Sunday, November 06, 2011

The Classism of the Ohio GOP

The State of Ohio's Republicans are chopped full of examples of unflappable mendacity, but sometimes the truth of their motivations are plain as day.  Greg Sargent of the Washington Post writes a blog post on the (in my words) classism of Lou Blessing, Ohio House Representative from the 29th District located in the Suburbs of Cincinnati.

Blessing is quoted on Ohio Public Radio as stating that he's against cutting the pay of Republican lawmakers, as an act of shared sacrifice with Ohio union workers who stand to loose jobs, benefits, and pay as the result of SB5.  Cutting state law makers pay is not going to amount to that much money and won't solve any problems.  It is just the way he said it.  His pure arrogance and callousness dripped like acid from his lips as he dismissed the idea, claiming he and other Republicans "earn" their money, implying the unions and the Dems don't.

That's classism in my book.  It sounds like he's channeling a 19th Century Industrialist complaining about his workers asking for basic safe-working conditions.  The type of thing that would cost him a few dollars, but he doesn't want to part with a single dime, unless it goes to those loyal to his company, or in the case of Blessing to those supporting his political philosophy/constituency.

4 comments:

  1. It's this right wing, republican, close minded bullshit that is pushing me to leave Cincinnati and Ohio forever. The politics here are so screwed up, and I've never been to a place that seems to make such a big deal about everything in regards to development or spending money. I wonder if the people of New York, or any other city really, get so upset whenever a public works project is brought to the table? And the negativity, I just can't stand it. I've also never lived in a place where people just blame the city for its faults. I hear "Well that's Cincinnati for ya" more than I would like. How about we take some responsibility and do something about it, rather than sitting back and complaining about how it sucks and how you want to leave? And now I feel just like those negative people. But seriously, should I keep fighting for this place? I'm worried I will spend my youth working to improve a city that is half full of people who just want to give up on it. And look at me now. I love Cincinnati, my biggest dream is for Cincinnati to be a desirable place to live, to be a catalyst for progress, to be a womb that nurtures the birth of culture! But I'm not going to waste my time and energy on a city never willing to change. Do you think that it will change? This is an honest question and I want to know your opinion.

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  2. I think you are fooling yourself to think that this is somehow only a problem in Ohio or Cincinnati. No matter where you go, you will find people who do nothing and complain about what gets done. Humans are, by in large, stupid and lazy. That is the way it has always been, and I don't see eons of behavior being wiped out in anyone's lifetime.

    Furhtermore, I don't know who you are talking to or where you are living in the Cincinnati area. The people who attack the city don't live in the City and are just conservatives who want to complain. Don't presume that talk radio callers are truly representative of those listening.

    If you are talking to liberals who attack the city, then they are just a ignorant as their conservative counterparts.

    I hope you keep on working for change, but don't expect change to be what you want, just focus on working at it.

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  3. Ha! Well maybe I'm just jaded cause I'm young. Every now and again I just need a reminder that Cincy is a place worth fighting for. I'll continue to keep faith in this city, regardless of what my "hip" friends think is cool. They all just want to go to San Fran, and make Cincy out to be like and interment camp, so thanks for putting it into perspective.

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  4. Akwa Man - I left Cincinnati in 2005 for a job, returned in 2007 for a one-year job, and left again in 2008.

    Believe me when I say this, and know that it wasn't always the case: There's nowhere I'd rather live. (OK, maybe Chicago.) It can be maddening, it can be reactionary as all get out, and people still don't know how to drive in snow, but there are good people fighting good fights there. The architecture is astounding. The cultural scene puts cities twice its size to shame. And when you do want to leave, it's easy to get many places quickly (assuming the Brent Spence Bridge doesn't fall into the Ohio). Change may come slowly, but it will come.

    In some ways, maybe that's not a bad thing; even in change, Cincinnati still preserves the good things that make it Cincinnati.

    WF

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