED the state to do the things that they do because it is their wealth, their influence and their property that allow them to exert control, legally or illegally, over other people.

      Read a history of Gilded Age America. Look up the Pullman towns. Better yet, visit your local company town or coal town.

      You'll figure out real fast that business has never needed the government to exert control over people. It does just fine on its own.

      The reason, of course, is that there is power in production. And in the Industrial age, the power of production is more powerful than any government or any army on planet Earth.

      Video linked for relevancy.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI5hrcwU7Dk

    • 1 year ago
  • ThatCrazyLibertarian
  • grandavi
  • Admirable
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  
    • ThatCrazyLibertarian:

      Forgive me then for being prejudiced against your persuasion, most Libertarians on current definitely don't think like you do.

      Overwhelmingly, you get somebody like Shanklin Mike who thinks that it's impossible for the government to ever do anything good or for the private sector to do anything bad.

      I'm glad to see that you don't take any economic theory as religious dogma, another thing I find lots of Libertarians doing I find.

      Other than that I can't think of anything you've said that I significantly disagree with. Glad we could reach some common ground.

    • 1 year ago
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  
    • grandavi:

      And yet you didn't respond to all of my other examples in which they are plainly NOT the same.

      Democrats didn't do Iran/Contra, Iraq, Warrant-less Wiretapping, Gitmo and ALL that other wonderful shit the Republicans have been giving us since Reagan.

      Like I said, this isn't to say that the parties aren't the same in many ways, especially on corporatism and free trade. But compare Michelle Bachmann to Barney Frank and get back to me about them being "the same."

    • 1 year ago
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  
    • Admirable:

      Yeah, I never said I was a fan. Still, the tobacco stuff doesn't bother me too much. It's a recreational drug. It's fucked up and I think nicotine should be banned from the market, but I'd rather have a politician take money from Big Tobacco than Big Oil.

    • 1 year ago
  • Dazedandconfused
  • NotFooled
    • 0
      NotFooled  
    • Dazedandconfused:

      If you only read what the left says, you will only have a small part of the truth. Check out both sides of an argument and look at all associations for the whole truth. Name calling doesn't show knowledge, but immaturity.

    • 1 year ago
  • UtopianSky
  • addie340
  • NotFooled
  • toyotabedzrock
  • toyotabedzrock
  • Admirable
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