Opinion
Right-Wing Gets it Wrong on Mississippi
“Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now”
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Founder/Publisher
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I
f you ever doubted that conser-
vatives were sore losers, the
recent Senate election in Mis-
sissippi should remove all doubt.
After complaining for a half
century about Blacks not
voting for Republicans, African
Americans did just that in the
GOP runoff between incumbent
Senator Thad Cochran and State
Senator Chris McDaniel, a
staunch Tea Party supporter. And
because Blacks did not vote for
McDaniel against their best inter-
est, right-wingers are livid.
Rush Limbaugh called Blacks
who voted for Cochran “Uncle
Toms.”
According to a transcript of his
radio program, he said: “I wonder
what the campaign slogan was in
Mississippi in the past couple of
days: Uncle Toms for Thad?
‘Cause I thought it was the worst
thing you could do as an African
American. Voting for a Republi-
can is the absolute worst thing you
could do, but somehow they were
made to believe that voting for old
Thad would be fine and dandy.”
Later in the program, Limbaugh
said, “…Insider Republicans in
the Senate bought nine percentage
points, eight or nine percentage
points from the Black Uncle Tom
voters in Mississippi (interrup-
tion). Well, isn’t that what they
call Clarence Thomas? Con-
doleezza Rice? They call ‘em
Uncle Toms, the Republicans.
These guys had voted for Thad?
Uncle Toms for Thad.”
Glenn Beck chimed in: “I have a
question for every Black Democ-
rat in Mississippi: What the hell
has this 90-year-old fart – a White
election cycle from Democrats:
T HE C URRY that conservatives are racist, that
conservatives are mistreating the
R EPORT
president because he’s Black.
None of which is true.”
Let’s take these idiotic com-
George E.
ments in reverse order.
Curry
Yes, Hannity, Cochran’s career
was on the line. McDaniel had
edged him by 1,400 votes in the
Republican primary and there was
Republican, the same White no way he was going to win the
Republican that for years the runoff without appealing to Black
Democrats have been telling you Democrats. It wasn’t an issue of
are nothing but old racists – you “dignity, honor and integrity,” it
tell me exactly what Thad was about his only chance of win-
Cochran did for you.”
ning.
Of
course,
some
Sean Hannity, speaking on his conservatives are opposed to Pres-
June 25 edition of his radio pro- ident Obama because he’s Black.
gram, said: I am so angry at this Those who think otherwise are the
African Americans are smart enough
to know that McDaniel would have
been far worst
Thad Cochran/Chris McDaniel
race, I can’t even begin to tell you.
… And Thad Cochran, seeing his
power slipping away after many
decades as a senator in Washing-
ton, you know, knew that his
career was on the line here. And
rather than run with dignity and
honor and integrity and honor and
decency, what did he do? He did
just the opposite. And he was
appealing to Democratic voters.”
Hannity contended Cochran
“perpetrated the worst libel, the
worst smear against conservatives,
against the Tea Party, which is this
false narrative that you hear every
same ones who believe Fox News
is “fair and balanced.”
Glenn Beck, I will answer your
question about what “old fart”
Thad Cochran has done for Blacks
in Mississippi: Nothing. Like
every Republican in the House
and Senate, he earned an F on the
NAACP Legislative Report Card.
And his opponent thought
Cochran was too liberal. As bad as
“old fart” was, African Americans
are smart enough to know that
McDaniel would have been far
worst. He would have crapped on
them. And given the choice
between being assaulted with a
fart and endless crap, we’ll go
with the fart any day of the week.
Hate to be so crude, Glenn, but I
had to explain it in a way that even
you would understand.
Finally, Rush Limbaugh, Blacks
who voted in the open Republican
primary were not Uncle Toms.
Unlike some of your favorite
Black Republicans, they were not
traitors to their race. Instead, they
were performing their civic duty.
Had they voted the way you pre-
ferred, then that would be a real
Uncle Tom.
There is doubt that Thad
Cochran would not be the Repub-
lican nominee without the Black
vote, which is why he courted it.
All 24 counties with a Black
majority went with the incumbent.
Perhaps more telling, the turnout
in the runoff was up almost 40 per-
cent in those Black counties,
compared to just 16 percent in the
other counties.
Some Republicans have accused
Black Democrats who voted for
Cochran of being spoilers, but
that’s not the case. If African
Americans had wanted to be spoil-
ers, they would have voted for
McDaniel because he would give
Democrats a better chance of win-
ning in November’s general
election
It was deeper than that. It’s time
for everyone to give Black voters
in Mississippi credit for knowing
what was in their best interest.
What all of the pundits seem to
miss is that Blacks were not neces-
sarily voting for Thad Cochran.
They were voting against Chris
McDaniel. Either way you look at
it, they were successful.
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Ikea and The Gap Fill the Wage Gap
P
resident Obama would like
the national minimum wage
to rise to $10.10 an hour. By
executive order, he has already
raised the minimum wage for fed-
eral contractors. House Speaker
John Boehner (R-Ohio) has threat-
ened to sue President Obama for
his use of executive order, which
he says circumvents Congression-
al authority.
Ikea said it will raise the average
minimum wage to $10.76 an hour,
which is an increase of 17 percent.
Ikea says its goal is to offer their
workers a living wage, regardless
of whether their competitors offer
it. Half of Ikea employees will get
a raise, while those who already
earn a living wage will not. The
chain now provides other benefits,
such as a 401-k match. Ikea has
just 38 stores in the United States,
which may minimize the impact
their wage increase has on its
competitors. Still, Ikea has done
the right thing and earned a com-
petitive advantage in the areas
where they have stores.
The Gap, too, has increased its
wage to $9 an hour, which will rise
to $10 an hour next year. Seattle
has raised its minimum wage to
$15, and dozens of municipalities
have also increase their minimum
wage. When employers and
municipalities fail to offer a living
wage, they shift a wage burden to
the rest of us because those who
earn the minimum wage are subsi-
dized by federal benefits to the
poor, which we all pay.
Page 2 The Portland and Seattle Skanner July 2, 2014
B ENNETT
C OLLEGE
Julianne
Malveaux
This is also true when states
refuse to expand the base for Med-
icaid for the purposes of the
Affordable Care Act (ACA, or
Obamacare). In more than 20
states, people have to earn less
than $11,000, or $23,000 for a
productive employees. Memo to
fast food and big box stores set on
paying the minimum wage or lit-
tle more – pay your workers a
living wage.
Ikea gets it, so does the Gap.
What’s wrong with the Con-
gress?
Whether they are
Democrats or Republicans, they
have constituents who would
benefit from an increase in the
minimum wage. Why are they
resisting? Might it be because
President Obama has pushed for
an increase in the minimum wage?
If our President pushed for blue
skies it is likely that some obstruc-
Ikea says its goal is to offer their
workers a living wage, regardless of
whether their competitors offer it
family of four. With Medicaid
expansion, people can earn as
much as $15,000 to qualify for
Medicaid, and as much as $32,000
for a family of four. Without the
Medicaid expansion, some states
are saying that poverty and poor
health are acceptable for some of
its citizens.
The moves by Ikea and the Gap
put some wage pressure on their
competitors. It also makes it clear
that these companies understand
that raising wages will not signifi-
cantly affect their profits. These
companies also understand that
better paid employees are also
tionist members of Congress
would oppose it.
If the minimum wage kept pace
with inflation, it would be $10.90
by now, a bit higher than the
amount President Obama has pro-
posed. The same Congress that
opposes an increase in the mini-
mum wage gets an automatic
increase in their pay. This is the
kind of hypocrisy that engenders
indifference and contempt for our
elected representatives.
Some members of Congress
have insisted that only young peo-
ple earn the minimum wage. But
at least 12 percent of the labor
force earns the minimum wage.
One in four of them are over 20.
Sixty percent are women. One in
four of those who earn the mini-
mum wage are parents, supporting
children on wages so low that they
qualify for the Supplemental
Nutritional Assistance Program
(SNAP, or food stamps).
One in six African Americans
and one in five Latinos earn the
minimum wage. Nearly 35 percent
of minimum wage workers have
graduate from high school; anoth-
er 23 percent have attended
college. Some would say that min-
imum wage workers are mostly
youth who are “training” for later
work. These workers are not only
young people who don’t need to
get paid. These are adults with
education and training, parents,
and people who work in key
industries, health and education.
During the Great Recession, six-
figure executives who needed an
income stream accepted the mini-
mum wage or just a little more.
There were teachers, laid off, who
took a pay cut to shelve books in
libraries. They were folks who put
their pride aside to earn a little
money, money they said was bet-
ter than the nothing they earned
when laid off.
It is overtime for our congress to
offer working people the same
wages they get automatically. It is
overtime for our Congress to
embrace a living wage, or at least
a higher minimum wage. Ikea gets
it, why doesn’t Congress?