Go Rachel, Go

Do I know any controllers in Washington State? I think I do. How about Tennessee? I’m certain I know controllers in Tennessee. How about it Memphis? Are you paying attention in Nashville, Rodney? (Rodney always pays attention.) How about about you guys in Johnson City/Bristol/Kingsport -- good old Tri-Cities? Y’all payin’ attention?

You might recognize somebody in this clip.

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I’m not done. I’m not here just to cheer on Rachel Maddow (or anyone else.) Nor Robert Reich. But Professor Reich has something to say too. First, let me ask a question. Who do you think invited Senator Corker to this meeting? I’m betting it wasn’t the UAW. I’m betting it was GM. Professor Reich has some choice words about GM’s actions on -- what I think is -- a related matter.

GM Has No Business Using Our Money On Campaign Contributions

”General Motors has given $90,500 to candidates in the current election cycle, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Hmmm? Last time I looked, you and I and every other U.S. taxpayer owned a majority of GM. That means some of the money we’re earning as GM owners is being used to influence how we vote in the upcoming mid-term election.”

How would you like to find out that GM is giving your money to Bob Corker so that he can try to lower the wages of union workers -- which has the effect of lowering all American’s wages? I’ll keep digging.

Here’s something that I’ve already found and it needs to be brought into the light. I, of course, looked up Senator Corker on Wikipedia. Let me remind the good folks from Tennessee of his Senate campaign.

”In October 2006, as polls indicated that Ford was maintaining a slight lead over Corker, - the Republican National Committee ran a television advertisement that would provoke a nationwide outcry. In the 30 second television advertisement, sound bites of numerous "people in the street" pronouncing Ford wrong for Tennessee were interspersed with two shots of a white woman animatedly recalling meeting Ford—who is African-American and who was unmarried at the time—at "the Playboy party". The ad concludes with this woman leeringly inviting Ford to phone her.”

It was so “tacky”, even Corker himself condemned the ad. After reaping the benefits from it, of course. Wikipedia even has the polling data so you can see what happened when the ad ran in the third and fourth week of October. You can even see a screen shot of the actress in the video.

I wonder if GM gave the Republican National Committee -- the people that paid for that ad -- any money? Our money?

Racism is still pretty pervasive in the South. Unions aren’t. Do you see how these two things are harmful to us? Do you see how these two issues are used by the Republican Party? Feel free to write me and tell me how racism has been good for the South. Or how the lack of unions has been good for the South.

Elections are coming up quickly. (You’ll have to wait until 2012 to get a chance to unseat Corker.) The choice couldn’t be any clearer.



Don Brown
September 24, 2010