This is probably going to end badly

It is almost like Republicans forgot the ass kicking Kasich’s anti-labor policies got. Look, I know there are Republicans in Ohio, hell there might be one in Cleveland proper…though I doubt it. We’re hemorrhaging residents and are 2 to 1 black. Our median household income according to the 2010 Census is $26,556 with a poverty rate of 34.2%. But don’t worry, Cleveland promised to raise money to host the convention. I’m not 100% where they are going to get it because they are already taxing us like a mother fucker for private sports teams.

Don’t get me wrong: I LOVE CLEVELAND. If I didn’t already have the name of my memoir picked out (The Art of the Slow Clap) Believeland would be a contender. I have no love for conventions let alone the Republican National Convention. Let me explain a bit about how this came about, and why even if the Democratic National Committee wanted to have their Convention in Cleveland I wouldn’t be dancing on the ceiling.

The Republican National Committee panel announced they are recommending Cleveland as the host city. See one of the major concerns about the convention is paying for it. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus insisted that the Republican Party wouldn’t be the one to foot the bill. The Convention is expected to cost about $60 million. According to AP, “In proposals and presentations to the party, Cleveland pledged to raise the tens of millions of dollars required to pay for the weeklong rally for the party faithful.”

Yes, I know this will also bring funds into Cleveland. After all people who come for a convention will spend dollars on getting there, staying there, food, etc. Maybe I shouldn’t be coy? This convention will bring money into corporations that have little to do with the residents of Cleveland. So unless, all the hotels are going to unionize and pay a living wage I have zero fucks to give. AP notes that Florida saw a $214 million direct economic impact from the 2012 Convention. I would like to see this number broken down again. How much of this went into the pockets of residents? And how much went to the corporations exploiting the labor in Tampa?

So we all know the importance of Ohio in the presidential campaigns, which is more than likely what this is. Republicans see hosting in Cleveland as a two-fold victory: Cleveland footing the bill, and Ohio. Cleveland is in the running for the Democrats too, as is Columbus.

Let’s come back to Cleveland and its problems for a moment. Cleveland has awful infrastructure. Poverty is a way of life, and I want to know how Cleveland plans on paying for this. Look if they have a reserve somewhere I don’t know about I could get on board. What this feels like to me is stealing from poor people to facilitate a party for rich people which will generate profits for corporations (which according to the Supreme Court are people).

DNC Platform the Abridged Version

The DNC released the platform that will be approved during the convention. Like the RNC's most of it is pretty predictable. There are a few promising notes and some very disappointing omissions. There are some points like support for Planned Parenthood and unwavering support to uphold Roe. I abbreviated from The Nation and added some extra commentary. 

Positive:

A constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. The White House is endorsing massive grassroots movements as a way to undo the Supreme Court decision. The platform reads: "We campaign finance reform, by constitutional amendment if necessary."

Exempting the safety net from deficit reduction. They are not including Medicare and Social Security in the deficit reduction talks. The Democrats were once ready to cut these programs so it is good news that these are no longer up for grabs. 

Gay marriage. Still brushing our shoulders off on this one. It reads: "We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law. We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples."

Voting rights. The Democrats are angling to be the party fighting for the right to vote: "We believe the right to vote and to have your vote counted is an essential American freedom, and we oppose laws that place unnecessary restrictions on those seeking to exercise that freedom...Democrats know that voter identification laws can disproportionately burden young voters, people of color, low-income families, people with disabilities, and the elderly, and we refuse to allow the use of political pretexts to disenfranchise American citizens."

Omits support for Jerusalem as capital of Israel. This doesn't really mean anything except drawing attention to Mittens' platform being the Democratic one from 2008. 

Minimum wage. There are recent efforts to raise the minimum wage, which I discussed earlier. The platform endorses recent efforts without being specific: "We will raise the minimum wage, and index it to inflation. 

Assault weapons ban. About damn time. With all the gun violence in the last year, it is about time someone said something about weapon bans. The platform reads: "We understand the terrible consequences of gun violence. We can focus on effective enforcement of existing laws, especially strengthening out background check system, and we can work together to enact commonsense improvements-like reinstating the assault weapons ban and closing the gun show loophole-so that guns do not fall into the hands of those irresponsible, law-break few." We've hears this before, in 2008. But Obama didn't do much on this. 

Reiterates support for cap-and-trade. Democrats have quit on cap-and-trade in the last few years, but apparently that is coming back too: "Democrats will continue pursuing efforts to combat climate change at home as well, because reducing our emissions domestically-through regulation and market solutions-is necessary to continue being an international leader on this issue. We understand that global climate change may disproportionately affect the poor, and we are committed to environmental justice."

Cons:

Lowering the corporate tax rate. Platform reads: "We are also committed to reforming the corporate tax code to lower tax rates for companies in the United States." No one is excited about this approach. It closes the loopholes. This approach aims to take the money gained from closing massive loopholes that allow corporations to pay little or no taxes, and dump the revenue gained into lowering the overall tax rate for corporations. This could be an opportunity to raise money for public investments, social safety nets, or deficit reduction, but it isn't. Additionally, Obama's plan only articulates one-quarter of the loopholes and exemptions and is vague on the rest. It is possible that this plan could lower the corporate tax rate without ending enough exemptions to pay for it. 

Housing section. This section is bad. Very bad. The platform says nothing on principal reduction, a policy that the White House claimed to support. Additionally, the platform claims: "President Obama took swift action to stabilize a housing market in crisis, helping five million families restructure their loans to help them stay in their homes, making it easier for families to refinance their mortgage and save hundreds of dollars a month."This is pretty misleading; we're not sure who they have helped, if anyone.  To close, it claims the administration has "cracked down on fraudulent mortgage lenders and other abuses." There is no proof of this, which makes me think the DNC saw how Ryan lies and thought this guy might be onto something. 

Civil liberties. Gitmo anyone? 

No support for card-check. There is not pledge to fight for the Employee Free Choice Act. Labor present? Not in Charlotte. 

Doesn't pledge not to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The platform doesn't say the safety net should be part of the deficit reduction, but it doesn't say they won't either. They could change the retirement age or any number of changes that could be rough on recipients. 

Affirms support for the death penalty. We're still ok with executing people...

Signals support for the Keystone XL pipeline...maybe...The language here leaves room for negotiation on the subject. 

And with that and watching Michelle Obama do the verbal equivalent of kicking ass and taking names I'm done.

Bonus Update: The DNC added God and Jerusalem back to the platform. Progressives everywhere groan.

Best Week Ever?

I saw this on Best Week Ever. With advertising like this the RNC can give Sarah Palin 150 thousand dollars. It is important to note both shirts are pro-Palin; yes pro-Palin not pro-McCain/Palin. And yes, there is a difference.

Shopping and Palin Again

I need to express my love for Sarah Maddow and Jon Stewart, as though you didn’t already know. Two of my favorites tackle Palin and the 150 thousand dollar shopping spree. I think Maddow gets it right when she says, “It kind of makes me want to be a maverick too.” According to Maddow, the RNC does not discuss spending as it relates to strategy, and then she goes on to discuss Palin’s ever changing Alaskan expense reports.
As for Stewart, he hits the nail on the head when he calls the Palin family grifters. According to Stewart the hot one finds an old victim, and then seduces him with her everyman talk. The old fool pulls out the checkbook and then out of nowhere the relatives.