The Party of Lincoln?
There are two major political parties in America: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The old joke used to be that the Republicans were Socialist and the Democrats were Communist, but that hasn't been even remotely true in decades. Both parties are further to the right than they've ever been in my lifetime.
So what in fact is the difference? Does party affiliation matter? What does each party stand for?
The Parties themselves provide the answer. At their national conventions, they each publish their Platform, a manifesto of who they are, what they believe, and how they intend to turn those beliefs into action.
Last week, the Republicans unveiled their 2012 Platform. Its preamble begins,
The 2012 Republican Platform is a statement of who we are and what we believe as a Party and our vision for a stronger and freer America.
The pursuit of opportunity has defined America from our very beginning. This is a land of opportunity. The American Dream is a dream of equal opportunity for all. And the Republican Party is the party of opportunity.
Today, that American Dream is at risk...
And it goes on for 62 pages. The link above goes to the original document from the Republican National Committee's website. I recommend it to anyone who wants to be an informed voter.
There are many things that disturb me in this document, but I'm going to pick on just one today. It looks very much like the Republican Party supports indentured servitude and human trafficking, without minimum wage or worker protections, in support of some very evil and corrupt people. It's under "Honoring and Supporting Americans in the Territories” on page 29, specifically the line, "The Pacific territories should have flexibility to determine the minimum wage, which has seriously restricted progress in the private sector."
A little information is in order. The Territory referred to is the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, located in the Western Pacific. Because it's an American territory, garment manufacturers can attach the prized "Made in USA" label to garments made for American retailers like Ralph Lauren, Ann Taylor, Liz Claiborne, and The Gap. But the garment workers were not until recently covered under U.S. minimum wage or immigration laws.
The workers are mostly poor rural Chinese women who have often paid thousands of dollars to obtain transportation and a year's work contract, renewable at the employer's discretion. Some have borrowed the money from Chinese loan sharks. They also must pay the company for their food and housing. A Department of the Interior report found that women were subject to forced abortions and women and children were forced into prostitution. More details can be found in Wikipedia.
North Mariana officials hired the firm of Jack Abromoff to stop Washington from imposing reforms like a minimum wage or safe working conditions. Abromoff hired Christian Coalition executive director Ralph Reed for his direct mail company, Millennium Marketing. They conducted an astroturf campaign urging Alabama Christians to write their congressman. Reed, in a particularly sickening display of sanctimonious hypocrisy, told his followers that the reforms were a plot organized by atheistic Leftists. Limiting the number of Chinese workers would keep them from being "exposed to the teachings of Jesus Christ". Garment workers would be converted to the Gospel and "return to China with Bibles in hand."
This monstrous scheme was exposed by Ms. Magazine and others, and Abromoff ended up in jail. Reed, sadly, did not, although the scandal did put the kibosh on his ambitions to become lieutenant governor of Georgia in 2006. The minimum wage in the North Mariana islands is now $5.05 per hour, increasing to $5.55 at the end of this month.
Factory owners and other Mariana officials don't like this. They know they can get people to work in their sweatshops for much cheaper than that. All they need is to do away with those profit-killing labor rules imposed by a meddlesome U.S. government.
Hence this year’s Republican Platform Plank.
Abraham Lincoln is called The Great Emancipator. The Republican Party used to call itself the Party of Lincoln. I wonder what Lincoln would think of this?
So what in fact is the difference? Does party affiliation matter? What does each party stand for?
The Parties themselves provide the answer. At their national conventions, they each publish their Platform, a manifesto of who they are, what they believe, and how they intend to turn those beliefs into action.
Last week, the Republicans unveiled their 2012 Platform. Its preamble begins,
The 2012 Republican Platform is a statement of who we are and what we believe as a Party and our vision for a stronger and freer America.
The pursuit of opportunity has defined America from our very beginning. This is a land of opportunity. The American Dream is a dream of equal opportunity for all. And the Republican Party is the party of opportunity.
Today, that American Dream is at risk...
And it goes on for 62 pages. The link above goes to the original document from the Republican National Committee's website. I recommend it to anyone who wants to be an informed voter.
There are many things that disturb me in this document, but I'm going to pick on just one today. It looks very much like the Republican Party supports indentured servitude and human trafficking, without minimum wage or worker protections, in support of some very evil and corrupt people. It's under "Honoring and Supporting Americans in the Territories” on page 29, specifically the line, "The Pacific territories should have flexibility to determine the minimum wage, which has seriously restricted progress in the private sector."
A little information is in order. The Territory referred to is the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, located in the Western Pacific. Because it's an American territory, garment manufacturers can attach the prized "Made in USA" label to garments made for American retailers like Ralph Lauren, Ann Taylor, Liz Claiborne, and The Gap. But the garment workers were not until recently covered under U.S. minimum wage or immigration laws.
The workers are mostly poor rural Chinese women who have often paid thousands of dollars to obtain transportation and a year's work contract, renewable at the employer's discretion. Some have borrowed the money from Chinese loan sharks. They also must pay the company for their food and housing. A Department of the Interior report found that women were subject to forced abortions and women and children were forced into prostitution. More details can be found in Wikipedia.
North Mariana officials hired the firm of Jack Abromoff to stop Washington from imposing reforms like a minimum wage or safe working conditions. Abromoff hired Christian Coalition executive director Ralph Reed for his direct mail company, Millennium Marketing. They conducted an astroturf campaign urging Alabama Christians to write their congressman. Reed, in a particularly sickening display of sanctimonious hypocrisy, told his followers that the reforms were a plot organized by atheistic Leftists. Limiting the number of Chinese workers would keep them from being "exposed to the teachings of Jesus Christ". Garment workers would be converted to the Gospel and "return to China with Bibles in hand."
This monstrous scheme was exposed by Ms. Magazine and others, and Abromoff ended up in jail. Reed, sadly, did not, although the scandal did put the kibosh on his ambitions to become lieutenant governor of Georgia in 2006. The minimum wage in the North Mariana islands is now $5.05 per hour, increasing to $5.55 at the end of this month.
Factory owners and other Mariana officials don't like this. They know they can get people to work in their sweatshops for much cheaper than that. All they need is to do away with those profit-killing labor rules imposed by a meddlesome U.S. government.
Hence this year’s Republican Platform Plank.
Abraham Lincoln is called The Great Emancipator. The Republican Party used to call itself the Party of Lincoln. I wonder what Lincoln would think of this?