Schrader, one of only 6 Dems to vote against raising wages, isn't worried because Cheri Bustos will protect him from Mark GambaThe House finally voted today to gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The final vote was 231 to 199. Six Democrats crossed the aisle to vote against it, while 3 Republicans were going in the other direction in favor. I'll come back to that in a second. First I want to mention that before that vote, the Republicans submitted this Motion to Recommit (a way of stopping the legislation from moving forward). It narrowly failed, 210 to 218 because the GOP was united while 14 of the most right-wing, worker-hating Democrats from the Republican-wing of the Democratic Party stuck with the GOP and against working families. I called a DCCC contact and asked if the DCCC would still support these members who had primaries from pro-union opponents. "Regrettably, yes. You should ask Cheri Bustos about that; you know how I feel. I'm looking for another job anyway."Bustos herself didn't do the anti-worker vote, even if she ran around telling members to do what they felt they had to do and not to worry about the DCCC holding them accountable. Here agree the Democrats who ripped off their Democratic masks this morning to expose what they really are:
• Anthony Brindisi (Blue Dog-NY)• Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)• Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC)• Sharice Davids (New Dem-KS)• Josh Gottheimer (Blue Dog-NJ)• Alcee Hastings (Corrupt-FL)• Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK)• Ben McAdams (Blue Dog-UT)• Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)• Kurt Schrader (Blue Dog-OR)• Elisse Slotkin (New Dem-MI)• Abigail Spanberger (Blue Dog-VA)• Jefferson Van Drew (Blue Dog-NJ)• Susan Wild (New Dem-PA)
Much worse, of course, were the 6 fake Democrats who crossed the aisle for the final vote. How does a Democrat vote against raising the minimum wage. How do they expect Democrats to vote for them in an election? How does the DCCC countenance it? The 3 Republicans who voted with the Democrats for what the GOP isn calling "socialism" were Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Francis Rooney (FL) and Chris Smith (NJ), And these were the half dozen "Democrat" assholes:
• Anthony Brindisi (Blue Dog-NY)• Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC)• Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK)• Ben McAdams (Blue Dog- UT)• Kurt Schrader (Blue Dog-OR)• Xochitl Torres Small (Blue Dog-NM)
Watch for how many utterly clueless refer to these Democrats as "moderates," instead of as the conservatives they are. Moderates don't vote this way. Conservatives do. "Moderate" is too positive a word to cede it to conservatives just because journalists are so stupid and biased. The conservatives inside the Democratic Party lost their battle to only have the $15 wage apply to some states but not to-- basically-- the South. Alabama sell-out Terri Sewell (New Dem) led the fight to screw over her own constituents, even through she voted for it in the end. The Hill reported that "Liberals won the battle for enacting a wage hike to $15 across the country, while centrists succeeded in lengthening the time period for the extension from five to six years. The legislation also includes an amendment requiring that its economic impact be studied as the wage hike is phased in." So at least the conservatives got something from the hide of working families!
A report from the Congressional Budget Office projected the hike would lift 1.3 million people out of poverty, but that it would also cost the U.S. 1.3 million jobs by 2024....This is the first time that the House has moved to raise the minimum wage since 2007, when it was raised to $7.25 per hour starting in 2009....The legislation is not expected to be taken up in the GOP Senate, but will likely be a theme in next year’s electoral campaigns.
Republicans dusted off their century old playbook to attack the legislation dishonestly. Conservative asshole and working family-hater Michael Burgess (R-TX): "This legislation would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, a 107 percent increase over the current rate of $7.25 an hour. An increase of this magnitude could harm American businesses, could harm American consumers, and certainly will harm American workers. The legislation does not consider the labor market, it disincentivizes job growth, and has the potential to leave nearly 4 million workers unemployed." Conservatives have been using this language-- which is always proved wrong-- since the concept of a minimum wage was first introduced.Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) was one of the Democrats who led the fight against Sewell and the other conservatives trying to water down the legislation. Today she told her Seattle constituents "I was honored to serve on the committee that drafted Seattle’s historic $15 minimum wage bill in 2014. Since then, unemployment has gone down, median household income has gone up and our city has become one of the best places to do business in America. Now it’s time for the federal government to follow Seattle’s lead and raise the wage nationwide. Raising the minimum wage isn’t just an economic justice issue; it’s a women’s issue and a racial justice issue. The majority of workers who would benefit from this wage hike are women. This increase would also disproportionately benefit black and Hispanic women. I am proud to have worked alongside workers who put themselves on the line and built a powerful movement to raise the wage across the country. House Democrats made a promise to raise wages for American workers. Today, we delivered."This is what progressive Democrat Dana Balter talked with Syracuse area voters about this today, reminding them that her Republican opponent voted against the bill:
BREAKING: The House just passed a $15 minimum wage! A $15 minimum wage would raise the pay of 26.6% of the U.S. workforce, including 38% of African Americans. That’s nearly 40 million workers who are struggling to get by, to raise a family, to pay their bills, to get an education. They deserve to live with dignity and respect. They deserve a fair shot. Income and wealth inequality has been on the rise for decades-- it’s time we put a stop to it.Make no mistake: this is a massive victory for working people, who first went on strike 6 years ago to push both Democrats and Republicans to support a $15 minimum wage and the right to a union. They’ve demonstrated so clearly the power of ordinary people to change the world. In 2020, after we take back the Senate and White House, we’ll get this done-- for them.And in case it wasn’t obvious-- yeah, John Katko voted no. How do we feel about that?
Kathy Ellis lives in one of the poorest-- and reddest-- districts in America. But southeast Missouri residents would benefit gigantically of McConnell allowed it to be voted on in the Senate and Trump signed it. "I’m proud to see the House vote to raise the minimum wage today," she told us, minutes after the vote. "Families shouldn’t have to work multiple jobs to provide for their families, and raising the wage will go a long way in helping people make ends meet. I’m proud to support raising the minimum wage to $15/hour. I’m also grateful for the hard work and organizing of unions who brought this issue forward." Michigan Republican Fred Upton is a multimillionaire because of his grandfather's hard work. Fred, though, doesn't have a clue about how working families in southwest Michigan live. State Rep. Jon Hoadley is running for Upton's MI-06 seat this cycle. Right after Upton cast his predictable but disappointing vote against raising the minimum wage, Hoadley told me that "raising the minimum wage to $15 is the floor of what we should be doing to fix our broken economics in America. Raising the minimum wage is the bare minimum necessary to give our families space between us and the bill collectors harassing people just trying to make ends meet." His campaign is based on many points, from Medicare-for-All and the Green New Deal to free public colleges and strengthening union, that will help ease the out-of-control economic inequality that is more dangerous now that at any time since the Roaring '20s led to the Great Depression.Kara Eastman, a progressive Democrat and champion of Omaha area working families is running for Congress in a seat held by a Republican who couldn't care less about workers. No one was surprised today when Don Bacon voted against raising the minimum wage. "I know this faces a tough road in the Senate," said Kara after passage in the House, "but what a great step forward for working Americans. As usual, the current representative from the Nebraska 2nd voted against giving people who work hard a fighting chance."Milwaukie Mayor Mark Gamba is the progressive Democrat running for the western Oregon district represented by anti-working class Blue Dog Kurt Schrader. Gamba told us that "the state of Oregon is on track to be a $15 an hour minimum wage state. Even if the only thing you care about is big business, you would think that a Congressman from Oregon would care most about the big businesses in Oregon. Clearly he's perfectly happy to give competitive advantage to States surrounding us that do not have a $15 an hour minimum wage. This is pretty much a classic example of a Congressman who only cares about what his national corporate donors want him to care about. Never mind the millions of people who work two, and sometimes three jobs, at minimum wage and still can barely get food on the table and pay the rent. The national minimum wage is far, far below what it would have been had it only kept pace with inflation."Neither Mike Siegel (TX-10) nor Audrey Denney (CA-01) expected the Republican incumbents to support raising the minimum wage-- since neither Michael McCaul nor Doug LaMalfa ever has before. Siegel told us that "the Raise the Wage Act is both essential for American workers and good politics for Democrats. A full-time job should provide a living wage, period. To allow otherwise is to promote inequality and undermine the promise of equal opportunity. McCaul either doesn’t understand, because his massive wealth and privilege puts him out of touch with the concerns of working people, or he doesn’t care. Either way, it disqualifies him from being a true representative of the Texas 10th.Audrey has been campaigning on raising the minimum wage since she decided to take on LaMalfa. She has said that "increasing the minimum wage so that full-time workers do not live below the poverty line, and then tying the minimum wage to inflation increases, so that it keeps up with changes over time is essential for development is rural areas like her own." She also advocates assisting small businesses by assessing the financial impact of the wage increase, and providing them support or tax breaks. From her website:
