Watching the Watchers Depends on where the Line is Drawn

We all know that the House of Representatives voted a few days ago to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour. Now, in 'Merica, things are never all that easy. Some House members were surprised to learn that the Democrat's bill included a provision in the fine print which exempts workers in the territory of American Samoa.

Now, this has led to attacks on the Dems and Pelosi along the lines of: "One wonders why workers in Samoa don't deserve the same minimum wage that all other American citizens receive. No explanation was given by the Democratic leadership."

Of course, we need to ask why did these right-wing wingnuts wait until the Democrats took power in the Congress before complaining (and suddenly caring about the working conditions in places like Samoa) about someone not getting an increase in the minimum wage? While fairness is an extremely important issue, the complaint above tells only one third of the story. (And when I feel compelled to come to the defense of the Democrats, that suggests you've really crossed the line!)

The second third of the story that the wing nuts ignore -- from the Washington Times which had reported the story earlier:

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday said Democrats will close a loophole in the House-passed minimum wage increase that exempts American Samoa -- an action taken after it was revealed that one of the U.S. territory's main employers is based in her congressional district.
" 'I have asked the Education and Labor Committee as they go forward with the legislation to make sure that all of the territories have to comply with U.S. law on the minimum wage,' Mrs. Pelosi said." [excerpted]

And, the most important third (that conservatives/Republicans/Wing nuts ought to choke on rather than concerning themselves with whether their faces are on "straight") is that they're blasting the Democrats for acting in a very small way exactly as conservatives/Republicans/Wing nuts have done in a huge way for years.

Let me breakdown it down for you:

Conservatives/Republicans have denied workers any increase in the minimum wage for nine years that they've controlled congress. Now that they've lost power, they are jumping with glee that the minimum wage law was passed with an exception that they could clamor about. This is astonishing hypocrisy but hey, are we really surprised here? I mean, really -- anyone surprised?

When the disgraced criminal former Republican lobbyist and poster boy for hat sales, Jack Abramoff and Chairman of the Republican National Committee Ken Mehlman took a hand in perpetuating human rights violations at CNMI (the Marianas Islands,) the conservatives/Republicans sure didn't squawk. (To be sure, the Democrats didn't squawk loudly enough either... but at least they didn't say one thing and secretly do the other).

And, Republicans have demonstrated that they're the all-time masters of favors, pork, and earmarks for personal benefit (such as Hastert's land speculation deal that netted him $2 million.) About time that little sweetheart corrupt regime was deposed and we can still stand to see more shenanigans revealed, don't you think?

We definitely should keep an eye on the Democrats, and hold them to the few promises that they have announced where working people are concerned. But in my view, with the political divide falling the way it has and conservatives/Republicans/Wing nuts almost universally coming down on the side of greed, corruption, the wealthy, the powerful, and the multi-national corporations, some of us have much more room to talk than others, right?