Government Cheese

The House passed the Senate's $26 billion package in aid to states to save some 300,000 local government jobs (for now) in today's special session, and Digby argues that the Republicans who voted against it just made a huge mistake.

I'm telling you, this is where the vulnerable underbelly of their "just say no" campaign. They are voting against nice, white, suburban middle class Americans this time (along with nice brown and black suburban middle class Americans) with this crusade. And going after teachers, cops and firefighters is a very, very dangerous thing to do. And as I wrote before, the Democrats should throw it right in their face.

The problem is two-fold:  First, the right has programmed the country to despise teachers, cops, firefighters, librarians, civil servants and other local government employees.  Teachers are especially hated, with their "elitist" knowledge, their "liberal secular crusade" against Christianity, their "corrupt unions" and their "unfair tenure and pay".  In the last ten years, the right has made teacher nearly a dirty as word as politician.  It may not have worked in California, but nationally teachers are hated and despised by the right and there are thousands of home schooled kids out there where parents have put their money where their hate is.

Look at how the right is gleefully trying to savage the teacher who dared stand up to Sarah Palin, for instance.   Teachers aren't "nice, white, suburban middle class Americans" in 2010.  They're all "evil God-hating liberals."

Second is there are more than a few Democrats who agree with the wingers on the Right, and so the Dems won't stand up for government employees anymore.

No, the wingers know exactly what they are doing with their anti-government nihilism, and it's going to continue to work right up until everything falls apart.

I don't see the Dems taking this opportunity, and they will burn for it.