Pennsylvania Crowd Cheers Populist Message from Anti-Populists McCain-Palin

The delusional duo of McCain-Palin are reinventing themselves and the GOP as the Populist's Party and people are buying it. Their campaign trail bravado touts these two as the only ones who will stand up for the little guy against big bad government. Yes, the same big bad government that's been running the country for 8 years; the same government run by the Party they belong to; and, yes, the same government run by the President they've supported 90% of the time.

Today, while stumping through Pennsylvania steel country, Palin trotted out a line from her convention speech about her husband being a proud member of the United Steel Workers' Union. The crowd went crazy.

Wake up people. The Republican Party and John McCain are not supportive of unions. It wouldn't matter if Palin's family founded the Steel Workers' Union, a McCain administration would not be their friend. Here are their records:

McCain

• McCain voted against the Employee Free Choice Act, which would level the playing field for workers trying to form unions. (H.R. 800, Vote 227, 6/26/07; S. 1788 Vote 188, 7/10/96)


• McCain Voted For a National “Right to Work” for less law that would attempt to eliminate unions altogether. (H.R. 800, Vote 227, 6/26/07; S. 1788 Vote 188, 7/10/96)


• McCain Voted to Allow Employers to Hire Permanent Replacements During a Strike. McCain voted against ending debate on a bill that would bar employers from hiring permanent replacements for striking workers. (S. 55, Vote 189, 7/13/94)


• McCain Voted Against Giving Firefighters and Police a Voice on the Job. McCain voted to deny firefighters and police the right to discuss workplace issues with their employer in 2001 and skipped a vote on the issue in 2008. (H.R. 3061, Vote 323, 11/6/01; S. 2123, 10/1/07; H.R. 980, Vote 126, 5/13/08)


• McCain Voted Against Collective Bargaining Rights for TSA screeners. McCain voted against a measure to grant Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport screeners limited collective bargaining rights. The measure would not have allowed them to strike or negotiate for higher pay. (S. 4, Vote 64, 3/7/07)


• McCain Voted Against Providing Health Insurance for Retirees of Bankrupt Steel Companies. McCain voted against a measure to provide temporary health insurance assistance to retirees of bankrupt steel companies. [S. Amdt. 3433, Vote #117, 5/21/02]


• McCain's Health Care Plan Taxes Employee-Provided Health Benefits. McCain would make employer-paid health premiums part of taxable income, creating a new tax on working families. (Health08.org Forum, 10/31/07; Kaiser/HRET Employer Health Benefits 2007 Annual Survey; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 9/20/06, 4/5/06)

Palin

• Palin has not said publicly where she stands on the Employee Free Choice Act.


• Palin has not said where she stands on the minimum wage, equal pay for equal work, family and medical leave, unemployment benefits, the outsourcing and privatization of jobs, or investing in school building and infrastructure to create jobs.


• Palin’s slim record on health care leaves many questions, but in her run for governor, she supported “flexibility in government regulations” in health care policy, according to her website. And, in a January statement to the The Wall Street Journal, Palin said health care must be “market driven,” which is the same system that has failed us miserably. Market-driven health care means that fewer people get adequate health care coverage and the cost of health care skyrockets. As health care costs get shifted onto workers, health care gets more expensive for everyone and many people are left without any insurance at all.


• Palin has a poor record on public employee pension funds. As governor, she proposed a $42 million reduction in the general fund for state employee pensions. As mayor, she left the city pension at only 73 percent funding when she left office—even though it was fully funded when she entered.

Instead of discussing issues like worker's rights, McCain and Palin keep recycling greatest hits from her convention speech and inane platitudes and amazingly, the crowds keep letting them get away with it.