This morning during an interview on CNBC, Senator Mitch McConnell resorted to simply making shit up. On two points offered by McConnell, I was particularly startled by the Senator's inventive perspective on reality:
- On Republican obstructionism, McConnell stated: The 41 Republican Senators in Congress represent 50% of the American people.
- On Card Check McConnell stated: "The Democrats want to abandon the secret ballot for unions after a hundred and fifty years, for God's sake."
Senator McConnell, you sir are not a serious person. But I'm here to help. Senator, I offer some guidance below:
- Dear Senator, please take the population of each state and give each Republican Senator from any given state 50% of that number. (Yes Senator, this means, for example, Republicans can claim 50% of the population of a state like Alaska, and 100% of the population of a state like Texas.) I've done this--and--with some minor rounding--arrived at approx. 100,000,000 Americans represented by Republican Senators. This, Senator is roughly 33% of the American population, not 50%. You, Senator, are the leader of a minority party.
- Senator, if unions have had the secret ballot for 150 years, this would mean unions were active in 1859, before the Civil War. Senator, may I respectfully suggest you revisit your American history. True, there were some very small guilds, but even the venerable AFL did not organize until 1886, and then only as an umbrella for skilled workers. Unskilled workers saw their organizing efforts two decades later crushed by both capital and government. (Senator, please Google IWW for additional information.) In fact, Senator, union organizing did not enjoy federal protection until 1935 with the passage of the Wagner Labor Relations Act. For historical reference Senator, that was during a period we often refer to as The Great Depression. During that period we had a Democratic President named Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He had a program called The New Deal. (No, it's true, you can look it up.) American History can be quite educational Senator.
Look, I know you're busy. But really Senator, let's try for a bit more rigor. Good.