Make My Day, Jeff Frederick

Apparently, I hit a sore nerve with a bunch of Virginia conservatives recently. Actually, it was less me than the topic I wrote about. If readers will remember, I posted a light hearted diary about a picket line at the National Airport Hilton in Arlington. The event was listed as an official Inaugural event, as part of the USA Service calendar, encouraging people to get involved in their communities for Martin Luther King Day.

Virginia Republicans are so scared that their precious "right to work" laws might be challenged by citizens seeking economic and social justice that they've gone into full panic mode. It started with this Richmond Times Dispatch editorial:

Blogger Karen Duncan, who bills herself as "proudly liberal since 2005," was clearly acting out of gratitude when she posted pictures and descriptions of Democrats Terry McAuliffe, Brian Moran, Creigh Deeds, and Jody Wagner handing out coffee and popcorn -- and being generally cheerful and supportive -- during a union-sponsored picket line. The event was held on Jan. 19 at the Hilton Crystal City at National Airport. .......

In the long run, though, businesses will not ignore any decline in Virginia's reputation as a state that respects workers' rights by protecting their right to work. Across the river in Washington, Democrats are preparing an assault on secret ballots and American job creation. The times they may be changing in the Old Dominion, but we suspect Democrats are sorely mistaken if they believe Virginians are prepared to let our next governor turn their state into a Southern version of Michigan.

Supporters of the GOP's candidate for governor, Bob McDonnell, are no doubt delighted to see his opponents lining up for the unions. It might be the first strike in reversing Virginia's blue streak.

Or maybe not. It could be Republicans are sorely mistaken and out of touch if they don't realize that people are fed up with Marie Antoinette CEOs who sock away huge bonuses while driving their businesses into the ground and causing unemployment. Let's face it, during the go go years, when corporations were making huge profits, the wages of ordinary Americans were stagnating. Despite breathtaking productivity, reaching over eight percent in 2005 and 2006, employees never shared in the fruits of their companies' successes.

Now we know why. Greedy executives were feathering their own gilded nests. Well, those chickens have come home to roost all right.

So now all the Republicans have is fear. Fear of equality. Fear of fairness. Fear of ordinary working people.

Picking up on the RTD's rather hysterical non sequitur of an editorial - is there an actual coherent argument or fact to support it - RPV's Jeff Frederick wrote this.

Unfortunately, the Democrats who bothered to gift wrap their cookies for the picketers would like to throw all that away. While statistics on prosperity aren't on their side, at least they have the support of the Communist Party's official mouthpiece, People's Weekly World. A fellow comrade who participated in the protest shared the sentiments of the Democrat candidates...

Of course, it's not Frederick's fault entirely. The RTD put me in the same piece as People's Weekly World. That publication apparently did send somebody to cover the picket line, but that's about the only time I've ever seen or even heard of them. But then I guess Jeff Frederick would call Rabbi Bruce Aft, of Congregation Adat Reyim, who offered a blessing of the picketers and spoke movingly about social justice, a "fellow traveler" too?

But, hey if Jeff Frederick and RTD think that reviving the Cold War in the absence of any actual communists is the way to win, more power to them.

On the other hand, if Jeff Frederick has you in his crosshairs, he's actually more likely to shoot himself in the foot somehow. You know what, he made my day :)