Here’s How To Deal With Extortionists

We start this story with one of the poorest excuses for journalism ever to clear the e-keyboard of Scott Goss, which is saying something. This story.  It’s all about Delaware Rethugs crying crocodile tears over how their efforts to bargain in good faith are being destroyed by the perfidious D’s. And we’ll get right back to that. But first, did I mention that, even by Scott Goss standards, this ‘article’ is particularly poor work.  While he still hasn’t secured a job as a GOP flak, that doesn’t stop him from serving as GOP Flak-Without-Portfolio:

Months later, Ramone further frustrated Democrats by narrowly winning re-election despite unsubstantiated reports he got his general election opponent fired and profited from a near-unanimous 2017 vote authorizing the use of blockchain technology by Delaware corporations.

Uh, Scott, just because you didn’t bother to substantiate it doesn’t mean it wasn’t substantiated. Like, for example, right here.

The gist of the story is that Rethugs are crying b/c D’s are finding ways around the type of extortion schemes that R’s have used to stop highly-popular initiatives from taking effect. Or, at least, extracting unpopular concessions in exchange for freeing up a meager vote or two for such initiatives.

Initiative #1: Providing furloughed federal workers with relief from loan burdens for the duration of the shutdown. You will recall that downstate R senators joined together to kill this bill,  which fell one vote shy of the required 3/4 supermajority requirement.  Even the hapless Scott Goss reported what happened:

Six Senate Republicans – egged on by a full day of opposition to the legislation on conservative radio – twice blocked the loan bill, arguing it set a dangerous precedent to have the government guarantee repayment of personal loans for people in financial straits.

So, Gov. Carney does what somebody who actually cares about the federal employees would do: He finds a way around the roadblock by accomplishing through executive action what Rethugs refused to do legislatively.  It was the right, and humane, thing to do. And was necessary only due to the obstinance of Senate R’s.  Sen. Anthony DelCollo, who, Scott, does not represent ‘Wilmington West’ or even one scintilla of Wilmington, fumed:

“If they didn’t need the Legislature, why did they make us go through this significant effort?” he asked Friday. “And if legislative approval is required, then I have questions about whether this is even lawful.”

Well, first, senator, the D’s underestimated the callousness of your caucus and thought there would be widespread support to help people in dire straits through no fault of their own. Second, as to why ‘they’ made you go through this significant effort, it’s because it’s your fucking job. I mean, seriously, these jabronis.

(Deep cleansing breaths before I get worked up all over again.)

Initiative #2: You may recall that most D’s, absent a few of the Chamber-type D’s who no doubt are now getting all their coffee from Starbucks, managed to push through a relatively meager minimum wage increase at the end of the last session of the General Assembly.  However, they needed a spare GOP vote or two, and no Rethug (save Cathy Cloutier) was willing to do the right thing just because it was the right thing to do. Enter small, in every sense of the word, businessman Rep. Mike Ramone.  Scott, can I trust you to provide the narrative?:

It was Ramone who first proposed the training and youth wages aspect after the Legislature ground to a halt in the early morning of July 1 over a $1 minimum wage hike passed just before 4 a.m.

House Republicans, enraged that such a controversial vote had come in the middle of the night, then withheld votes on the bond bill for more than four hours.

They finally relented after Democrats agreed to add a new base wage for anyone younger than 18 or new hires in their first 90 days of employment. Both pay 50 cents less than Delaware’s minimum wage, which will reach $9.25 in October.

You got that?  Rethugs held the legislature hostage not on the principle of a late night session running too late, but because they wanted to screw young hires out of the same minimum wage that everybody else gets. What can I say? Rethugs gonna Rethug. Especially small businessman Mike Ramone.

Enter HB 47(K. Williams).  It eliminates both the training minimum wage and the youth minimum wage, which were the concessions the R’s extorted from D leadership. All but three House D’s have signed on to the bill, meaning there are more than enough votes to pass it. The R’s are up in arms about how this violates what they claim to have been good-faith negotiations.  They were, however, nothing of the sort. They were successful attempts to extort something that only served to screw entry-level employees. 

D’s tried to do the right thing for Federal workers, but were waylaid by Rethug extortionists.  The extortionists succeeded in screwing youthful workers in the waning hours of the last legislative session. It is time to repay the extortionists by doing away with the ill-gotten fruits of their labors. Hey, whether or not D’s do this, R’s will still use this tactic. It’s the only thing that a  hopeless minority can use. We’ll just have to deal with it next time by getting rid of Delcollo and Cloutier and attaining super-majority status on everything. Until then, pass HB 47 and give the extortionists what they deserve.  Nothing.