MUTH’S TRUTHS

Before launching into the next item, let me remind all of you “good” Republicans that Big Labor gives more than 90 percent of its political money to Democrats and lives to kill Republican elected officials. Politically speaking, of course (I think). No matter how you slice it, unions are sworn enemies of the GOP. Not all individual union members, but their bosses.

As Mr. Mackey in “South Park” might say, “Unions are bad. Don’t do unions.”

OK, with that out of the way, please recall that during the last legislative session a bill was introduced which, if passed, would have given the Nevada state government (which according to Barbara Buckley was closed last week, though no one noticed) the power to tell private employers how tips to its employees had to be distributed.

One need not agree with the employer’s tip policy - and I don’t - to acknowledge that this is a decision to be worked out between the workers and their employer and is none of the government’s darned business whatsoever. If the tip policy is so egregious, no one will work there. And those that do work for such an employer are free to quit. Period. No one has a gun to their heads forcing them to work there.

But that didn’t stop the legislator who introduced this horrendous government-meddling bill, Bob Beers. The Assemblyman, not the Senator. Or as Jon Ralston, the dean of Nevada punditry puts it, the Ass., not the Sen.

Oh, and the Ass. is a Republican, not a Democrat.

Now this is a free country. And Ass. Beers is free to introduce a bill which is anathema to the free market economy and the limited-government philosophy the Republican party portends to champion. And if Ass. Beers wishes to suck up to Big Labor with this bill in a misguided quest for “fairness,” fine.

But Republicans shouldn’t defend this Ass. and work for his re-election while his union friends are working to defeat each and every one of his GOP colleagues. Just because the man has a “R” next to his name on the ballot doesn’t make him any more a real Republican than putting an “M.D.” after my name makes me a brain surgeon.

In any event, Ass. Beers didn’t stop with the defeat of his bill last session. He’s now, unconscionably, actively involved in helping card dealers at Caesar’s Palace organize a union; a union which inevitably will work to defeat Republicans in future elections.

Don’t believe me? Check out this union website advertisement featuring Democrat Sen. Harry Reid, Democrat Rep. Shelly Berkley and “Republican” Ass. Bob Beers.

In the ad, Ass. Beers is quoted as saying, “With the aid of TWU (Transportation Workers Union), the dealers in Las Vegas now have a chance to join together in a cohesive union and protect their rights as individuals.”

What the Ass’man neglected to add is that those union members would also have the chance to join together to defeat Republicans. But I’m sure that was just an oversight on his part.

In fact, Ass. Beers is so in bed with this union that they’ve devoted an entire webpage just to singing his praises. I kid you not. Just click HERE to go to the union’s website and scan the list of page links on the left (of course). In addition to pages on “Union Busters” and “NLRB Violations,” you’ll find a link to an entire section devoted just to “Assemblyman Beers.”

Harry Reid doesn’t have his own page.

Shelly Berkley doesn’t have her own page.

But Ass. Beers has a page of his own. What’s that tell you?

Now click on the “Assemblyman Beers” page and things go from bad to worse. There you’ll find links to anti-business, corporate-bashing rhetoric demonizing job creators and job providers, as well as a call for union agitators to contribute to the Ass’man’s re-election campaign. Oh, and as if that’s not enough, dealers at Caesars can link from Ass. Beers’ webpage to a union “authorization card” which “management will never see.” Lovely.

I know, I know. You’re not supposed to criticize a fellow Republican no matter how outrageous his actions. The 11th Commandment and all that. But I’m not a Republican anymore, so all bets are off.

I’m not saying Ass. Beers is a bad person, but he’s a lousy Republican. And Republican leaders who refuse to publicly criticize Ass. Beers’ efforts to unionize card dealers at Caesars Palace simply because Ass. Beers is a registered Republican aren’t doing their party any favors.

Ass. Beers needs and deserves to be challenged in a GOP primary next year. And GOP officials should do absolutely nothing to discourage such a challenge. In fact, they really ought to LEAD the effort to recruit just such a challenger. There is no excuse whatsoever for working to re-elect a Republican actively giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

Especially one who’s an Ass.

Posted on October 24th, 2007 by Chuck Muth
Filed under: Nevada