Feel the Hate: The GOP Convention
by Paul Krugman, New York Times
For many
months we've been warned by tut-tutting commentators about the evils of
irrational "Bush hatred." Pundits eagerly scanned the Democratic
convention for the disease; some invented examples when they failed to
find it. Then they waited eagerly for outrageous behavior by
demonstrators in New York, only to be disappointed again.
...Why
are the Republicans so angry? One reason is that they have nothing
positive to run on (during the first three days, Mr. Bush was mentioned
far less often than John Kerry).
The
promised economic boom hasn't materialized, Iraq is a bloody quagmire,
and Osama bin Laden has gone from "dead or alive" to
he-who-must-not-be-named.
Another
reason, I'm sure, is a guilty conscience. At some level the people at
that convention know that their designated hero is a man who never in
his life took a risk or made a sacrifice for his country, and that they
are impugning the patriotism of men who have.
That's
why Band-Aids with Purple Hearts on them, mocking Mr. Kerry's war
wounds and medals, have been such a hit with conventioneers.
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Friday, September 3
Krugman: Feel the Hate - The GOP Convention
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 03 Sep 2004 04:53 PM CDT
Report in From Bettendorf DFA Party
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 03 Sep 2004 01:54 PM CDT
Report in From Bettendorf DFA Party
by Molly Regan, DFIA Environmentalist [Last night] during the house party/fundraiser at Alta's house, I was chosen to ask a question during the conference call with...you guessed it, GOVERNOR HOWARD DEAN! It took several tries to break into the lineup, but was able to do it & asked a question written up by Karen Metcalf, a strong health care advocate here in Scott county and DEANER. I did start out by mentioning that I was running for Soil & Water Conservation Commission & Gov. Dean said "Good for you!" (or words to that effect). Those in the room cheered & I told him that was my steering committee. We all laughed. They were all very excited, while I was just plain nervous. The question was about a report by a number of medical groups that universal health care in this country probably would not be in place until 2010. I cannot remember much about THE GOVERNOR'S answer other than he thought it could be done sooner. Alta or Karen will probably remember more of exactly what he said. I was still too pumped up to catch everything. I forgot to invite him to my fundraiser next week, so I emailed the info to Vermont. Here I go again, asking him to come back to IOWA. One of these days, it will happen. Thanks to Molly Regan for this great report! Email Linda at blog@democracyforiowa.com for information on how to contribute to Molly's campaign.
The Counterpoint: GOP Bait n Switch
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 03 Sep 2004 10:10 AM CDT
 The Counterpoint: GOP Bait 'n' Switch The rational counter to "The Point," "The Counterpoint" critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's corporate vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all Sinclair-owned television stations across the country. by Iowa's Ted Remington We knew “The Point” was predictable, but even we’re surprised at how closely Mark Hyman has followed RNC talking points. A few days ago, we wondered aloud how Hyman would address the disconnect between the Republican platform and the headline speakers at the convention in New York. Perhaps, we mused, Hyman would try to characterize it as somehow showing the “big tent” that is the Republican Party. And right on cue, Hyman did just that. Kicking off a recent editorial with the statement that by “any measure” Bush is the most conservative president in 40 years and Kerry is the most liberal Democratic nominee in recent memory (a pronouncement that seems to be trotted out every four years about whoever happens to be the Democratic nominee), Hyman went to an interview with “moderate” Governor Robert Ehrlich of Maryland, who waxed rhapsodic about the contest of ideas every four years. Queried by Hyman about the “spectrum of philosophies” on display in New York, Ehrlich said that it was good for the party and demonstrated that the GOP has (you guessed it ) “a larger tent” than the Democrats. When asked how the GOP (or, as it was continually referred to throughout Hyman’s editorial, simply “the party”) had changed in the last 20 years, Ehrlich said (with a straight face) that it had become the party of “Main Street rather than Wall Street.” Oh, really? Well, we know that last statement runs counter to all facts available to us. As we noted last week, a recent CBO study showed that the Bush tax policies shift the tax burden from the richest segment of society to the middle class. Add to this the loss of a million jobs, the rise in those without health insurance, the revoking of overtime pay, the diminishment of veterans’ benefits, and the sending of more than a 100,000 troops to fight and die in Iraq (almost none of whom, we’re guessing, are the sons and daughters of Wall Street execs), and you have an out and out war on Main Street America. For more on the specifics of the Bush administration’s attacks on the middle class, see this collection of articles collected by Movingideas.org or the excellent site by California Congressman George Miller. As Thomas Frank argues in his book, What's the Matter with Kansas, the GOP wins votes from “Main Street” not by championing policies that help average Americans, but by claiming to represent the moral values of those who live in Anytown, U.S.A. Focusing on issues such as gay marriage, abortion, prayer in schools, gun control, and the like, Republicans appeal to the moderate to conservative morals of many working class Americans. But despite the claims of those on both the left and the right who focus on these specific issues, the person who occupies the White House is unlikely to dramatically shift the current uneasy consensus on these issues one way or the other. The issues get people riled up, but they don’t have the impact on the daily lives of individuals that broader issues such as tax policy, health care, labor law, and education do. The misdirection allows the GOP to claim to represent Main Street while practicing economic and social policies that ensure that its storefronts are boarded up, its potholes aren’t fixed, and people wander up and down its length looking in vain for a well-paying job. And the spectacle in New York is a case in point. Despite Hyman’s assertion that a “spectrum” of philosophies are on display at the GOP convention, a glance at the primetime list of speakers (the only ones who get seen on any TV channel beyond C-SPAN) shows how distorted a picture the country is getting: Giuliani, Schwartzenegger, McCain, Pataki . . . not a true Bush conservative in the bunch. The only member of the administration to speak (with the exception of the president and vice-president themselves) is Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, in the obligatory attempt to be ethnically diverse. So Hyman and Ehrlich combine forces to lie both about the GOP’s devotion to Main Street America and about its “broad spectrum” of values. But we can add to this list of insults on journalistic integrity the fact that Hyman again plays it both ways. As we’ve noted several times in the past, Hyman likes to flip-flop between being a “commentator” and playing a journalist. In Boston, he was exclusively the former, offering no coverage of the proceedings of the Democratic convention and giving us instead personal attacks on Kerry and other assorted perceived enemies. In New York, Hyman not only talks about the convention itself, but uses his “commentary” slot to interview a major Republican politician, giving him free reign to spout the party line. Of course, Hyman usually does this himself, but it’s at least in the guise of editorial commentary. The latest “Point” masquerades as an interview, but in essence is a free 60-second national ad for the RNC. Maybe “The Point” will get in trouble with the FCC for violating the equal time regulation.  On second thought, probably not. And that’s The Counterpoint. You can read "The Counterpoint" here daily.
Iowa Federation of Labor Questions Values Fund Deal
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 03 Sep 2004 04:19 AM CDT
Iowa Federation of Labor Questions Values Fund Deal
by Mark L. Smith, President, IFL I am writing on behalf of our officers and members to urge your opposition to two parts of the legislative package that will be considered in the special session. The first is the depreciation package for businesses and the second is the workers’ compensation changes. The $70 million business tax break would allow businesses to immediately and retroactively (back to September of ’01) deduct expenses that would otherwise have been deducted over a period of several years. Handing out this $70 million provides no new economic stimulus. Instead, the break is simply a windfall for businesses who have already made purchases. (www.iowapolicyproject.org/reports/ & www.cfpciowa.org) Iowa’s traditional priorities, including schools and public safety, are currently suffering from inadequate budgets, while taxpayers are being forced to make up the difference with higher local taxes and increasing fees. To hand out a $70 million tax break at such a time is illogical. Iowa’s school children will pay the price. Workers’ compensation is a social compact in which employers promise to pay workers who are injured in the course of their employment for the economic and medical costs they incur as a result of a work injury. In return workers gave up the right to sue for damages. The rules that govern the payments are derived from a mixture of legislation, court cases and agency decisions. The resulting "Body of Law" is often arbitrary and confusing to practitioners and especially to non-practitioners. The apportionment proposal that is being offered in the current legislative package is very confusing and is likely to generate a great deal of litigation. What is not confusing is that twice-injured workers will receive a drastic cut in benefits, which will create major hardships for disabled, often unemployed workers. The estimated cost of the apportionment proposal to some four to five hundred severely injured workers, is $13 million annually. The future impact of the apportionment proposal is to erode the social compact by transferring the costs associated with work injuries from the employer to society at large in the form of increased social welfare costs. However, the proposed legislation goes well beyond apportionment and redesigns the whole concept of industrial disability. The "fresh start" proposal will clearly cut benefits for other injured workers. We have no estimate by how much. Further, this portion of the proposed legislation hasn’t been discussed by practitioners or by legislators. The workers’ compensation commissioner is simply codifying his opinion in the Amana Meat case. It is inappropriate to do so. For more information on the Workers’ Compensation proposal see www.iowaaflcio.org. The legislative package that has been built around the Iowa Values Fund is being characterized as a compromise. It is not. It is a blatant exercise in political log-rolling that will cause a major benefit cut for a few injured workers. Governor Vilsack’s call for "making our state a better place and improving the quality of life for all of our people" needs to include injured workers. Government, really, is about deciding who benefits and who pays. A cursory analysis shows in this instance, that the costs will be borne disproportionately by injured workers and our children. The benefits accrue to businesses in the form of economic development money and tax cuts. This is unacceptable. CALL TO ACTION Tell your legislators not to cut Workers' Compensation benefits for the most vulnerable injured workers. The Iowa Legislature is going into special session on September 7, 2004. As a part of a deal to pass the Grow Iowa Values Fund, the Governor and Republican leaders have also agreed to pass devastating cuts in benefits for workers who sustain multiple permanent injuries. These cuts will drastically impact some of Iowa's most vulnerable injured workers, those who have sustained more than one permanent injury. Many of these workers are no longer able to continue in their current job and must find a way to pay their bills and support their families while they retrain for a different job. Any cut in benefits at this critical time could have a substantial, adverse impact on the rest of a worker's life. Please send a letter to your legislators urging them to vote against the proposed cuts in Workers' Compensation benefits. Click here to send a letter to your Iowa legislators. Just fill in your name and address and an appropriate message will be sent on your behalf. The message from Mark L. Smith originally appeared on the Drury for Iowa Senate website. |
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