Posted on 04/30/2007 8:43:56 AM PDT by yoe
Earlier this year, I wrote that congressional Democrats would disappoint their liberal base because "holding power means compromise." I was wrong. Democrats are doing their level best to please their radical leftist constituencies, and it's worse than we thought. In their first 100 days in control of Congress, they have introduced legislation that would cripple small business, surrender in Iraq, socialize our medical care and extend the redundant hypocrisy of "hate crimes" to gays.
The Dems recently passed the "Employee Free Choice Act" through the House. This Communist-inspired legislation (no kidding...the Communist Party USA has proudly endorsed it) removes a worker's right to a secret ballot when deciding whether or not to join a union. Unions could invade workplaces with a "card-check" system that lets them organize if a majority of workers sign up.
Imagine a burly Teamster showing up at your home on a Saturday morning, pressuring you to vote in favor of the union. A small business owner with three employees could be forcibly unionized if two of those employees sign the card. Employees who don't want to work in a union environment would lose their right to vote on this issue.
If you think having unions infest America's 22 million small businesses, demanding absurd wages and outrageous pensions, is a good idea, ask General Motors. After being systematically eviscerated by the United Auto Workers for the last 50 years, GM has now fallen behind Toyota as the world's number one maker of automobiles.
From there we move on to the condescending protection of "minorities" in the form of superfluous hate crimes legislation. The latest attempt has been named the Matthew Shepard Act, in honor of a Wyoming meth addict killed in a drug deal gone bad. The fact that he happened to be gay apparently entitled him to more protection than your average straight meth addict.
Do we really believe that a murderer is going to pause in the commission of his crime and say, "Wait, you're not gay, are you?" What if the killer himself comes out of the closet while on trial? Is it no longer a hate crime? And what are the ramifications for a preacher who dares to tell his congregation what the Bible says about homosexuality? Suppose the next day a homosexual is beaten up in that community? Is that preacher's sermon now "hate speech?"
Then there is the issue the Dems think is their ticket back to the Oval Office: THE WAR. The "This Is Hard So Let's Give Up" bill is set to cross the president's desk this week with a date certain for U.S. surrender to the terrorists in Iraq. Predictably, it will be vetoed. This legislation was passed so that Dems can go back to their districts next year and say, "We tried to bring the boys home, but Bush wanted them to stay and get killed." One of the few Democrats I know of who has consistently hoped for our troops to fail is Dennis Kucinich. The fact that Dennis Kucinich is now a Democratic trendsetter may just be the saddest thing ever.
And, of course, there is the constant Democrat drumbeat to return to the tired old concept of "universal health care." This idea will not die, despite the utter failure of such programs in Europe, Canada and elsewhere.
Several other pieces of legislation are in the works. One is an elaboration of the original 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which would cost businesses millions and give even more paid leave to new parents. How on earth did we, as Americans, ever manage to have both kids and jobs before 1993? The average family today has fewer children and more disposable income than any previous generation, and yet we need even more time off than they did?
Democrats are singing the same socialist tune they have since FDR declared himself Nanny-in-Chief. It goes something like this (especially since the sixties): "You cannot take care of yourself. You deserve more than others. Rich people owe you. Armed conflict is never the answer, especially when it takes longer than a month. You deserve free medical coverage. If you are gay, non-white, female, 'transgendered' or whatever, you need even more protection."
Here's the reality: we are Americans. Let's start acting more like adults and less like Democrats.
Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a political speechwriter and public policy advisor. His weekly columns are published in newspapers across the country and on selected Internet web sites, including Human Events Online, TheConservativeVoice.com and GOPUSA.com, where he is a senior writer and state editor. Readers may e-mail him at dougpatton@cox.net.
Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.
Naah.. unions didn’t kill GM, GM did.
And the article is full of muddled thinking. Communist endorsed != communist inspired.
Conservatism is smarter than this guy.
I hope people are seeing what democraps will do with full control of the congress and the white house. Imagine what the supreme court would look like?
The UAW is clearly a huge part of their woes. Ford and Chrysler aren't that far behind either.
Unions are like barnacles on the ship. They're a cumulative drag on progress, and they'll eventually bring the thing to a halt.
Actually, I think the author is spot on.
Didn't know that. Anyone have any sources?
Small business are a nuisance to the socialists because there are too many of the to nationalize.
If FMLA guarantees that you that your job will still be around after 12 weeks (a good thing, IMHO) then it MUST follow that 24 weeks PAID leave is much, much better (a bad thing, IMHO).
100 years ago, Unions were a good thing, IMHO. Now that OSHA, the SEC, and a million other gov't agencies have been formed, they've taken over for combatting the things that unions were formed to combat. I can't imagine having to work in a place with union regs AND gov't regs. It must be hard to accomplish anything.
The horse died but the idea did not. Of course the Democrat's answer is to get a bigger whip.
I remember Tenn Care nearly bankrupting the state of Tennessee and it is still huge liability. The public health care issue has failed, so why do they keep pusining it? I know, its an excuse to get a bigger whip.
Boeing So Cal union just rejected best and final offer for three year contract because it included work force reduction in a line that is closing down during that same span.
It also included a significant wage increase and an additional bonus.
It's pretty tough to cut price (and maybe keep the line open) with help like that.
So what’s a white male to do today? Announce he’s gay?
No body ever mentions that the auto companies grew to their peak with unions. These days unions play an equal part in the destruction of the automotive industry. We also shouldn’t ignore excessive environmentalism’s part either.
My biggest problems with unions is their political power and that stupid scale based pay that prevents ingenuity and friendly competition.
As you imply, the purpose is to bring more and more power into the hands of the state. The same reason why they favor an ever larger educational sector. There is literally no limit to the claims to the public purse just for schooling and for sick care.
Same here, never heard anything about Shephard using meth.
Of course the Democrat want Iraq to fail. Success would mean an advantage for US Corporations. I tmaybe many Democrats lended support to the war just to withdraw it for political reasons.
You might try Google.
carolyn
Thanks for the source.
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