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Two days ago I reported from Soldier Field as the Democrats fell all over each other to be crowned the AFL-CIO’s celebrated Presidential candidate and representative spokesperson for victims and workers all across the land.

Since then I’ve been mulling over the event and had a few observations that I thought were interesting.

The first item of note is that it took less than 1 day to track down the wife of a man killed in a mine accident and insert her as a representative of the newest liberal talking point on the failing infrastructure of the United States, all the fault of George Bush of course.

Here is how it went down. The transcript is directly as provided me by the debate organizers, including the emphasis on Mrs. Hamner’s status as the wife of a Sago mine victim. I put the last sentence of her response in bold for my emphasis.

We’d like to turn the floor over to Deborah Hamner of Buckhannon, West Virginia, whose husband, George Jr. Hamner was one of those killed in last year’s accident at
the Sago mine.

Mrs. Hamner, you have the condolences of all of us up on this stage. And you also have our first question of this segment, which will go to Senator Biden.

DEBORAH HAMNER, WIFE OF SAGO MINE VICTIM: My husband, George Jr. Hamner was one of the 12 men who were killed in the Sago mine last year. It’s happening again, right now, with the six trapped miners in Utah.

I feel that the Bush administration has failed workers like my husband by rolling back dozens of important workplace protections.

Shameful doesn’t begin to describe how low the Democrats will go when it comes to exploiting tragedy and death for political gain. This is how they craft their message. Is there any doubt that Deborah Hamner would not have been heard from if not for the Utah Mine collapse?

17,000 AFL-CIO workers and their families attended the debate at Soldier Field. Many of those groups were sectioned off at the site to sit with their respective local, complete with color coordinated tee-shirts and carefully placed stickers supporting The Employee Free Choice Act, (read, unionization by signature on a piece of paper act).

This is a perfect example of what America would be like under the thumb of socialists. Everything would be controlled, everyone would be in their place, and all the messages would be coordinated. A picture perfect image of diversity even though all the elements that make people diverse outside of skin color would be wiped away. No expression of free thought, no need to trouble yourself with competitive enterprise and no personal accountability. The Democrats are there to do that for you.

Steve Scabbarra of Indiana asked the following question:

After 34 years with LTV Steel I was forced to retire because of a disability. Two years later, LTV filed bankruptcy. I lost a third of my pension and my family lost their health care.

Every day of my life I sit at the kitchen table across from the woman who devoted 36 years of her life to my family and I can’t afford to pay for her health care.

What’s wrong with America and what will you do to change it?

Although John Edwards answered the question with the stock “I have stood alongside union workers in picket lines forever speech” I thought it interesting to point out a couple of observations here.

Not one Democrat took up the cause to defend America which is no surprise. The “What’s wrong with America” line is a shiftily crafted message that Democrats have used to hang onto power for decades. The message usually grows like tentacles through the left until it reaches its ultimate destination where it can be morphed by the nutroots into the standard “America is wrong” drum beat. Never once is the “wrongness” of America considered within the context of other countries, for if it were these people would be saying God Bless America.

Sure some things are wrong, as is the case with every society. But the general supposition that America is wrong is a product of the party representing the people who sat on that podium flaming the fires of that anti-American theme. The new Democrat Presidential candidates are just this election season’s gate keepers.

A second item to point out is the case of LTV steel. That company went bankrupt when Bill Clinton was in office. Unions made the situation worse when it came time to rescue the company by making demands that potential buyers were not willing to meet. The person who went ot bat for the workers was Republican Senator Jeff Sessions who tried to pass a bill that would protect pension programs by having them considered at a hearing alongside the creditors in bankruptcy proceedings. The bill failed in 2002. The issue of pensions and bankruptcy is complex and is not a Democrat vs. Republican issue.

Word Usage:

• The word “America” was mentioned 81 times or approximately once every 1.1 minutes
• The word “war” was mentioned 76 times or approximately once every 1.18 minutes
• The word “Iraq” was mentioned 48 times or approximately once every 1.8 minutes
• The word “job” was mentioned 40 times or approximately once every 2.25 minutes
• The word “health” was mentioned 37 times or approximately once every 2.4 minutes
• The word “trade” was mentioned 27 times or approximately once every 3.3 minutes
• The word “infrastructure” was mentioned 27 times or approximately once every 3.6 minutes
• The word “security” was mentioned 21 times or approximately once every 4.28 minutes
• The word “NAFTA” was mentioned 18 times or approximately once every 5 minutes
• The word “al Qaida” was mentioned 14 times or approximately once every 6.4 minutes
• The word “Bush” was mentioned 14 times or approximately once every 6.4 minutes
• The words gay, marriage, abortion, sex and choose were not mentioned during the debate.

Trackposted to Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Perri Nelson’s Website, The Amboy Times, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Right Truth, and Conservative Thoughts, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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