Every morning I arise, tidy up my human shell, take care of unseemly business, don my rural attire and head out into the climate-changed morning for the small, albeit dangerous, trek to fetch my morning paper. This involves avoiding fire-ant mounds when it gets warmer, a fuselage of deer-hunter ammo in season and climbing a 20-degree incline just before crossing a busy two-lane highway where a 2-mile cut-across geometrically rejoins its path.
Cars generally whiz by at 60 or so miles per hour as I make my way to the box the paper comes in. It’s located next to the mailbox. So I get to play keep-away with multi-tons of steel hurdling a few feet from my human shell at least four times a day; more if the mail is late. So far I’ve survived the automotive version of dodgeball. About twice a year, some poor deer, that hasn’t already had a Winchester soft point hole torn into his carcass by some Robertson type, isn’t so lucky.
I grab the paper, look both ways twice and hotfoot it across the road to the sanctity of my converted doublewide. Then I settle in for the daily slap in the face known as the sure-fire right-wing, politically propagandized Halifax-owned newspaper. At my first perusal I’m destined to spot one or more front-page, pro-Tea Party news-etorials that never let me down. In the last week or so, my eyes have been treated to huge separate color photos of the governor and two members of the District’s Congressional delegation accompanied by obsequious reportage bordering on hero worship.
Today’s Sunday edition was no different; only the picture of the glorified Tea Party-favored politician was smaller. The headline made up for the headshot of Tim Scott. The banner, boldface line screamed; “Poll: Scott wins favor of SC GOP.”
That’s United States Senator Tim Scott, an African-American, who was plucked from the House to fill the remainder of the Senate term of early retiree Jim DeMint, the most extreme of right-wing extremists in that body during his tenure. DeMint skedaddled over to the Heritage Foundation to assume its presidency.
Scott didn’t disappoint his mentors. Beginning with his latest Heritage Action Scorecard number 93. Not in the same league with DeMint’s final 99%, but nonetheless Scott has thrilled the Foundation’s leadership with virtually every vote. My county Congressional delegates aim to please the radicals as well. They are all within a few points of Scott’s number.
Some of Scott’s House and Senate votes defy description. There’s his vote against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, Generally as automatic as it gets in Congress. Not with a flaming right-winger. Who wants to protect female members of LBGT, not to mention Native American women? Certainly not one Tim Scott.
He much prefers to protect polluters. You know, the one’s who stuff acres of money into your campaign coffers. And how about aiding those homeowners who got royally shafted during the housing debacle? A bill was passed in 2009 to allow the Treasury Department to pay lenders to redo mortgages so families could remain in their homes. When it came up for a vote to extend, Scott pressed the nay button. The administration came to the rescue as the president added a couple of years to the legislation through year 2015.
Proving he’s squarely in the pockets of the aforementioned major polluters in the country, Scott obligingly voted against every regulatory bill extant. Cement dust? Scott’s an enthusiastic booster. Regulating the coal industry? ROTFLMAO!!! Not if dependable Tim can vote it down. And in the silliest piece of environmental legislation ever to make it to the floor, Scott was one of the crowd of extreme anti-environmentalist who insisted that regulatory decisions be made on the basis of economics and not health considerations. Take a look at some of his other votes at Project Vote Smart.
That’s how an African-American gets some love in racist South Carolina. Ruin constituent’s health, help them lose their homes and make sure lesbians and Native American women are denied the protections that paler and straighter Carolina belles take for granted. It makes no difference that backbencher Scott’s sponsored legislation either dies a quick death or gets buried in some committee with no chance of making it to the floor. What counts is bigotry, no matter the color of the bigot; racism, no matter the color the racist and down-right indifference to the plight of other human beings, even if, as in South Carolina, an unacceptable number of those human beings are African-Americans.
Scott is right down the Tea Party white folks’ alley. He’s perfect. That’s why, in the recent Winthrop College poll, only 7% disapprove of his job performance. SEVEN PERCENT! The good Lord himself, couldn’t command such a number.
Speaking of the right-wing servile votes in favor of mass polluters, here’s another troublesome article in today’s righty rag. It’s about a bill in the South Carolina General Assembly that would relieve Duke Energy of their obligation to clean out polluted coal ash ponds in two different areas of the state. It also saves Duke (and other utilities) from any lawsuit exposure. It passed the House 83-30 and moves on to sure passage in the Republican-laden Senate. Democratic Representative, James Smith, an Afghanistan veteran, was not afraid to call the bill “amnesty for polluters.”
Duke, a state level American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) enabler as the ALEC South Carolina corporate chair, isn’t responsible enough to clean up the health threatening contents of their ash ponds, itself, so citizen lawsuits were the only option. An option that’s about to disappear.
Back on the national Congressional front, yet another wretched newspaper story describes California Representative Negrete McLeod’s decision to abandon the House. She’s returning to run for local office in her native San Bernardino County. She thinks she can make a bigger difference back home than in DC. She characterizes this Congress as the “worst in history” in terms of getting anything done. Sadly, a number of her Democratic colleagues are taking a hike as well, essentially deeding the House over to despicable rogues who answer only to huge corporate and individual wealth.
But as long as there are people like a contributor to a column in today’s paper, things will pretty much remain the same, at least in South Carolina. He portrayed the current administration as being comprised of an incompetent second-class president hiring third-and fourth-class lackeys like Chuck Hagel (a Republican by the way), John Kerry, Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius.
He closes with “It’s like watching one of those new TV shows starring the walking dead zombies.” My dear friend, the only thing dead in today’s political sphere is the majority of brain cells of people who elect the likes of Tim Scott.
Can’t wait for tomorrow’s paper!
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