Listen Up, Senate Republicans: The Heartland Is on to Your Tricks

[Omaha Steve]

Full article with several quotes from other papers: http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/08/02/listen-up-senate-republicans-the-heartland-is-on-to-your-tricks/

Legislation & Politics, Bush & Co.

Aug 2

Listen Up, Senate Republicans: The Heartland Is on to Your Tricks

Tomorrow is showdown day in the U.S. Senate. Senate Democrats will fight to kill a $753 billion millionaires’ estate tax cut that Republican leaders have packaged with a minimum wage increase. The bill’s fine print also means workers who earn tips in seven states could actually see their pay cut.

The reason behind this cynical bill, crafted by House Republican leaders and passed in the wee hours of Saturday morning, is two fold. Republicans either will win their long-sought estate tax cut—putting estates as large as $10 million off-limits—and pay off their wealthy friends and contributors. Or, if Democrat turn back the estate tax, Republicans will do their best to twist that move into campaign sound bites that make it look as though Democrats opposed increasing the minimum wage.

As Republican Senate leaders try to choke off debate on the bill tomorrow, they should take a look at editorial and opinion comments from around the country—outside the Beltway-New York axis—the heartland is on to their scheme.

[babylonsister]

1. Better late than never; hopefully their awakening will reflect

in the way the heartland votes.

[liberalmike27]

2. I can virtually guarantee you

Democrats will fight to stop this bill, and the local news stations will say, just before the election that Democrats fought to stop the minimum wage increase, and will scarcely mention the cut of the taxes of the top .2% wealthist. For that matter, I saw two stations report that the "Republican Congress voted to raise the minimum wage" the other day. It has started already.

[Warpy]

3. Let's hope the DEMOCRATS figure it out

and refuse to cave like Clinton did on the welfare abolition bill, thinking something that is only partly good can be changed later. Hey, wimps! THEY WON'T LET YOU CHANGE IT.

Face it, the Waltons and the Bush twins and Paris Hilton do NOT NEED WELFARE. This bill is hideous. Chances are when the wage hits its peak in 3 years, it will need to be doubled from there. This is a rotten bill for everyone but the children of the very rich. This bill should be defeated.

Then all those campaign commercials should trumpet the fact that the PARIS HILTON WELFARE BILL is what they voted down. Drown out the opposition with that sound bite. Then promise REAL wage reform.