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US Chamber of Commerce, conservative front group. 10/13/2010 8:56:51 AM
The Chamber of Commerce has gone over to the dark side.
The US Chamber of Commerce recently announced it would be spending millions in support of Republican candidates in the coming elections. I assume state and city chambers of commerce belong to the mother ship. I hadn’t realized the Chamber had become a conservative front group.
How does a reduction in LGA (local government aid) funds, a decrease in infrastructure development (bonding) and less money for the schools contribute to a better business environment? These are all tactics the current governor of Minnesota, Tim “Posse Comitatus” Pawlenty, employed to balance the state budget, along with something called “unallotment” which was later ruled unconstitutional by the Minnesota Supreme Court. Pawlenty immediately appointed a reactionary (Is that repetitive?) conservative justice to the court.
Local chambers, who should represent not only local businesses, some of whom do not support Republican shenanigans, but all the people of a local community.
The chambers also might think about what sort of bedfellows they’re sleeping with. The John Birch Society, a racist organization if I’ve ever seen one, also paranoid and delusional, recently hosted an important conservative convention; the Libertarian party sees a conspiracy behind every bush. They recommend returning to the gold standard (James J. Fisk tried to corner the gold market and would have succeeded if President Grant hadn‘t found out just in time; we also don’t have enough gold in Fort Knox to do this if we wanted to). Liber-knuckleheads would also do away with the Federal Reserve Board; they especially hate the chairman. D’oh! If it weren’t for the FRB inflation would now be around twenty percent and we would be in a Depression that would make the one in the thirties look like a church picnic. That’s the problem with right wing Republicans. They come up with a stupid idea like Reagan’s Star Wars and they never let it go. Take privatizing social security for instance. How many people would be in the bread lines now if Bush had done that prior to the Wall Street meltdown? Actually they don’t really care if the government goes bankrupt; it would give them a chance to rid the country of what they consider socialism once and for all. Conservative “think” tanks actually recommend this stuff. There’s a book about it; everybody should read it. It’s entitled THE WRECKING CREW by Thomas Frank. This guy is a journalist, not some political hack.
Do I need to mention Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh? How did either of those guys ever get a job? Limbaugh flunked out of college to become a disk jockey. Beck was a shock jock who had an opportunity to attend Yale. He took one class and didn’t finish that one. He’s also a “former” drug addict and alcoholic. Have the Republicans not heard of the word “credibility”? Beck is also a theocrat as are Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann, Pawlenty, and John “empty suit” Thune, a senator from South Dakota who ran as a born-again Christian. Theocrats don’t believe in democracy. The last time the US had a theocracy (Massachusetts Bay Colony) it wasn’t long before they started burning people at the stake for witchcraft. Run for it, Christine! There’s just not a whole lot of difference between these people and the ones in Iran.
I appeal to local businessmen to denounce the US Chamber of Commerce. Is a few bucks less in taxes really worth it? Republicans are outspending Democrats 7-1 this election season. Thanks to that Supreme Court decision that gave corporations the same first amendment rights as private citizens. And there is no disclosal requirement. Aren’t we in a recession? Why aren’t these companies using that money to hire people?
