REASONS YOU SHOULD REJECT THE GOP

 

There are many reassons, but it’s the ones that will affect you directly that count.

 …The crazy Texas Republican, Louie Gohmert.

I know that anyone that reads or has followed my columns and blogs over the years may today just be calling me a “crazy liberal”.  I will not deny that when compared to the extreme conservatives like the Mitch McConnell’s, Louie Gohmert’s, Michele Bachmann’s and the Steve King’s, yes I could, and possibly should be referred to as a “crazy liberal”.

But when one follows that group of individuals that the Republicans tend to go to for finding their next presidential candidates, (that being the latest group of Republican state governors), you really get a bizarre group of sometimes extreme and questionable conservative politicians.  There is also many times an assortment of these state government officials that have their own list of questionable past legal issues with which to deal.

Now, the following list may, or may not, be a group of potential “wannbe” presidential candidates.  But just consider that this is a list of GOP governors of key US states and included is their current legal & political status:

·       Rick Scott: Governor of Florida: Before becoming governor, Rick Scott’s company was found to have been found guilty of the largest ever Medicare frauds. He also has broken Florida law by unlawfully expelling many of Florida eligible voters.  Governor Scott’s largest contributors also includes the Florida’s owners of the state’s private prisons.

·       Bob McDonnell: The former Governor of Virginia is currently in court fighting 14 counts of political corruption.

·       Scott Walker: This Governor of Wisconsin has a growing body of evidence that shows his campaign is at the center of a wide-ranging probe into campaign finance violations in the state's previous recall elections.

·       Tom Corbett: Governor of Pennsylvania. The governor is so unpopular due to his support for increased voter restrictions and his anti-abortion and gay marriage positions that his opponent is currently 20 points ahead in the re-election polls.

·       Sam Brownback: Governor of Kansas.  This governor cut taxes to the point that the state is having to close schools, lay-off teachers and can no longer balance the state’s budget. He is behind by 10 pts. in the polls for his reelection.

·       Rick Perry: Governor of Texas,  Governor Perry has been indicted for coercion and for over-use of his power as governor.

·       Nathan Deal: Governor of Georgia. Georgia jurors awarded the former head of the state's ethics commission $700,000 arguing that she was pushed out by the governor for her investigation that focused on Governor Deal.

·       Rick Snyder: Governor of Michigan.  This man orchestrated the bankruptcy of Detroit and increased the power of his appointed Michigan City Managers.  He is also way behind in the polls for his re-election.

 

 

…The indicted Texas Governor, Rick “oops” Perry

However, the New Jersey GOP Governor, Chris Christie, is probably the governor that has received the most attention over a legal investigation. Governor Christie has continued to be dogged by the George Washington bridge traffic scandal. The latest news on that front is that a commissioner for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey resigned last week, just days after the news reports of a second investigation of Christie's ties to the Port Authority. Other Port Authority officials have quit in recent months as probes into the lane closures of the George Washington Bridge, which are at the center of the bridge scandals, continue to intensify.

But the George Washington Bridge legal issues for Governor Christie is not the reason that I am saying that Christie and the GOP should be rejected.  The reasons that both he, and those of his party, should be rejected is because of the bizarre philosophy that the Republican politicians have gone to that is totally unacceptable for the average working American.

As an example, today, the New Jersey Governor Christie doesn't plan to make the state's promised payment, under a law he personally pushed for, to the state’s public worker pension fund.

But on the other hand, while this 2016 Republican presidential hopeful is shorting money intended for New Jersey workers, he's made damn sure the state pays out plenty of money to Wall Street.

To be clear:

·       In 2009, the year before Christie took office, New Jersey spent $125.1 million to Wall Street firms for financial management fees.

·       In 2013, under Governor Christie, the most recent year for which data is available, the state reported spending $398.7 million on such fees.

·       In all, New Jersey’s pension system has spent $939.8 million on financial Wall Street fees between fiscal year 2010 and 2013.

·       Fees for 2014 are expected to be even higher.

By the way, that $900+ million in fees is only a little less than the amount Christie cut from the state education fund in 2010.  By making that budget cut, Christie played a major role in closing New Jersey public schools and shrinking the state’s teaching force by 4,500 teachers.  (BTW: Christie’s children have only attended private schools.)

 

…Governor “George Washington Bridge”, Chris Christie

Wall Street usually tries to sell the concept that higher management fees will be offset by a better investment performance for the pension funds.  However, New Jersey’s pension investment performance has continued to fall far behind other US states'.

According to the professional pension consultant Mr. Chris Tobe, had New Jersey’s pension system simply matched the “current median rate of return”, the state would have reaped roughly $3.8 billion more than it did between fiscal years 2011 and 2014.  (More than enough to cover the states pension fee requirements.)

But instead of pursuing as to why this is the situation for the fees that Governor Christie has approved, the governor instead keeps talking about how New Jersey just can't afford to pay the fees for retired police, teachers, firefighters, and librarians.  And these are pensions the state’s employees have already earned over their past decades of working for the state. 

Apparently, based on the governor’s current approach, the state has plenty of money for financial managers and hedge funds, even though they're not delivering even average Wall Street results.

But as has been shown by Christie (and many of the other Republican governors), that issue surely matters less to them than reaping large campaign contributions from Wall Street.

So, am I just being a crazy liberal?

Well, I come from a family where my father was a union journeyman electrician.  His efforts had eventually allowed him to be able to start and operate his own electrical construction company.  In doing this, he was able to move well into the American middle class and to support his family and give his children the opportunity to gain their college educations.  Yes, it was an American middle-class dream come true.

Based on the past actions of these conservative Republican politicians, I do not believe that their philosophy today would allow someone like my father to succeed as he did.  Governor Christie’s approach is definitely not in line with the support of the workers of New Jersey as is his strong support of the big-bucks on Wall Street.

The overall reasoning today is basically that if you are wealthy, the GOP is your party as they are against government and all its regulations.  If you are not wealthy, perhaps being more liberal and in support of the Democratic party is a better position on your part.

As for myself, I think I will just let the past be that which gives me my direction for the future.

Copyright G.Ater  2014