Toomey comes to Carbon County

I’ve been a Republican twice in my life.  Once was in California in 2000 when I registered Republican so I could vote for McCain over Bush in the spring primary.  The second time was in 2004 when I crossed over to support Arlen Specter running in the Republican primary against a right-wing ideologue named Pat Toomey.  I don’t regret either of those votes. 

I’ve heard Toomey in a debate against Sestak in Allentown.   He was a better debater.  He is intelligent, glib, and easy with the crowd.  He is also immoral, a tool of the wealthy, a man who never manufactured anything or contributed anything to society, making his living as a hedge fund Wall Street currency manipulator.

He thinks his Wall Street credentials make him some sort of financial expert. They don’t. He isn’t.  

Tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. he is going to be at Penn’s Peak.  Penn’s Peak is part of the Fred Reinhart octopus that includes PenTeleData, the Penn’s Peak radio station, the Times News, and the cable company.  

Toomey’s appearance is sponsored by the 9/12 project, a Glenn Beck claque that, I believe, is able to use Penn’s Peak whenever it wants to and may even be funded by the Reinhard family, although I have no way of knowing that for sure, since they don’t release their financial statements.

Am I attending?  I have a doctor’s appointment, which I will try to rush through so I can at least get there in time to ask a question, which is:  Why do you support tax cuts for the rich and oppose an extension of the payroll tax break?  Toomey’s answer will be glib and sound intelligent, but it won’t be truthful.  A truthful answer would be, “because I represent rich people, not peons like you.”  

Legal bribery

“Our Supreme Court has made the United States the only democratic nation where bribery is constitutionally protected....”  That’s a quote from Carl Pope, director of the Sierra Club.  

When I lectured on campaign finance, students often wanted to equate contributions with bribes.  I would patiently explain that a bribe was a “quid pro quo”--I’ll give you money if you vote this way.  Campaign contributions were not like that.  Donors gave because they believed in the ideas of the candidate.  Those lectures, of course, were before the recent Supreme Court decision legalizing unlimited corporate campaign contributions.

I continue to believe that not all campaign contributions are “bribes.”  If I give $50 to the Obama campaign, that is not a bribe.  All I hope to get out of that is the election of a candidate that I agree with on most issues.  On the other hand, if I give millions of dollars to a candidate, I am investing, and I expect a payoff.  If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. That walks and quacks like a bribe.

I’m not sure where the dividing line is between the clean $50 contribution and the multi-million dollar bribe, but there is a line, however nebulous. 

Why does Corbett support the gas industry?  Why are all the Republican candidates for President denying the whole idea of climate change?  Why are they opposing the EPA regs on coal plants?  Because they have been bribed.  And the Supreme Court has ruled that those bribes are legal.

How to handle bigoted emails

A close friend of mine received an email from one of her acquaintances decrying the idea that you are sometimes asked to press one for English.  The email also said that only two people died for others--Jesus Christ and the American soldier.  It was the typical xenophobic right-wing Christian crap that comes across the internet.  

What do you do with this stuff?  I’ll quote what my friend wrote back.  She then hit: reply all, sending the response to everybody on the sender’s list.  I have a feeling my friend has received the last message from the bigot.

Dear Friend:  In this part of the country there are many PA Dutch people whose fathers did not learn English until they went to first grade because German was spoken in the home (and this is a group who immigrated before the American Revolution).  My church (St. Paul’s Big Creek) conducted services in German until the mid-fifties, so I really don’t understand the lack of compassion or willingness to accommodate immigrants who still speak Spanish.  In fact, many immigrant groups around here did not ever learn English—their kids did, and translated for them.

I know for a fact that instructions were given in Polish and Czech in the coal mines and at the Zinc Company.  And yes, Jesus was an example of love--pure and unfiltered, which I do not see reflected in your email.  It would also be Christian to remember that  many of the U.S. soldiers are children of immigrants from Mexico—check out the surnames on the casualties lists.  

So that’s how you answer a mean-spirited and bigoted email.  Remember to always “reply all.”

Super PACs

A recent issue of the New Yorker had an long essay on Clarence Thomas and his legal philosophy.  The first thing I learned is that Clarence Thomas is not the idiot I thought he was.  He actually had a legal philosophy that is rather consistent, and his decisions on the Court reflect that philosophy.

The second thing I took away from the article is that the philosophy itself is idiotic.  He tries to figure out the real intent of the Founding Fathers and interpret the Constitution according to their thinking.  From that we get decisions like the 2010 ruling that independent groups are allowed to raise unlimited amounts to support candidates.  

This, in turn, has led to the creation of PACs like “Restore Our Future,” a PAC that supporters of Romney have created to push his candidacy.  Bachman has one, Obama has one, Perry has a number of them.  While the PACs must disclose their donors, they can accept unlimited donations.  Another group of PACS, like the one Karl Rove founded, have affiliates that don’t even have to report their donors.

I taught American government for years.  I lectured on Federalist Papers.  I read about the debates in Philadelphia in 1787.  There is no way that the Founding Fathers would have approved the current system of campaign finance.  They were opposed to all forms of tyranny.  They would not have approved the tyranny of big donors.  I think they would have been appalled.  Of course, I have no absolute way of knowing how a person from 1787 would think about issues in 2011.  Neither does Clarence Thomas.

Republicans oppose tax cuts!

Last year, with bipartisan support, workers’ contribution to Social Security was cut from 6.2% to 4.2%.  The cut is scheduled to expire in December.  The President proposes to extend it.  

Many Republicans oppose this tax cut.  A spokesman for Eric Cantor said, “If the goal is job creation, Leader [sic] Cantor has long believed that there are better ways to grow the economy and create jobs than temporary payroll tax relief.”  

Just to make this very clear, in case any Republicans are reading this blog, Republicans favor tax cuts for the rich, but oppose them for workers.  Republicans really do represent the wealthy.

the EPA and Republicans

Americans are disappointed when Brazil cuts down the Amazon rain forests.  We want Kenya to patrol its national parks to prevent poaching.  We think Indonesia should stop cutting down teak forests, China should protect panda bears, Mexico should protect monarch butterfly habitat.  None of those countries is anywhere close to being as rich as the United States.

So what do the Republicans propose when we have 9% unemployment.  Cut the EPA regulations.  Allow more pollution.  Increase cancer rates, watch asthma cases soar, allow the rivers to be polluted, because it might--and I stress might--create a few more jobs.

Once again we are seeing hypocrisy.  This really has nothing to do with jobs and everything to do with gutting environmental protections.  Readers know that I have been critical of the President, but every one of the current Republican candidates will not only wreck the environment, but the country itself.  

We are Wisconsin

John W., one of my alert readers, forwarded info noting that the Corbett administration is continuing to push a photo ID requirement to vote and a “right to work for less” law.  

The sponsor of the voter ID law says it won’t really have a partisan impact, since the IDs can be obtained at state expense.  Yeah, and my aunt, who no longer drives, is going to find a way to get to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get an ID.  (She’s a Democrat,  so I’m sure the Corbett administration will be very happy.)  Folks, this is not about voter integrity.  It is about voter suppression.

As for the “right to work for less” law, Pennsylvania doesn’t get the same publicity that Wisconsin and Ohio get, but this administration is just as anti-worker as they are.  It is simply more clever.  It doesn’t publicize its anti-worker stance, so it achieves its objectives under the radar.  Don’t be fooled.

Saving the savings bond

When I was a wee lad, my mother and father bought me savings bonds.  I remember cashing in some of them when I went off to college.  The savings bond program began in 1935 during the first Roosevelt administration, and it was a way for ordinary Americans to invest in a basically risk-free, fee-free savings instrument with a return that usually exceeded a savings account.  

Linda and I have been giving U.S. savings bonds for our grandson and our great-nieces and nephews every Christmas.  We get the $50 dollar bonds from our local bank.  We feel like we are helping the kids and our country.  

Now the Treasury Department proposes to eliminate the paper savings bond except when we file our tax returns.  At the very time when the United States government should be encouraging citizens to invest, it is making it harder for ordinary citizens like me (who do not own a credit card) to go into a bank and buy a savings bond.  

Every day we see advertisements to buy lottery tickets.  We never see advertisements to buy savings bonds.  Unfortunately, the Treasury Department is making it harder for us to do what is good for us and for the country.  I try to be optimistic, but it is difficult.

Feds to close over 3000 community centers

The community centers are post offices, many located in small towns and rural areas.  One of the slated closures is in Parryville.

Post offices are often found in downtown areas that other businesses have abandoned.  They are centers for information, for gossip, for holding the community together.  They employ thousands of people, including a large number of women, minorities, and the disabled.  And just in case you haven’t noticed, the United States Postal Service is now both efficient and customer-friendly.

The Post Office was part of George Washington’s administration.  Postal service everywhere is a government function. Certain government activities--Yellowstone National Park, the Center for Disease Control, the U.S. Marine Corps--are collective goods that private enterprise either won’t or can’t provide.  How did the “free market” idea come to apply to what has always been a necessary government service?

Even if you only send email and haven’t written a letter in years, you have an interest in a post office system that works.  You might want to check out a new website for more info:  <savethepostoffice.com>.  

Tomorrow:  Saving the savings bond.

Thank you, Mr. President

The latest issue of GQ Magazine (yes, I do read everything) features an article about the trials and tribulations of gays in the military during World War II, in Vietnam, and in Desert Storm.  The injustices perpetrated on members of our armed forces who were doing their best to serve their country will make you both angry and sad.

I know liberals are irritated at President Obama for compromising on the debt ceiling limit.  Readers of this blog know that I’m one of them.  Nevertheless, I think it is important to point out that this country is better off in so many ways because Obama is the president.  Because of him, the policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” ends next month.  It’s time.

Why I belong to the American Civil Liberties Union

Pomona College student Nick George was interrogated, handcuffed, and detained at the airport for carrying a set of English-Arabic flashcards.  This happened in the United States of America.  

The motto of the American Civil Liberties Union is “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”  They got that right.

Save the date

In the last few years I’ve occasionally received a notice to “save the date.”  A formal invitation arrives later, but in the meantime you put the event on your calendar so you don’t double schedule.  

On October 3-5 the liberal group Moveon.org is sponsoring a conference in Washington to Take Back the American Dream.  For more info, go to http://www.ourfuture.org/news-release/2011052016/take-back-american-dream-conference-oct-3-5.  And save the date.  Washington isn’t all that far.

Yes we can, or can we?

In the 2008 November election, Obama volunteers from safe states were dispatched to swing states like Pennsylvania.  Carbon County was home to at least four volunteers from New York.  They were smart, hard-working, and sophisticated, and since Obama won Carbon by a little more than 1%, they probably made the difference in the election.

One of those volunteers stayed with us during the campaign, and we became good friends.  She and her husband are visiting this weekend, and she and I discussed our disappointment with President Obama.  Our complaint is nothing new--you can hear it from liberal members of Congress, from midwesterners on the recent bus trip, in New York Times editorials, and on this blog.  Why does he compromise?  Why doesn’t he fight back?  Why does he agree to Republican demands when the country seems to be headed for a double dip recession?  

We want the Obama of the campaign to come back.  We don’t want to be reasonable.  The country is beyond reasonable. When the anger of the left equals the anger of the right, we may see some change, and I can tell you the left is getting pretty damn angry.

The Help

Some movies aimed specifically at a female audience are shunned by men, and rightly so.  “Sex and the City” and its sequel come to mind, and if any men saw “Mama Mia,” they were either trying to impress girlfriends or dragged in by wives.

“The Help,” a movie about African American maids in Jackson, Mississippi, set in 1963, will probably appeal to women, but it would be a real shame if the label “chick flick” deterred men from seeing it.  Viola Davis, who plays the main character, deserves an Oscar for her performance.

I should warn you that the Association of Black Women Historians has criticized the movie for “stereotyping.”  The book, by Kathryn Stockett, has also been attacked as another example of a white person using blacks to advance her own career.   

Don’t let the criticism discourage you from seeing the film. It creates empathy for the maids and places the viewers into a period when racial discrimination and racial violence were an everyday part of people’s lives.  I saw the movie last weekend at the Mahoning Theater with an all-white audience of mostly middle-aged and older viewers.  When the film ended, the audience burst into applause.  It’s that kind of movie.

Rick Perry

I don’t know too much about Rick Perry.  He’s governor of Texas, unsuccessfully prayed to end the drought, cut school spending in a state full of already undereducated people, called for Texas to secede, and recently announced he is running for President of the country from which he wanted to secede.

I also know that he said if Ben Bernanke, chair of Federal Reserve, printed more money, that would be treasonous.

And I know this.  Anyone who has such little understanding of what is “treason” should not be allowed near the White House.  

Corbett, the spiteful governor

Today’s Morning Call had a front-page article discussing Governor Corbett’s newly imposed limits on the state’s renewable energy programs and curtailing state agencies assigned to promote green energy.  The administration also has “...forbidden state executive agencies from signing contracts that support clean energy supply.”

These policies are difficult to believe.  It reminds me of a child who says, “I’ll show you,” just before he does something really dumb.  To stop investment in renewable energy will put Pennsylvania at the back of the line for energy innovation and green jobs.  We already have Pennsylvania businesses putting up solar panels and operating wind farms.  Why not support them?

Future generations will look back on this period with amazement at the lost opportunities.  Corbett, of course, won’t be around to see the environmental disasters he helped to create. 

Verizon strike

Verizon technicians and customer support employees are on strike.  Verizon would like to change their pension and health care plans.  The net effect of the proposed changes would mean thousands of dollars in “give-backs” from workers to an already profitable company.

Do you know why Verizon is doing this?  Because the company knows the economy is bad and people are unemployed.  What better time to screw the workers.  

Verizon is using retired workers and management personnel to fill in.  We had trouble with our phone yesterday--service was out for about six hours.  Today the phone again did not work.  When we did get service, the line was full of static.  When we called Verizon, the representative said the problem was in the line and would be fixed in about one week.

Tomorrow I am calling the union and volunteering to help with the picketing.  Contact me if you want the number.

What's happening to me?

Rep. Doyle Heffley sent me his most recent newsletter, and I find myself agreeing with him on two issues.  One article, entitled “Castle Doctrine Now Law,” discussed recently passed legislation to allow the use of deadly force to protect one’s home or car.  I’m ok with that.

In 1926 Clarence Darrow, hired by the NAACP, defended Ossian Sweet, a black man accused of shooting a white man who was part of a mob attacking his house. Darrow referred to one’s home being one’s castle, and, after two trials, was successful in winning the case.  I agree with Darrow (and Heffley) on this one.

It seems to me that if a some miscreant is breaking into my house, I have a right to defend myself.  I would presume his intentions are not altruistic.  I have no problem with the so-called “Castle Doctrine.”

Secondly, the “Fair Share Act” says that defendants in civil suits are only liable for the damages for which they are responsible.  In the past, let’s say a jury found a driver 95% at fault and a borough 5% at fault for a wreck at an intersection.  If the driver had no insurance, the borough would then be held accountable for the entire amount.

This legislation is sometimes seen as a way to punish trial lawyers, who are one of the main sources of funding for the Democratic Party.  So what.  Democrats should not depend on being funded by a system that is patently unfair.  That is not what we stand for.

Ya Dance With Them That Brung Ya

Here are some percentages of how voters at various income levels voted for Obama in 2008.

Under $15,000--73%

Between $!5,000 and $30,000--60%

Between $30,000 and $50,000--55%

Over $50,000--49%

The Democrats in Congress and the Democratic President need to remember who brought them to the dance.  It wasn’t oil company executives or hedge fund managers.  Democratic leaders have a political, and, I would argue, a moral obligation to the people who provide them with their highest level of support.

Democrats in Washington don’t even speak to their followers on a symbolic level.  When President Obama was trying to reach out personally to Speaker Boehner prior to raising the debt limit, why did he agree to a golf game?  I am aware that golf is not only a rich man’s sport, and people with limited incomes can play at municipal courses, but golf still has an upper class odor about it.  Damn few people who make less that $15,000 a year play golf. 

We already have a political party that is completely geared to the top 2%.  I want the Democrats to speak for us, and they have not been doing it.

Eliminating the property tax?

In my previous post I noted that the property tax, at least as levied in Pennsylvania, has major flaws.  The Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations is calling for the complete abolition of the tax, noting that past efforts at reform have not solved the fairness issue. 

A tax that brings in billions of dollars, however, cannot simply be eliminated.  If you are a Tea Party type, you may believe it can, but reasonable people recognize that an alternative revenue source would be necessary.  

The state income tax and the state sales tax are both candidates to bring in more funds.  The Pennsylvania income tax is a flat percent with lots of exclusions.  The legislature could increase the rate, make the tax progressive, or eliminate exclusions like pensions.  

The six percent sales tax could also be raised, but to make up for the loss of the property tax, it would have to be around 15%, which is ridiculous and would drive residents and businesses out of the state.  What we could do is apply the sales tax to more items.  According to one speaker at the Thursday hearing, some exceptions are downright bewildering.  Diet coke is taxed; bottled water is not.  Deodorants are subject to sales tax; antiperspirants are not--or is it the other way around.

We could also apply the sales tax to services.  We live in a “service economy;” taxing those services would bring in a huge amount of revenue--and make the tax less regressive.

It is important to remember, though, that most policy changes in the U.S. are incremental.  Comprehensive reform too often leads to unexpected consequences.  It’s why we often do pilot programs or provide sunset clauses.  Most politicians (and most citizens) fear the unknown, and eliminating a major tax like the property tax would have all kinds of unpredictable ripple effects.  Here is one possibility--local control of school districts would disappear.  

OK, enough on property tax.  Tomorrow I’ll start bashing Republicans again.

Property tax hearing

Senator Argall and Representative Heffley sponsored a legislative hearing on property tax reform this afternoon in the old Lehighton High School auditorium.  The room was full of mostly retired people, and they politely listened to a lecture on the history of property tax reform, heard proposals to change the tax, and sat through a powerpoint presentation by the head of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Taxpayer Associations advocating complete elimination of property taxes.

In discussing any tax reform, it helps to make a list of governmental revenue sources--income tax, sales tax, property tax, the lottery, “sin taxes” (on booze and cigarettes), license fees, and so on.

Beside that list make columns for various ways to evaluate the source.  Is it progressive, flat, or regressive?  Is it easy to collect?  Is it affordable?  Would it provide a good revenue stream?  Does it promote worthy social goals?

This can get complicated.  For example, income tax taken out of one’s paycheck is easy to collect.  It may be more difficult to collect from a self-employed contractor who does jobs for cash.  A sales tax is often thought of as flat, but it is regressive because poor people pay a higher percentage of their yearly income in sales taxes than rich people pay.

Some revenue sources are unambiguously bad.  The lottery is one.  True, it is easy to collect--fools actually line up to spend their money.  From a societal point of view, however, the lottery is a disaster, encouraging people to waste their money on a pipe dream rather than saving and investing it.  In addition poor people are much more likely to buy tickets than are wealthy people, making the lottery one of the most regressive revenue sources we have.

Now, finally, the property tax.  Is it based on ability to pay?  No.  A retiree may live on a fixed income in a large house with a high property tax.  Is it fair?  Not really.  Counties are supposed to reassess periodically, but many don’t.  Tremendous disparities in assessed values can occur between nearly identical properties.  Does it provide a good revenue stream?  It depends.  If you live in a school district in which the average property is worth $100,000 that adjoins a district with a $300,000 average property value, the low value district would have to tax its property owners three times as much as the rich district to stay even.

Tomorrow:  Could the property tax be eliminated, and what would replace it?  Stay tuned.

Disappointment

If I am still around, I can tell you the person I will be voting for in the 2016 presidential election.  It will be the Democrat.  In 2012 I will also be voting for the Democrat.  I assume it will be President Obama in his reelection bid.

The Republican Party is the party of the 2%.  It is the anti-science party, the anti-woman party, the anti-gay rights party, the party of the rich, the party of the haves and the want-even-mores.  It has been taken over by anti-intellectual scoundrels, and it shows no signs of putting national interest above partisan advantage.

Nonetheless, I am not a happy camper.  I am disappointed in President Obama, and I know very few Democrats who are pleased with him.  An article in the Sunday New York Times by Drew Westin, a professor of psychology at Emory University, discusses our dismay.  Dr. Westin notes that Obama ran as both a reformer and a unifier, and you can’t be both.  He points out that Obama’s actual accomplishments prior to the 2008 election were thin, and that Obama seems reluctant to identify or label an enemy or present a coherent narrative.  He keeps calling for us to work together, but in spite of a reputation for good speeches, he never explains why the nation is in the straits it is in, or how it can turn around.  To sum up, he doesn’t lead.

Of course I will vote for him.  What are the alternatives?  Bachman?  Perry?  Pawlenty? Santorum?  I will vote for him, give contributions, and go door-to-door, but all the time I’ll be thinking of the gap between my hopes and the reality.

Stop by

The Carbon County Fair officially opens tomorrow.  Check out the peach jam--I have no idea if my entry won, but I can’t believe it didn’t.  I also entered about six different types of hot peppers; I have my fingers crossed.

More importantly, stop by two booths.  The Democratic Party booth will be staffed by different Carbon County Democratic clubs, and the newly formed Carbon County Labor Chapter booth is staffed by union volunteers.  I’ve worked fair booths for years, and I have noticed that quite a few people stop by to argue.  It is always encouraging to see a friendly face and hear a supportive comment.  

I must say that in the past the volunteers staffing the Carbon County Republican booth have been generally nice.  They aren’t filled with hate, and while I’ve had some heated discussions with them, they are in the ball park.  They don’t think the President was born in Kenya or that all Democrats are socialists.

For the last two years the Tea Party people (or as they are known in Carbon County, the 9/12ers) have also had a booth.  My advice is to walk on the other side of the midway.  Those people do not play well with others.

Hard road ahead

In early 2009 the economist Paul Krugman warned us that the stimulus proposed by the Obama administration was not big enough to get us out of the trough. He noted that Japan had a “lost decade” of economic stagnation and that the lesson of 1937 was that retrenchment in government spending during a depression was a recipe for economic downturn.

So what happened?  The President’s inadequate stimulus was derided by the Republicans as being a waste of money.  Instead of pushing for more federal funding, they demanded less.  Frustration with our economic woes led to a Republican majority in the House and the election of people like Lou Barletta, a pack of clowns ignorant of economics but willing to destroy the country if it meant a Republican majority and the election of a Republican president in 2012.

In the last world-wide depression, many countries moved to the right.  Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Japan--all became fascist, often scapegoating minorities for economic problems and imposing arbitrary rule.  Right-wing movements were strong in France and Britain as well.  In the U.S. we rode out the storm with New Deal programs, a popular president, and a fundamentally sound economic base.

We don’t have that strong social glue or economic strength this time.  We have a bitterly divided country, full of right-wing ideological fanatics.  Look for immigrants to be scapegoated.  Unions will be attacked.  Poor people will be told their problems are their own fault.  I don’t know whether or not this time the country will hold together during another deep depression.  I can only hope.

Peach jam

I’m not posting tonight.  I’m in the middle of making peach jam for the Carbon County Fair.  See you tomorrow.

Talking Turkey

7 March 2011:  F.D.A. food safety 

President’s F.Y. 2010-11 request:  $856 million

                        Republican House voted:  $727 million

7 March 2011:  U.S.D.A. inspection

President’s F.Y. 2010 request:  $1.036 billion
Republican House voted:  $930 million

3 Aug. 2011:  New York Times headline:  “Turkey Plant May Be Link to Illnesses”

3 Aug. 2011:  Morning Call headline:  “Ground turkey recalled on Salmonella risk”

Duh.

Two questions

1.  Yesterday the Morning Call reported the results of a Quinnipiac poll in which a majority of men gave Corbett a positive rating and 37 percent of women approved of his performance.  These results are up from the June poll.  Now the aggregate approval rating is 44%; then it was 39%.  The question is:  Why?  

Ok, he got a dog.  That might be worth a percentage point.  What else did he do to merit an increase in approval?  Did he provide jobs, tax Marcellus shale gas, improve the environment, help the schools, make government more open and efficient, reduce crime, provide hope?  So the question remains:  Why?

2.   The New York Times reported today that the National Rifle Association has filed suit to prevent a law from going into effect that would require gun dealers along the border with Mexico to report bulk sales of semiautomatic rifles of the type used by Mexican drug gangs.  The N.R.A. is supporting Mexican drug gangs.  The question is:  Is the N.R.A. getting a kickback from the narco criminal cartels?

There may be other explanations.  The N.R.A. may be run by fanatics.  The N.R.A. may be run by people who haven’t heard about the drug violence in Mexico.  The N.R.A. may be getting large contributions from gun dealers along the border. Personally, I think it is getting a kickback.

What does the Carbon County Democratic Party need?

Tonight the Carbon County Democrats held their annual picnic at Memorial Park in Jim Thorpe.  I walked around with a little notebook and asked various people that question.  Here are some of the answers:

Chris Eckert, President of the Lehighton Democratic Club:  Volunteers and active participants.

Sam Mason, President, Jim Thorpe Democratic Club:  Leadership, stability, hardworking people.

Joan Turko, Palmerton activist:  Younger members; young people registered.

Marge Cusanelli, long-time New Columbus party member:  More women to run for office.

Jesse Walck, candidate for Summit Hill City Council:  Participation by the masses.  We need to make people angry.  

Linda Christman, chair of the Carbon County Democrats for Change:  A headquarters.  That will provide a focal point for volunteers and would be a good first step.

Billy O’Gurek, Chair, Carbon County Democratic Party:  More volunteers.  It is hard to knock on doors with the same few people.  We need more feet on the ground to make it work.

Joe Roman, Adjunct social science instructor, LCCC:  To be more aggressive.  We should follow the lead of our office holders, especially our Commissioners.  This county is actually in the best shape it has been for years.

Edie Lukasevich, Jim Thorpe activist and retired labor organizer:  Unity.  The party also should show some respect for the women active in the party.

Mike McCall, campaign consultant:  Money.  You can’t get the message out without money.

Personally I like the last answer.  So many things depend on money--a headquarters,  cell phones for phone banking, newspaper ads, direct mail, Halloween parade floats, and volunteer recruitment are all made easier with money.  I also understand what Mr. Walck means by “make people angry.”  I would add only that we must focus that anger on the right targets.

We need to sing

In my American Studies class at San Jose State I was giving the lecture on labor organizing in the Thirties.  Our reading for the day was “Waiting for Lefty,” a play written for easy production in union halls and church basements, and we saw a brief clip of the the anti-union violence at the auto assembly plants in Detroit.  

I decided that a good way to end the lecture would be to have the students sing “Solidarity Forever.”  At the end of the song we would all yell, “Strike, Strike, Strike.”  I don’t believe a single student in the class of 90 had ever been a union member.  Most of the students who took American studies were engineering and science majors; the course satisfied quite a few GE requirements and was especially popular with non-liberal arts majors.

I had no idea if the students would join in.  It occurred to me that I might be standing in front of the class singing a solo and humiliate myself while the students smirked.  That didn’t happen.  Ninety students belted out “Solidarity Forever” and then yelled “Strike, Strike, Strike” in a way that would have made John L. Lewis proud.

Why do people sing in church?  Why do people sing the “Star Spangled Banner?”  Because singing unites people, makes them feel as one, gives them inspiration.  We sang “The Banks are Made of Marble” on the bus on the way to the labor rally in East Stroudsburg this spring, and after the initial feeling of self-consciousness, we got into it and felt pretty good.

We need some singers.

No ID; time to die

Do you remember that congressman from South Carolina who yelled “You lie” at President Obama during the State of the Union address?  It was in response to the President telling Congress that undocumented workers would not be covered under the new health care law.

Go from the abstract to the particular--to a guy in San Francisco named Carlos who has cancer.  He has no proof of citizenship, so he doesn’t get treatment.  He dies at age 50 because no medical establishment will do the necessary procedures. Perhaps he should consider himself lucky--50 is one year longer than the life expectancy of migrant laborers in the U.S.  You can read about Carlos in today’s New York Times at <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/health/views/02cases.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Sanjay%20Basu&st=cse>.

I know, I know.  What part of illegal didn’t Carlos understand? 

The "Compromise"

The U.S. won’t default on its debts.  Wow.  Here are some other results of the bill that passed the House a few hours ago.

1.  The economy will continue to improve at a sluggish pace, if at all.  Every reputable economist knows you don’t cut spending in a recession.  The last six months have been dismal, and the next six months will be about the same or worse.

2.  Unemployment is no longer on the agenda. The Speaker noted that the Republicans have changed the conversation.  He is right.  Somehow the fact almost one in ten Americans is out of work is no longer an issue.  In past recessions, government jobs were a leading sector in hiring.  Now state and local governments are laying people off; government jobs are declining.  Look for unemployment to rise and realize that the federal government plan is to do nothing.

 3.  Conservative Republicans won this battle.  They cheered when the bill passed the House, and rightly so.  It is their victory.  They gave up almost nothing, and got cuts in the federal government that would have appalled President Reagan.

4.  The deficit reduction package depends entirely on cuts.  No additional revenues are contemplated.  Once again, total Republican victory.

5.  The Republicans have President Obama’s number.  He caves.  He rolls over.  If you think the President will have any victories between now and November 2012, you are dreaming.

6.  President Obama, for all of his speeches, does not communicate well.  His whole emphasis on “reasoning together” has no meaning when one side is unwilling to reason.  He could have explained why this “compromise” was bad.  Some of you may remember Ross Perot with his charts.  Why didn’t the President do something similar?  

7.  Unless something really strange happens (Republicans nominate Bachman, aliens from outer space attack), President Obama will be a one-term president. He owns this economy because he is the president.  You and I know it isn’t his fault, but you can’t have four years of recession--or depression--and get reelected.   This makes me both sad and angry.  He is a decent and intelligent man with good ideas.  And he just lost a battle to idiots from the Tea Party who have no interest whatsoever in good government, a growing economy, or a livable environment.  We are dealing with people who put political gain above the national interest, and they are in the driver’s seat.

8.  I wish I had worked for Hillary.