Blogger Shock At Min Wage Repeal Attempt (But Where's the Media?)

List of Shame

For the record, those running for reelection in 2008 are Alexander, Bennett, Chambliss, Cochran, Cornyn, Craig, Enzi, Graham, Hagel, Inhofe, McConnell and Sununu.Oh, and that guy McCain is probably running for president and Brownback definitely is.

READ MORE: Johnny Isakson

Yesterday, Bob Geiger and the AFL-CIO Blog broke the story that 28 conservative Senators tried to outright eliminate the federal minimum wage.

Immediately, the blogosphere reacted in shock, at both the raw cruelty and the political inanity.
TomPaine.com labelled the whole lot, "The Senate Anti-Worker Caucus," fundamentally out of touch with the electorate, since "Voters in November had a simple request: They wanted an increase in the federal minimum wage."

Mahablog argues this just means the decades-long, right-wing "War on Workers" refuses to quit and must be forcefully challenged.

MyDD named some key names: "Does [Sen. John] Cornyn think that he is invincible in Texas in 2008, despite his 44% approval rating? Does [Sen. John] Sununu even plan on running for re-election in New Hampshire? Does anyone still think [Sen. John] McCain is a moderate? ... can we please tone down the Hagel worship in the blogosphere?"

The Carpetbagger Report zeroed in on McCain: "McCain surely knew that [the] measure wouldn't pass, so by voting for it, he indicated that he really believes in it. ... Is it me, or is this an unusually risky political move for the leading GOP presidential candidate? ... Sounds to me like a possible campaign issue."

Emboldened set its sights on Hagel: "Hagel is not a moderate or a RINO ... This is an extreme position to hold, far outside the mainstream of America."

Potentially more significant is the reaction from local bloggers, shining a spotlight on their own Senators.

The U. of Nebraska-Omaha College Dems blog hit Hagel for "more hypocrisy."

Georgia's So Far, So Left called out its two Senators: "Among the shameful 28, our very own Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson."

Blue Hampshire warned its Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu, "These guys are so out of touch with their constituents they should consider just resigning now and keeping their campaign warchests. They're dead, Jim."

Blue Lyon and Nye -- Gateway to Nevada's Rurals slapped their Senator, John Ensign.

And perhaps the most significant comment of all comes from Kentucky's BlueGrassReport.org.

After rapping its two Senators Mitch McConnell (the Senate Minority Leader) and Jim Bunning, it also rapped the Kentucky media: "I failed to find any mention of this outlandish effort in any Kentucky newspapers."

That's not only true in Kentucky. The attempt to abolish the federal minimum wage does not appear to have been picked up by any media outlet at all.

If the media isn't going to report the news, it's up to you.

If one of your Senators is on the List of Shame, write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, and let your neighbors know what their representatives are up to.

Bill Scher blogs for Campaign for America's Future

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