One of the things we know and love about Willard "Mitt" Romney, George Allen, Eric Can'tor, and Corporate Congresscritters like Robert "Daddy's Uranium Mine" Hurt, is how they advocate for (and vote to) give big corporations huge tax breaks, loopholes, and favors, even as those companies move American jobs overseas, fail to invest in America's economic future, American communities and American jobs, etc. I mean, hey, who wouldn't love that, right? On second thought...not!!!
In all seriousness, though, that's Republican economics to a "t" - for "trickle down," that is. I'm not sure if corporate puppets like Eric Can'tor, George Allen and Robert Hurt actually believe the garbage they spew out of their mouths, about how the super rich deserve even MORE preferential tax treatment because they're the supposed "job creators" (so much for small business, apparently), blah blah blah. Yet spew they do.
The question is, how do the corporations lackeys, aka "Republicans," get away with this garbage year after year, when clearly their policies are diametrically opposed to 99.9% of voters' own, economic self interests? It's hard to figure out, although there have been numerous books written on the subject.
Part of it, clearly, is that Republicans may be disasters at economics (e.g., Republican Great Recession), foreign policy (see Bush, George W., and Cheney, Dick), managing to balance the budget (Reagan exploded the deficit, as did George W. Bush - after Democrat Bill Clinton got us into SURPLUS!), and just about every other aspect of governing our country, but they happen to be absolute masters at appealing to the worst angels of people's nature, dividing people against each other, and of course the Big Lie. And they've got tons of corporate money and allies to spread those Big Lies and divisive sentiments around, 24/7/365.
In Virginia's 5th CD, for instance, we have Robert Hurt, who Tom Perriello (correctly) warned two years ago (see video above) would be a corporate tool who'd work against the interests of working families of the fifth district. We also have Hurt's pal and political ally, far-right-wing talk show host (and Rush wannabe) Rob Schilling. Recently, Schilling went way over the line, even for him, slandering a decorated, honored, respected military man - General John Douglass, the Democratic candidate to replace Hurt in Congress - as a "chickenhawk," "dupe," "crook," "empty uniform," etc. And, of course, Hurt said nothing, didn't condemn or rebuke Schilling, just let the attacks on an honorable, distinguished veteran hang out there in the ether. Profiles in Courage, huh?
Yet another Big Lie by Hurt et al. has been their efforts to pretend that 35-year veteran, farmer and churchgoer (Gen. Douglass) has suddenly morphed into a left-wing radical in his old(er) age. In fact, Douglass is about as mainstream and centrist a Democrat as you can get, even served for a time in Ronald Reagan's White House (maybe Reagan was a secret left-wing radical too? lol).
So obviously, Hurt's and Schilling's portrayal of Douglass is laughable. The real question is more interesting: what's Hurt trying to hide and distract people from? Fortunately, that's a glaringly obvious, simple question to answer. Take two minutes to look at Hurt's pathetic record, and you'll see one thing clearly: that he's a corporate sellout, puppet, hack, servant, whatever word you care to use, through and through. This is a guy in fact, who's taken more than a half million dollars in campaign kick-backs from big business. Just to underscore the point, one of Hurt's biggest corporate contributors is a leading proponent of privatizing social security and eliminating Wall Street safeguards after being bailed out by Virginia taxpayers. Hurt's also twice voted to end Medicare as we know it, by turning the program into a private voucher that could cost seniors $6,000 more per year has paid off.
It goes on and on...the corporate/Wall Street money, the votes against working people and small business, and of course the uranium mining deal that would threaten serious environmental harm to residents of Hurt's district, but would enrich his own family. Frankly, this might be one of the most relevant examples of how a corporate congressman can "Hurt" the very constituents he's supposed to be protecting. As John Douglass has pointed out, Hurt "has gotten away with bankrolling his campaigns with hundreds of thousands of dollars from Corporate PAC's, including Wall Street banks, insurance companies and lobbyists, at the expense of Fifth District families...even taken more than $10,000 from one of the leading companies seeking to privatize social security."
Bottom line: It's time for Robert Hurt to stop hiding behind his Rush Limbaugh Wannabe shock jock friends, and instead to get out there and debate John Douglass up and down the 5th District, answering all the tough questions - and he deserves to be asked many! - that come his way.
Of course, Hurt knows he doesn't have answers to those questions, certainly not ones that anybody in the district would believe, so he ducks debates and any forums but the most friendly, safe ones (like The Schilling Show). I guess that's what you do if you're a Corporate Congressman with nothing to offer the people of your district, but plenty to offer the uranium companies and other big donors to your campaign. Of course, if that's Hurt's (bad) attitude, then there's certainly no reason for anybody to vote for the guy, right?
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