Conservative CEO's Using Voter Intimidation to Support Romney

In probably the most disturbing trend in recent political history, we have seen a rash of companies threatening the jobs of their employees based on the outcome of the Presidential election.  These threats have been veiled in the guise of potential problems that the companies would face if Romney isn't elected; however, unless you are an unquestioning follower of Republican propaganda, you can easily see this for what it is - voter intimidation.

The most politically correct threat has been made by the Koch brothers.  They sent a "voter information packet" to their employees.  In the letter including in the packet, the employees were told that, although they were free to vote for whomever they chose, "many of [Koch's] more than 50,000 US employees and contractors may suffer the consequences" based on the outcome of the election.  They also included an op-ed by David Koch endorsing Romney and one by Charles Koch condemning Obama. 

The next threat, from ASG Software Solutions CEO Arthur Allen, was a lot more direct.  In an email to employees, Allen stated, "I can tell you, if the US re-elects President Obama, our chances of staying independent are slim to none....If we fail as a nation to make the right choice on November 6th, and we lose our independence as a company, I don’t want to hear any complaints regarding the fallout that will most likely come." 

In probably the most disgusting display of coercion, David Siegel of Westgate Resorts emailed his employees a very blatant threat.  This email stated, "The economy doesn’t currently pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is another 4 years of the same Presidential administration....If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company....This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone."  Allen also claims credit for getting Bush elected.  He told Bloomberg, "I had my managers do a survey on every employee [8,000 total]. If they liked Bush, we made them register to vote. But not if they liked Gore."  He said he made sure all of the employees who supported Bush got to the polls and surveyed them afterwards to see how many people wouldn't have voted if it weren't for his efforts.  He says 1,000 people did and claims that this was the deciding factor in Florida.  This is a guy who is currently constructing the largest home in America, a 90,000 square foot lakeside residence with an estimated value of $65-$75 million.  If that's not enough to convince you that this is a threat instead of concern about the business, Siegel told Reuters in July that "We're the most profitable we've ever been."  He also hired 1,500 new employees and said he has had to fend off banks that are throwing money at him.  So he's in such dire straights that his company is the most profitable it's ever been?

This is the worst example of thug behavior that I have ever seen.  These companies might as well have management standing at the polls with baseball bats.  I'm sure people would rather face the threat of physical pain to the threat of losing their livelihood.  I'm sure it will be deemed legal because they told the employees that they could still vote for whomever they want, but unless you are a fool you will see this as coercion and voter intimidation.  However, this is no different than a manager telling an employee, "you don't have to sleep with me, but you might lose your job if you don't."  If they had done that, they would all be facing sexual harassment charges.  These men should be held accountable to the law and imprisoned.  There is no place in a free society for executives to determined the outcome of elections through threats to the lives of their employees. 

210,000 Jobs Added in August...Republicans Should Panic

Bad news for Republicans...the latest report estimates that the private sector has added about 201,000 jobs in August.  I've reported before that Obama's job record has been skewed by Republicans to make it look like he hasn't gained any ground, when we have actually added millions of jobs under his watch.  With these latest figures, even the misleading argument that looks at the figures from the day he took office is almost nullified. 

Here is the breakdown based on the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Obama took office at the end of January in 2009.
• From February 2009 through December 2009 we lost 4,242,000 jobs.
• In 2010 we gained 1,027,000 jobs.
• In 2011 we gained 1,840,000 jobs.
• With the figures for August added in, we have added 1,260,000 jobs so far in 2012. 
• The net job loss is only at 115,000 jobs from when Obama took office.

What this means for the GOP is that, by the time October rolls around, we will have added more jobs than we lost since the day Obama took office.  What will they complain about then? 

In reality, (which is that place Republicans refuse to visit) we have added over 3 million jobs since the time Obama's policies have really had time to take effect.  Looks like the Romney campaign will have to come up with another lie or misleading fact to base his candidacy on now.

Update 9/10/12:
Unfortunately, the numbers for August weren't as high as we were led to believe.  However, it doesn't mean that this post has changed...only the numbers.  I still believe that Obama is responsible for more job growth and that we can even surpass the number of lost jobs by election day. 

Republican Elitism Exposed

Well, I wrote this earlier today and had problems posting it.  So I re-wrote it for you here:

Thank you Romney supporters for finally making the point that I have been trying to get through the heads of middle and lower-class conservatives for a long time now.

At a fundraising event supporting Mitt Romney, supporters talked to a L.A. Times reporter.  Here's what I found interesting.  First, two of the people quoted in the article refused to give their names to the reporter.  One of the two said that it was because he feared that it would harm his business if he did.  I wonder why?  Could it be that people know what Romney is about and don't want to give their money to a person who supports a corporate puppet candidate?

The other supporter was even more fun.  I can't paraphrase what she said because it's actually too good:

"We've got the message," she added. "But my college kid, the baby sitters, the nails ladies -- everybody who's got the right to vote -- they don't understand what's going on. I just think if you're lower income -- one, you're not as educated, two, they don't understand how it works, they don't understand how the systems work, they don't understand the impact."

 Let me highlight the best part for you again -

"I just think if you're lower income -- one, you're not as educated, two, they don't understand how it works, they don't understand how the systems work"

First, let me point out the anacoluthon in her statement.  In case she reads this, that means that the syntax of her sentence changed mid-sentence.  She began by using the pronoun "you" and finished with "they."  That is a grammatical lesson from one "lower income" person who is "not as educated" to a rich, elitist, Romney supporter.  

So, according to the rich elite, because someone is low income they are obviously less educated.  Well...let's look at a list of people who weren't very well educated:

• Abraham Lincoln - one year of formal schooling
• Amadeo Peter Giannini - founder of Bank of America and high school dropout
• Andrew Jackson - President, General, Attorney, Judge, Congressman - no formal education
• Ansel Adams - world-famous photographer and high school dropout
• Barry Diller - founder of Fox Broadcasting Company
• Charles Culpepper - owner and CEO of Coca Cola and high school dropout
• Dave Thomas - billionaire founder of Wendy's and high school dropout
• Frank Lloyd Wright - never attended high school
• Henry Ford - did not attend college
• Michael Dell - founder of Dell Computers dropped out of college
• Rush Limbaugh - millionaire media personality dropped out of college
• Steve Jobs - Apple founder and college dropout
• Bill Gates - Microsoft founder and college dropout
• Walt Disney - no explanation needed - high school dropout

This is just a sample of the list.  So if these people aren't lower income how can they not be well educated?  The answer is because this woman's ideas are asinine.  The sad thing is that she in not in the minority when it comes to the Republican mindset.  These people actually believe that because we make less money than they do, that we are not as intelligent.

So, because these people have money, they must be more intelligent and we should just be putting the people that they like in office.  Never mind the fact that those people will likely work to make their rich friends richer and keep us ignorant poor people in our places.

But, what about the fact that over half of the recent college graduates are unemployed, you ask?  Well they don't count because they are poor.  According to this person's theory their education probably wasn't very good otherwise they should be rich like her.

The point is that there is a predominant elitist attitude in the Republican party.  They work very hard at convincing the middle and lower-classes that they are trying to protect their freedom and create jobs by giving themselves huge tax breaks.  How exactly does their paying less taxes result in me making more money or my neighbor getting a new job?  The theory is that these rich people will not just take the money to the bank, but use it to create new jobs.

Let's look at what Warren Buffet, one of the most well-respected and richest businessmen in the world, has to say about that:

"to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation."

So, to recap, Republican supporters show their elitism even though their arguments make no sense and they are contradicted by someone who has reached the pinnacle of the business world.  Yet so many middle and lower-class people will still vote for Romney swearing that he will make things better for them.  Don't worry, if he manages to win, the upper class will thank you for your support by dropping off your pink slip on the way to the bank.

Political cartoons by David Horsey