DNC Memo: 24 Hours Of The Real Republican Agenda: A Triple Threat

[madfloridian]

Kudos for their research team and for staying on the attack.

http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/06/24_hours_of_the_1.php

"Senate Republicans Blocked Minimum Wage Increase. "Senate Republicans on Wednesday killed an effort to raise the minimum wage, but Democrats who backed the measure said they would try again, both in Congress and through ballot measures in several states. The federal minimum wage has been $5.15 an hour since 1997. On a procedural measure Wednesday, Senators voted 52 to 46 in favor of raising the wage to $7.25 in three steps, but 60 votes were needed to move the legislation forward... The federal minimum wage is the lowest it has been in more than 50 years relative to the cost of living, according to a study by the liberal Economic Policy Institute. The average full-time minimum wage worker earns $10,712 a year, about $900 more than the federal poverty level for one person and $2,500 less than the poverty level for a couple."

Los Angeles Times: House GOP's "Field Meetings" On Immigration Done For "Maximum Demogogic Effect In The Run-Up To The November Election." "How can you tell when a governing party is running out of steam? When it controls all branches of government yet abandons even the pretense of addressing an issue most members claim is a 'crisis.' That's what the GOP-led House did Tuesday in announcing that discussions over reconciling its enforcement-centric immigration bill with the Senate's legalization-focused version will be pushed back to September at the earliest, and only after completing more hearings. Instead of naming negotiators and attempting in good faith to bridge the chasm between the bills, House leaders are busy naming locations for 'field meetings' that can deliver maximum demagogic effect in the run-up to the November election... Twelve years ago, Republicans were swept into Congress on a platform bursting with energy and ideas, with many measures enacted within the GOP's first 100 days in power. If inaction and xenophobia are all the party has left, this could be its last 100 days."

Congressional Republicans Block Renewal Of The Voting Rights Act. "House leaders abruptly canceled a vote to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act yesterday after rank-and-file Republicans revolted over provisions that require bilingual ballots in many places and continued federal oversight of voting practices in Southern states. The intensity of the complaints, raised in a closed meeting of GOP lawmakers, surprised Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and his lieutenants, who thought the path was clear to renew the act's key provisions for 25 years. The act is widely considered a civil rights landmark that helped thousands of African Americans gain access to the ballot box. Its renewal seemed assured when House and Senate Republican and Democratic leaders embraced it in a May 2 kickoff on the Capitol steps." "

[agio]

1. also don't forget

they axed the attempt to set up an independent "Truman commission" to investigate fraud and waste at the hands of military contractors in IRaq.

[newyawker99]

3. Hi agio!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[LSparkle]

2. You can add the estate tax bill -- even watered-down, it's still bad news