The 2012 Republican primary is increasingly looking like a two-man race between TPaw and Willard. And you can be sure that — since neither of them in their previous political lives were known as Teabaggers — they’ll be extremely eager to out-crazy each other.
Pawlenty said in his op-ed that “Unionized public employees are making more money, receiving more generous benefits, and enjoying greater job security than the working families forced to pay for it with ever-higher taxes, deficits and debt.”
Now, that’s music to a wingnut’s ears, but like pretty much everything that comforts them –it’s simply not true. And since TPaw, as a governor, knows it’s not true, he’s — what’s the word? — lying.
“How did this happen? Very quietly,” Pawlenty wrote. “The rise of government unions has been like a silent coup, an inside job engineered by self-interested politicians and fueled by campaign contributions.”
You see, the problem with this country is not the rampant criminality of the banksters or unemployment or our crumbling infrastructure or the cost of health care or the run-amok Pentagon or our addiction to fossil fuels or the spiraling wealth inequality that has America resembling a Third World Country.
No, the big problem, you see, is that public school teachers make too much damn money.
Gonna be a fun primary!



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The solution? Privatize education, issue state or federal vouchers, eliminate public schools, then jack up the rates for increased profit.
Duh.
Oh, and teachers at private schools make waaaaay more.
Stupid motherfuckers started this “public employee unions are evil” bullshit, now they’re stuck with trying to sell it to the unwashed masses.
Yeppurs, the Regressive primaries are gonna be a barrel of laughs.
Anybody seen/heard anything about turnout in NY-26 today?
gee, if Americans really want to cut our annual federal deficits, they could tell Obama to get us out of Iraq now.
gee, if Americans really want to cut our annual federal deficits, they could tell Obama to get us out of Afghanistan now.
gee, if Americans really want to cut our annual federal deficits, they could tell Obama to get us out of our robotic drone murder program in Pakistan now.
No need to cut our Social Security program or our Medicare program, just cut our bloated corporate welfare program known eufamistically (sic) as the “defense” budget.
The phrase “Silent Coup” somehow struck me as a right-wing dog whistle and sure enough:
http://bit.ly/ieWnzH
Having said that, we shouldn’t underestimate the power of this kinds of politics of resentment. Several years ago, I visited an acquaintance in Third World post-industrial northeast Ohio. College employees were on strike with picket signs calling for the retention of their health benefits.
“Why should they get health benefits when I don’t?” my acquaintance said. We have to convince people like her that they need to be brought up, rather than bringing down others.
I don’t get it. My wealthier friends are always bragging to me about how much money the teachers are paid in their kids private schools. I’ve been quoted salaries like: $90k and over $100k. I have *no idea.* Just reporting on what I’ve been *told* by conservatives wishing to BRAG about how much money “their” teachers make.
That’s what I don’t get. Public School teachers make far less, but yes, they do get benefits and pensions. What’s the difference?
Seems to me, it’s just another means for the wealthy to get something for nothing, or, in other words, welfare for the rich. Gimme vouchers so I can get some money to help pay this gigantic private school tuition to support K – 12 private school teachers allgedly making $90k per year.
WTF? Nuts.
All politicians LIE, but rightwingers are particularly venal and deceitful. BAH!
Good catch! Looked like really red meat to me, too.
The perpetual victimization of the Haves/Have Mores to the Have Nots.
No longer unbelievable or amazing, just sad and frustrating.
Tim “Deathbridge ’07″ Pawlenty.
Just a quick OT note – over at C-Span, Elizabeth Warren is just being smeared by GOP Congressmen. It’s really quite amazing.
Hope those around FDL who care about decent government are watching the attempts of banksters, via some GOP Congressional toadies, to smear Warren today.
Ironically, the GOP is also smearing small, local bankers although they don’t seem to comprehend that yet.
It is just amazing.
(Didn’t mean to trash up your thread, Blue Texan, but this really is tangential.)
Yes, it is funny, in a way, but…………
It appears as though the gross stupidity of the people in this party, taking positions that most Americans are strongly opposed to, is being orchestrated from someone who is at the head of both parties.
I doubt that most of the fools in either of the parties actually understand what’s going on. Any that do, feel powerless, or don’t care.
as has been said many times here, everything makes sense, if you assume that the Democratic/republican “negotiations” are a staged event, and that there is agreement between the leaders of those two parties, on what they want to do.
Obama is running against idiots, and notwithstanding his lousy job to this point, he will get elected because of that, and carry on with he has been doing up till now. Maybe worse.
I don’t think you trashed anything.
I haven’t seen BT respond on any post recently, so I’m sure you should have no worries.
PS, but that was very kind of you to note the apology.
Thank you, demi.
The GOP Chairman just basically accused Warren of lying, is basically bullying and blaming Warren for not being available to his committee 24/7.
I have to say that even Elijah Cummings is trying to point out to the GOP Chair that he’s acting like an insulting ass.
This is just **unbelievable**.
I watch a lot of stuff, but I have never seen anything quite like this.
It’s as if the GOP Chair deliberately screwed with the schedule so that Warren could not answer all questions, so he has now set her up to be blasted as ‘not accommodating’ or ‘not being open with Congress’.
I think something really evil is going on behind the scenes –and even on the main stage.
Breathtaking.
While the Republicans out-crazy each other to attract gullible morons, the Democrat will lie right to our faces, selling more hope and change to gullible morons. We’ll end up with either the crazy guy or the liar.
Something evil Is happening. I agree.
I don’t usually appreciate the We’re Fucked comments, but I think that just might be the case.
Need to look at the big picture, they don’t care what teachers make, they want the middle class to turn on it’s self.
I want to take this opportunity to point out how I, me, myself, have been saying how dangerous Pawlenty is for a while and hearing nothing but poo pooing. Now it’s clearly between him and Willard, says BT. And he’s right.
Seriously people. Learn about Tim Pawlenty now. He’s dangerous as shit. He has that Huckabee quality of being insane without sounding insane at all.
Also, if it really is between TPaw and Willard, I have TPaw winning that campaign 19 times out of 20. He has no scruples, so he will go full wingnut. And he has no connection to the Bushies. And he’s a blank slate on the national level. And Willard is a Mormon. And Willard lost to John fucking McCain last time around. And has Romneycare hanging around his neck.
You know what Tim Pawlenty did when Minnesota faced it’s first multiyear deficit ten years ago? Threw poor people off MinnesotaCare, our much more generous than Medicare public insurance program. And he’ll break that out and beat Romney over the head with Romneycare.
And if TPaw is the nominee, and the unemployment rate is above 8%, I can see him beating Obama. Hell, even if the unemployment rate is back down. Obama is super weak, and there really wouldn’t be much of a difference between him and TPaw. The only real difference is in how they fool you.
Woo You!
Are you mocking me? Because that would be just fine. I just love being right. Or at least, right so far. Especially when that makes others wrong.
I’m sick.
Yep. And, just what we need more of at the Lake. More people who know everything. And share it in such a Humble Way.
Yes, that’s what we need. But it won’t be easy.
And (btw this is a general statement, not directed at bluewombat AT ALL)instead of berating those that say things like that (and ensuring they’ll never listen to progressives again) we need to understand where they’re coming from. They’re right, they don’t get those things, and their taxes pay for public workers, so why should they get those things?
It’s very logical on it’s surface, and IMO we’d all be better off by recognizing that fact and approaching them with understanding rather than with our claws out yelling “What, are you stupid? That type of thinking will result in everyone having less.”
Cause that ain’t working either.
I guess if it were easy we wouldn’t be in this mess, but you’ve gotta admit, the right wing has figured out ALL of the ways to divide us.
That’s one way of looking at it. The other way would be to say that, “Wages, benefits and pensions for employees in private companies, even those with union contracts, have been crushed and pushed down by ruthless profit seeking management over the last 30 years. Government employees are the last group of workers to have escaped this process, mainly because they were not paid all that well in the first place and accepted benefits and job security in lieu of raises. At long last we are turning our attention to them in order to complete our plan to crush and humiliate the working class of America.”
:( Like we need help. We seem to be doing fine with that on our own.
Yikes. Hi ya, OFG. Nap time for me, before I get into more trouble here.
Huckabee always seemed like a crazy opportunist to me.
Pawlenty reminds me more of McCain. I’m old enough to remember a time when McCain seemed reasonable enough. Then he lost to Bush. Since then, it seems like all GOP candidates for president have to pander to insane people. The fact that they’re willing to do it says a lot about their character.
Anyway, I don’t think it would make much of a difference whether we were to end up with 4 more years of Obama or with Pawlenty.
Willard never pardoned a guy who married the girl he had underage sex with only to later get busted for having underage sex with his own daughter. Tpaw will be lucky to finish ahead of Newt now.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/23/978642/-Pawlenty-may-have-the-shortest-campaign-in-history?via=siderec
Ah, nothing gets to me like the glory of American democracy.
Given TPaw’s history on pardons maybe the GOP should have TPaw not endorse anything the GOP hopes will be popular with voters. Whats next a video tape from Ossama saying tax cuts for the rich are good?
In fact, with Pawlenty, the Democrats in Congress might at least actually say NO to his right wing ideas. Whereas with Obama….
I agree with you completely. I wasn’t berating my acquaintance, so I took no offense.
Oh, ha. I first read Knox’s comment as Crazy Glue.
Just how high do you have to be to think Teachers make Tall Cash?
In response to OldFatGuy @ 26
That’s why Obama is so dangerous, perhaps more dangerous than Pawlenty or any other GOP candidate.
Good catch. I initially thought that this was just classic McCartyite tactics (short definition here, much more here) of accusing their perceived enemies of everything they are instead doing themselves.
You can raise citizen awareness and pump up the pressure on Congress by joining with more than 29,000 other signers of the Public Citizen petition that tells Obama, “Elizabeth Warren Should Lead the New Consumer Bureau.”
TPaw is boring like Mitt do you really think TPaw can keep voters use to Sarah’s angry rants awake long enough to vote?
TPaw and Mitt are both a cup of Decaf when your used to to a triple espresso in the morning.
Also they can say the crazy words all they want but they don’t have the emotion behind the words like Sarah and Michelle do the Emotional Choice voters can spot this better than I can.
I agree that TPAw is dangerous but
Unemployment is higher than 8% now and gas is over $4 a gallon and not one GOPer can beat Obama now they could not beat him even before Ossma was killed.
The GOPers need to say they will create jobs to beat Obama the line tax cuts for the rich will create jobs is a non starter for anyone who isn’t a 30%er.
I oppose Obama for not being Left enough but to me at least it looks like the GOP is taking a dive this election its a bum of the month campaign for the GOP.
I think these people are blowing smoke and it’s more like Surtt @ 14 points out. No private school teacher I know is making $90k/$100k annual salaries.
The 2012 Presidential election is going to be a joke. A choice between tweedle dee and tweedle dum. Who ever wins is nothing more than a place marker for the eventual collapse of a corrupt, mean spirited and selfish system.
Mr. Levitin delivered an awesome testimony.
I’m inclined to agree with you that these wealthier conservatives are blowing smoke about how much the teachers make in their kids’ expensive private academies… but that said, the cognitive dissonance of it all is something to note.
OTOH, these conservatives are tirading about how public school teachers make too much money, but otoh, bragging about how their kids’ private school teachers make insane amounts of money.
drrrrr…. teh stoopit, it burnz…
Agree. My bet is that Obama wins & wins “big,” bc that’s who the PTB want to be in the “role” in this giant Kabuki show. Whoever runs for the so-called “Republican” ticket doesn’t matter all that much. JMHO, of course.
ah-HA! I figured it out!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/post/tim-pawlenty-freeze-federal-salaries-downsize-federal-workforce/2011/05/23/AFVc1MAH_blog.html
Our Good Ol’ T.P.(awwwwww) isn’t really running for president.
No, HE’s angling for a chair on the Philadelpha Orchestra Association Management Team.
And Daryl Issa too! (Performance based — my typing pinkies!)
Daryl and Timmy sitting in a tree
Thinking up ways to be as evil as they can be.
Good ol’ Timmy, the Minnesota Amiable Prick.
Meet him on the street in a snow storm and you’ll end
up in a snowdrift and he’ll be down the block at the bar
warming up…. with our wallet.
(I better quit now, before I really get livid…)
The banksta sock puppets speaking are pretty amusing.
Whatever. I didn’t know that just being right about something and saying it was an act of extreme egoism. And people that take issue with something like that are saying way, way more about themselves than the guy that says “I was right when everyone else told me I was wrong.”
‘Why should they have health benefits when I don’t’
This should be recast as “How do they still have health benefits when I lost mine years ago when my company re-negotiated my contract and forced wage and benefit cuts by threatening to close the plant and move to South Carolina?”
Ah…ok, but those poll numbers now are worse than meaningless. After an entire cycle of campagining, and disinformation, and fear mongering the polls will tell a different story. This can be another thing I can be made fun of for being right about in two years.
I’m an old broken down Vietnam vet but my blood is boiling just looking at that pricks picture. And Timmy that ain’t a good thing for you.
So the PATCO Air Traffic Controllers all getting fired, that was a “silent coup” huh?”
Way to go, PR.
Then we can ask, “Why do the members of Congress still have health benefits when I lost mine years ago when my company re-negotiated my contract and forced wage and benefit cuts by threatening to close the plant and move to South Carolina?”
Why are some citizens more equal than others? Shouldn’t we all have the same social benefits and protections that Congress persons have?
Silent ??? SILENT !!?? Ain’t nothing silent about it.
The anti-public union thing is getting old. Folks are noting the con-job where police and fire are exclude from new get tough with public unions laws because they vote GOP – while, as in today in Boston – we hear of a police fellow in his 50′s about to retire that gets hit by a car and gets a broken leg (the job is dangerous – but then so are other jobs). The last public sector payroll top 200 report was all police and fire (many at over $200,000 per year) – with massive pensions that the private sector never pays to any not a CEO.
The anti-public union thing is just anti-teachers because they don’t vote “for the correct party”.