Sigh. Gordon Smith. Minimum Wage. I'm Bored.
Kari Chisholm
Lately, BlueOregon has been inundated with commenters who complain endlessly about how we're just too mean to Gordon Smith.
Like this comment, and many more like it, on Steve Novick's Casablanca post:
OK Blue Oregon I think I get it, Smith is a two faced Republican who will say what he needs to get elected while still going along with the Republican Party agenda. I think you've made the point well enough week after week.
So yeah, Gordon Smith supporters, we've made our point. It's getting a little boring. We get it.
But what are we supposed to do when this "leading GOP moderate" keeps on teeing 'em up for us? Seriously. Here's Gordon Smith, circa 2005:
"Although Oregonians receive a wage higher than required by federal law, it’s important to raise the minimum wage across the country. Working families are facing increases in home heating costs and high gas prices, and their wages should reflect these circumstances." [See gsmith.senate.gov.]
But what did he do today?
He voted to sustain a filibuster against the minimum wage.
Seriously, people.
The guy claims to be in favor of a minimum wage. He proclaims it loudly to the heavens. He's a champion of the American people. Parades are held in the countryside. Babies are named in his honor.
And then, he votes to filibuster the minimum wage. Is it any wonder that we're a wee bit disillusioned with the sweater-wearing confabulist?
And, by the way, just to recap:
- In March of 2005, Gordon Smith voted to override the will of Oregon voters and abolish Oregon's minimum wage law - replacing it with a federal minimum wage of $6.25.
- In October of 2005, Gordon Smith cast the deciding 51st vote against the economic interests of Oregon by opposing a raise in the federal minimum wage, and making Oregon businesses more competitive. [This was the same DAY he made the above pro-minimum-wage comment.]
- In June of 2006, Gordon Smith cast a vote against the minimum wage.
So, yes. For all of you Gordon Smith supporters, staffers, and friends trolling the pages of BlueOregon... we're bored of bashing your guy. But it's too easy.
And more importantly, it's too important. He really likes saying one thing and doing another. He poses as a moderate, but he votes with the right-wing.
We're just not going to let him get away with it.
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Jan 24, '07
So where the heck are the Dem challengers?
Honestly, I'd run myself if I were of age, I'm tired of Smith being able to get away with this crap in near obscurity because no one has come out to challenge him and bring this madness to light. If he had a declared challenger, every one of these votes would be publicly denounced in a press release, how long can this go on?
10:10 p.m.
Jan 24, '07
Don't you worry, verasoie. We'll have ourselves a challenger. And a good one.
Jan 24, '07
Perhaps Smith doesn't oppose a higher minimum wage per se, but rather the magnitude of the proposed increase in the minimum wage? There is certainly a considerable danger in setting a price floor too high ...
As a side note ... and I don't really have any kind of strong opinion one way or another on Smith ... it is interesting to consider that although Jeff Alworth notes the small handful of Nobel laureates in economics who signed that petition calling for the $2 increase in the minimum wage, there are more than a couple dozen living laureates in economics who didn't come aboard.
Jan 24, '07
When they do something we like we should pet them on the head, when they do stupid shit, whack 'em in the head. What do Gordo's friends want? Oh, I know, a free pass. Why he should get one they don't seem to say.
Jan 24, '07
Wait!!! I got it, he doesn't want George II to be vetoing it. That would look bad. LOOK is the operative.
Jan 24, '07
Bored is right. BlueOregon has gone from a half-way decent once a day read for good insider gossip to a redundant rag about Gordon Smith. Enough already! I get it, you guys hate him and want someone else. Let it go and come to grips with the fact that there is one statewide elected Republican who might actually represent a few people with views differing from your own.
Jan 24, '07
awesome fact-checking. i'm sorry (but not surprised) to hear that the republican attention span can't bear the strain.
Jan 24, '07
Kari, you're too fast for me. Just pulling together my research on this.
Today's vote separated the moderates from the extremists on the right:
Five "moderate" Republicans voted to end the Republican filibuster of the minimum wage increase bill. Gordon Smith was not among them.
Once and for all, Gordon Smith is no moderate.
Anticipating Smith's lame defense of his actions:
11:20 p.m.
Jan 24, '07
"Too high"? $15K/year (pre-tax) working full time a couple of years from now would be "too high"? Really? Would you like health insurance with that?
11:21 p.m.
Jan 24, '07
BlueOregon has gone from a half-way decent once a day read for good insider gossip to a redundant rag about Gordon Smith.
BTW, just so we're clear about the procedure here. There's no city desk or assignment editor here at BlueOregon. Our regulars write what they want, when they want. If there's a bunch of stuff criticizing Gordon Smith, then that's what the writers want to write.
If you don't want to read it, then DON'T READ IT.
Let it go and come to grips with the fact that there is one statewide elected Republican who might actually represent a few people with views differing from your own.
Oh yeah, we're supposed to think that the Republicans are entitled to one US Senate seat. Did you think the Democrats should have been entitled to one during the 27 years (1969-1996) that Republicans controlled both seats?
Jan 24, '07
Not surprised here; what do Oregonians expect from guy whose best technical achievement is freezing a pea. Couple that with bucketful of business savvy that creates margin on the backs of itinerate field labor. Boy can our Junior Senator drive the fairway...
11:36 p.m.
Jan 24, '07
And we'll beat him with... Earl Blumenauer? Bill Bradbury? Emilie Boyles?
Jan 24, '07
Another reason the effect of the increase in the minimum wage on small businesses would be mitigated - it would be phased in over time:
Smith said, “Working families are facing increases in home heating costs and high gas prices, and their wages should reflect these circumstances.”
I don't see anything in his October 2005 press release saying "provided that we can protect small business, etc." Smith says the minimum wage needs to be increased because of high gas prices, period, without qualifications.
According to this site, the average retail price of gas in Oregon on October 31, 2005 is about the same as it is today - $2.54.
12:06 a.m.
Jan 25, '07
...it is interesting to consider that although Jeff Alworth notes the small handful of Nobel laureates in economics who signed that petition calling for the $2 increase in the minimum wage, there are more than a couple dozen living laureates in economics who didn't come aboard.
Funny, it doesn't seem that interesting to me. How many Nobel laureates in economics have an area of expertise that is even remotely related to the issue of the minimum wage? It might be interesting if there was a list of them who have come out against raising the minimum wage but so far no one has indicated there is such a list. How many of them were even asked to "come aboard"? Kind of hard to read much into people not appearing on a list if you don't have a clue how many actually had the opportunity.
It's so cute how the right wing tries to make the current proposed increase sound unreasonably large. The only reason the proposed increase is around $2 is that the Republicans managed to keep a lid on the minimum wage for a long, long time. That's where the minimum wage would have been had it increased twenty cents a year since the last increase TEN YEARS ago. Federal minimum wage since 1955.
12:12 a.m.
Jan 25, '07
Kari,
When are you going to going to unleash the "dog" we talked about?? It's about time we hold slick Gordo accountable outside BlueOregon.
Jan 25, '07
How about some letters to the editor on this one?
-- Bill contained no provisions other than the min. wage increase (clean)
--Smith wanted to hold the bill hostage, despite in Oct. 2005 stating that increase was needed and that he would vote for it because of high gas prices
--Republican moderates voted for the increase. Smith is no moderate.
--Small businesses - overwhelmingly say increase will not have adverse effect
--increase phased in over two years, mitigating effect
Contacts for letters to the editor for a few Oregon papers:
[email protected] [email protected] (Register-Guard) [email protected] (Medford Mail Tribune) [email protected] (Willamette Week) [email protected] (OSU) [email protected] (U of O) [email protected] (PSU) [email protected] (Lewis and Clark) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] (Beaverton Valley Times) [email protected] (East County Gazette) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] (Dalles Chronicle) [email protected] [email protected] (Newberg) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] (Grants Pass Daily Courier) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] (Lincoln City News Guard) [email protected] (McMinnville News Register) [email protected] (Pendleton Record) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] (Saint Helens) [email protected] [email protected] (Tillamook) [email protected] (Waldport) [email protected]
Salem Statesman Journal http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=xsendmail
Jan 25, '07
Good info to include in your LTTEs:
Gallup: Small businesses FAVOR hike in min. wage:
Sacramento Business Journal
Jan 25, '07
More good info debunking right-wing talking points on increasing the minimum wage to include in LTTEs.
Contact Senator Smith's office and ask if he has any response to this:
From Media Matters
"Claims that an increase to the minimum wage will help few people and hurt the overall economy aren't supported by fact," said Karl Frisch, spokesman for Media Matters for America. "Hopefully members of the media will think twice before reporting on or using these bogus arguments without noting just how questionable, misleading and false they truly are."
Conservative Misinformation on Increasing the Minimum Wage
Minimum wage hike will result in job losses and discourage job creation.
Conservatives commonly argue that increasing the minimum wage will negatively affect the economy, resulting in stagnating job growth and higher unemployment. However, numerous studies have examined recent increases in the minimum wage at both the federal and state level and found that higher wages do not result in job loss. One recent example is Oregon, which increased its minimum wage to $7.50 in 2002. Four years later, "Oregon's experience suggests the most strident doomsayers were wrong," according to a November 3, 2006, Wall Street Journal article. Indeed, private, nonfarm payrolls have increased there at twice the national rate, industries that employ many minimum-wage workers have experienced considerable job growth, and unemployment has dropped to 5.4 percent from 7.6 percent in 2002.
Only teenagers and part-time workers would benefit from wage increase.
Conservative commentators have claimed that most employees who would benefit from the Democratic proposal to raise the federal minimum wage are "students and other part-time workers." In fact, while most workers earning the current minimum wage of $5.15 per hour are part-time workers, the majority of workers who would see their wages rise under the Democratic proposal are not. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that a majority -- 53 percent -- of those who would be affected by the Democratic minimum-wage proposal are full-time workers (at least 35 hours a week). Similarly, an EPI study released October 25 found that "[i]f the federal minimum wage were increased to $7.25 per hour by 2008, 14.9 million workers would see their wages rise," and those affected by a minimum-wage increase would be "mainly adults who typically work full time and provide significant income to their families.
Minimum wage increase will hurt small businesses.
Another common argument against raising the minimum wage is that it will put an undue burden on small U.S. businesses. But an April 2004 study by the Fiscal Policy Institute found that, between 1998 and 2001, the number of small businesses (defined as those with fewer than 50 employees) grew twice as quickly in states with higher minimum wages. EPI has attempted to explain this phenomenon by pointing to "[n]ew economic models," which recognize that employers in low-wage labor markets "may be able to absorb some of the costs of a wage increase through higher productivity, lower recruiting and training costs, decreased absenteeism, and increased worker morale." This may also help explain why most small business owners (three out of four, according to a March 2006 Gallup poll) believe a higher minimum wage would have no effect on them.
more at link
Jan 25, '07
Both points taken on the laureates (we just don't know - but I'm thinking that the EPI would want to send out letters to as many folks as possible and bolster its numbers; they may not necessarily be experts on the minimum wage), but I have a sneaking suspicion that many of our elected officials aren't exactly experts on the minimum wage either. Setting prices is so frequently an art more than a science, even with good data.
In any case, a $2 increase in the minimum wage would certainly yield some useful data: it'd provide for a stupendous experiment. Economists pointing to a lack of correlation between gains in the minimum wage and unemployment (Stiglitz, etc.) - and who thus tend to support the current legislation - have typically based their conclusions on incremental gains in the minimum wage. It would be wild to see what happens to the labor market when we really jack up the price floor, something that really hasn't been done before: then we might be able to settle some debates once and for all. Until then, we're stuck with a whole lot of controversy.
In all, this is a fantastically rich country. I guess it's an experiment we can probably afford to run in spite of the risks.
Jan 25, '07
How many workers are at minimum wage?
LINK
Jan 25, '07
Let's not forget that as a moron-er, Mormon- he is an environmental terrorist. Breed, breed, breed to claim the kingdumb is just plain immoral. Besides, having a kid for some a priori reason is using them and I'm old fashioned about that. Use == Abuse. And I believe it's customary in the US press to refer to religions founded by paranoid schizophrenics as "cults" or "fanatical".
So there, take that. Gordon Smith. Child Abuser, Environmental Terrorist, and member of a Fanatical Cult.
Jan 25, '07
Lately, BlueOregon has been inundated with commenters who complain endlessly about how we're just too mean to Gordon Smith.
I have been a reader and commenter on Blueoregon from the day when it was first announced, years ago. I have never seen a month like this, when a single topic takes a full 1/4 to 1/3 of all posts. I am outraged at Senator Smith's votes. But I don't see why his votes are - by far - the #1 topic this month.
If you don't want to read it, then DON'T READ IT.
OK, Kari, I get the point. If I don't like opening blueoregon.com once or twice a day and finding yet another post on Gordon Smith, I am welcome to go somewhere else to get my fix of Oregon progressive politics discussion. Time to change my home page to Loaded Orygun, I guess.
7:57 a.m.
Jan 25, '07
John N,
Looking over the past few days, blog articles with "Smith" in the title look to average about 20 comments. Not bad by BlueO standards.
What's more, a whole lot of those comments are signed with first and last names...decidedly NOT the kind of astroturf that's been in the news lately.
So, lots of regular contributors have plenty to say about Smith...lots of commenters have plenty to say about Smith...where exactly is the problem? Isn't BlueO supposed to be a place where we can chat about what we want to chat about?
Jan 25, '07
Yeah, let's discuss Ron Saxton's cherry tree farm some more. That's another horse that isn't quite dead enough.
Jan 25, '07
Kari, Smith's goose is cooked most likely, his supporters on the right are abandoning him in droves.
But I have a question. How many readers of this blog do you imagine are Smith supporters and therefore how many potential votes do your postings take from him?
I guess it's entertaining reading but I'm not sure what the point is. I wondered the same about a lot of the Saxton posts.
Gordon Smith is two faced. No doubt about it. That is acknowledged by the left and the right at this point.
Jan 25, '07
As a Conserative Republican I applaude Blue Oregon for calling Smith out for what he is. I only wish more in my party would do the same. He is as dangerous to my party as he is to the state.I have a feeling that he will face a very difficult time in 08. However, I do not believe that a left wing Dem. ( Earl B, or Kate Brown) would be the right canidate to run against Smith. Personally I know thousands of Republicans state wide ( mostly the religous right)that would surely support an Independent that more adequatly reflects the values, and visions of our state. ( sorry no Westlund) Think about it, I am looking forward to your thoughts and feedback. By mounting a bi-partisen effort we could show Smith and all of our federal officals that they can't play politics with the electorate in Oregon. Enough is Enough N. Westview
9:14 a.m.
Jan 25, '07
There are 22 months until election day. Many people are extremely unhappy with the way the business of the people has been handled by Gordon Smith. It is time for Oregonian's to outflank Gordon Smith by continually reporting his voting record to the public to demonstrate he is still working hand-in-hand with the current administration. What we need now is strenuous oversight of every move Gordon Smith makes between now and election day. In 12 months most of the activity in the Congress will stop because the presidential campaigns will be in full swing. BlueOregon posters and readers aren't obsessed with Gordon Smith, we just want our next Senator to take care of the business of the people; something Gordon Smith has consistently ignored.
9:20 a.m.
Jan 25, '07
"Time to change my home page to Loaded Orygun, I guess."
John Napolitano for President! :)
Regarding Dave Lister's question (and congrats on seeing your hard work come to fruition on the small business tax rates!), the point is to bring the issue to the fore and suggest to traditional media that there is an alternate view to the one they usually project.
It's interesting that you mention Saxtonville; that's actually a perfect example of how blogs can impact the discourse. Without BlueO and LoadedO and others discovering and pushing that story, it never would have penetrated the mainstream media like it did. Democratic insiders I've talked to have told me that the "Saxtonville" issue may have been a key factor in the election, because--while not a major scandal like bribery or adultery--it changed the dynamic of the race at the time. Remember that Saxton was running VERY hard on immigration at the time, trying to make an issue out of Kulongoski's "coddling" of undocumented aliens.
And then Saxtonville stories hit, and Saxton began flubbing his answers, saying he wasn't sure if his farm had hired any undocumenteds. As I say, it wasn't like he was actively running a hog processing plant with hundreds of undocumenteds currently working there, but the story completely undercut his main line of attack against Ted. And Ted took advantage of that opening, and from that point cruised to re-election.
The traditional media are still rather scared and confused about how to handle blogs as news sources, but there's no doubt anymore that they're listening. That's the point.
9:25 a.m.
Jan 25, '07
Let it go and come to grips with the fact that there is one statewide elected Republican who might actually represent a few people with views differing from your own.
I guess the fact that Oregonians (who he represents) vote in minimum wage increases over and over again means nothing.
9:59 a.m.
Jan 25, '07
Interesting debate about when enough is too much on coverage of Gordon Smith.
I tend to agree that this stuff can get repetitive and make for slightly dull reading--and I'm one of the worst offenders for posting Smith news. But there is a reason for it, and it gets to the reason blogs became popular in the first place: this is coverage you're not going to get elsewhere. Everything we've posted over the past few months on Smith has been factual and sourced. It's just not getting major coverage by any of the larger news sources.
I think we've been fixated on Smith because he has successfully created the image of a thoughtful moderate when the evidence suggests the opposite. We've got an election in less than two years that will hinge on the degree to which this image is intact. If Smith manages to sell himself as a thoughtful moderate, a maverick of the Hatfield school, he'll win swing voters and hold his seat. If this image is challenged and he's forced to make declarative statements about his positions on controversial issues and these positions are communicated to voters, his carefully-tended image will collapse.
So that's why I keep posting.
As to your home pages, I know I read Loaded Orygun and BlueOregon every day. We need not be too choosey, you know.
10:16 a.m.
Jan 25, '07
Here is the key though - we need to change the Smith narrative in the minds of Oregon's media.
These people are dense. VERY VERY Dense. and Stubborn to boot. They need alot of repetition repeated endlessly to final get the point that Smith is no moderate.
It may seem obvious to those of us who have the ability to see Smith for what he is but the media are stubborn old coots who tend to stick with a narrative about a candidate damn the facts.
It has take a complete implosion of McCain for the media to stop calling him a Maverick and even now many pundits can't help themselves. It is going to be even harder with Smith so yes, repetiveness is very important.
Jan 25, '07
Torrid:
Thanks for the explanation, and thanks for the kudos on the tax issue.
10:56 a.m.
Jan 25, '07
Jeff sed: "As to your home pages, I know I read Loaded Orygun and BlueOregon every day."
Me too--in that order! :wink:
11:26 a.m.
Jan 25, '07
Dave Lister wrote... How many readers of this blog do you imagine are Smith supporters and therefore how many potential votes do your postings take from him? I guess it's entertaining reading but I'm not sure what the point is.
Dave, you seem to have mistaken BlueOregon for a voter-contact tool. It's not, never was, and never will be.
There are some 3.5 million people in Oregon. Roughly three to four thousand a week read BlueOregon. Consequently, it's not likely to make any difference at all to the vast swath of voters.
Jeff and Joe answered the "what's the point" question above.
11:45 a.m.
Jan 25, '07
Smith's gotten a lot of attention lately for his supposed anti-escalation talk. Blog's are a fairly reactive media; if people don't want to hear others snipe at Smith's two-faced positions, the essential way to do that would be to convince him to stop doing things that get him noticed -- or better yet, convince him to leave the Senate so people would stop complaining.
Jan 25, '07
Thanks for your explanation also Kari.
Jan 25, '07
it never ceases to disturb/amaze/sadden me to see one of our elected federal officials, receiving an excellent salary, excellent benefits and fantastic perks think they have the right to look at their constituents who are working just as hard and often, are living in poverty and say: "sorry, i simply do not think you deserve a fair, livable wage."
you say you want a revolution.......this american is fed up with these crooks. people naively think the answer is to vote them out. please. these folks are controlled by money. period. we need new parties, new ideas--people who won't be influenced by money but rather by ideals and will actually REPRESENT their constituents. i noticed in moments prior to bushes state of the union (cough cough, choke choke), some of the sleepwalking ass-kissing media pundits were raving on about what a glorious democracy this was with both parties coming together for one evening. both parties? there are just two parties who represent america? no room for more?
back to the minimum wage. too many simply fail to see the facts and that is more people than ever are making minimum wage and the lower wages than ever before. and bottom line: minimum wage doesn't pay enough to support oneself. it isn't just the college students and teens who are slaving away at these jobs. quite often it is the college graduate who is unable to find suitable employment. or it is the person who has been laid off from a good paying job with benefits who cannot find a similar position. or it is the parent (single or with a partner) who has to take the additional work because their regular income simply has not kept up with the cost of housing, insurance and other basic living expenses--basis expenses that should be a RIGHT and not the privilege they continue to become for millions.
Jan 25, '07
We reach voters when we write letters to the editor based on what we read and learn here at BlueOregon and LoadedOrygun.
Let's just blanket this state with letters to the editor - large and small papers alike - with the details of Smith's hypocrisy. From now until Nov. 2008.
1:58 p.m.
Jan 25, '07
So my buddy calls Smith's office to express disappointment over Gordon's lack of support for raising the minimum wage. The staffer on the other end of the line in DC says, "Senator Smith did not vote against the minimum wage." My buddy replied, "How stupid do you think the voter's in Oregon are?Senator Smith voted to support the filibuster against minimum wage, which is the same thing."
Have you called Smith's office to express your disappointment?
Jan 25, '07
But at least Smith didn't vote to eliminate the minimum wage, as did 28(!) of his Even More Conservative colleagues: http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2007/01/who-wanted-to-eliminate-federal-minimum.html
Regarding the "If you don't have something nice to say about Smith, don't say anything at all" idea: I'm sure it would be perfectly fine with many Smith supporters, because there's just so little nice that one can say about him.
4:07 p.m.
Jan 25, '07
Thanks, Kari! I've followed Blue Oregon's posts on Smith and had wondered how he had performed with respect to the minimum wage legislation before the Senate. I didn't dig really hard, but I couldn't find anything about it prior to this post.
Thanks for scratching my itch. LOL I was pretty sure that I could count on y'all to shine the spot light on it even if nobody else did.
Jan 25, '07
"we need to change the Smith narrative in the minds of Oregon's media."
Sort of like the Bob Packwood narrative? The Oregonian loves the guy. Sigh.
8:29 p.m.
Jan 25, '07
Why should Smith care? Unlike minimum wage earners, he gets to vote on his own salary increases. So I guess it's no surprise that even though they make well over $100K that they keep raising their own salaries. Why? Because they have expenses. And they have to keep up with the cost of living.
Apparently the same isn't the true for poor people.
My brother-in-law got tired of trying to support his family on two minimum wage jobs (in Texas where it's still the federal wage), so now he's off to die, I mean fight, for our country.
Hopefully my sister won't end up being another widow having to take care of a child on her own.
12:40 a.m.
Jan 26, '07
I am all for more articles on Smith, and on Walden. They are not progressives or moderates by any standard based in reality you care to use. I am all for saving off BlueOregon articles that dish the dirt ahead of 08.
More please.
Jan 26, '07
Yeah, the guys that work with my spouse over at the railroad love this man. And why shouldn't they, quite a few of them even attend church with him in Pendleton. OK, I really only know about one for sure and this guy even sounds fairly level headed and has even tried to bend the ear of the Senator about Union matters, etc. Never gets much of a response, but no big surprise there!
I've said it before, and I will say it again. Smith is such a damn lapdog for this Administration. It's getting really old and I've tried to e-mail him and write to him on various issues and have never gotten a single computer generated response. JEESH! What a f*cking phony. But I'm not one of his constiguents even though I live in the same neck of the woods. OK, I may need a drink now if I continue to think about it any longer.
11:03 a.m.
Jan 26, '07
BTW, I just did a count. From the beginnning of the year to this post, there were 91 stories on BlueOregon. Of those, 12 are about Gordon Smith.
So, we're hardly talking exclusively about Gordon Smith. Admittedly, that's still one post every other day - but there's lots of non-Gordon stories here all the time.
Jan 26, '07
Why are we still talking about the minimum wage? What we need to put in place in this country is a maximum wage. Too often I see all these well-to-do a**holes walking around downtown Portland looking down at me and my cardboard sign. Ooh, you all have jobs and make money. Guess what, you make too much money and we should make the government pay everyone the same so that it is fair. Also, I'd like the government to buy my weed.
Late Spazz
Jan 27, '07
It's about time to call a spade a spade.Bush and company are seriious degenerates. They are perverts because thay pervert everything the United states stands for. Everything they touch has been perverted. Including the Constitution of the United States. The Bush Bunch are Killers Thives and liers of the most evil kind. Gordon Smith and the rest of the right wing thugs are also responsible.They are in fact anti-American. They all need to go. Some to jail. We need to make an example of them so what has happend the last six years never happends again. We almost lost our country and may yet.