GOP Stalls On Minimum Wage To Avoid Iraq Votes By Bob Geiger

[Demeter]

January 29, 2007

GOP Stalls On Minimum Wage To Avoid Iraq Votes

By Bob Geiger

The majority of Senate Republicans filibustering and delaying the passage of a new minimum wage law may be heartless, but they're not dumb. They know that bumping the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour is enormously popular with the American people and they're also aware that it passed by huge numbers in the House of Representatives, with 80 Republicans voting in favor of helping the working poor....So why the stalling? Why put off the inevitable with over 100 nonsensical amendments, while already voting once against ending debate on a clean minimum wage bill? Well, folks, it's kind of like the Seinfeld episode, where George Costanza knows his girlfriend is about to break up with him so he just ducks her -- breaks dates, pretends he's not home, doesn't answer the phone, reasoning that if he can stall her by not being available, she can't break up with him.

Except in this case, the Republicans figure that if they can keep the Senate occupied indefinitely with an open-and-shut thing like a minimum wage increase, they can avoid the thing they fear most -- having to vote on any of the myriad Iraq-war resolutions waiting in the wings.

"Tuesday, we'll have a vote and, you know, they may defeat cloture just like they did on the ethics thing," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), at a joint press conference with Ted Kennedy (D-MA) on Friday. "They know that they're on the wrong side on this issue. And we're going to not let them forget it.....If they defeat cloture on minimum wage, they think we're going to bring this right back? Oh, no we're not. We're going to move to another subject they don't like to talk about: escalation of the war in Iraq... they know when minimum wage is finished, we're going to Iraq."

Reid has the bipartisan Biden-Hagel-Levin resolution against the escalation of the Iraq war waiting in the wings and my bet is that, if Republicans filibuster -- vote against cloture -- on the minimum wage legislation on Tuesday, Reid will temporarily table that legislation, call the Republicans on their game and move on to the Iraq war.

Senate Democrats can then bring the minimum wage -- which now contains $8 billion in new tax breaks for small businesses -- right back after Iraq resolutions and ongoing funding for troops (already in Iraq) are handled.

"It took the House of Representatives four hours to increase the minimum wage with 80 Republicans supporting it," said Kennedy at the Friday news conference with Reid. "Why, Mr. Republican, will you not permit the Senate of the United States to increase the minimum wage, which has not been increased for 10 years for men and women who are at the lower end of the economic ladder, men and women of dignity who take a pride in their work, who are trying to provide for their family?"


You can read more from Bob at BobGeiger.com.



Authors Website: http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com

Authors Bio: Bob Geiger is a writer, activist and Democratic operative in Westchester County, NY.

[whistle]

1. GOP stalls on minimum wage vote because these bastards

....hate anyone who works for a living and really hate the poor.

[MichiganVote]

2. The Senate= to trying to get an adolescent to clean their room

[illinoisprogressive]

3. I heard not to piss off Harry. He is nice but, when crossed he will

make you pay. the repugs don't know what they are in for because Harry will get them for this.