"The difference between the two parties is as deep as a coal mine." Great read

[Hamlette]

A lot of people tell me that they are sick of both political parties. They claim the parties are essentially the same and it doesn't matter who is in power, since both the Democrats and the Republicans are in the pocket of special interests and equally disengaged from the concerns and needs of average people.
To that I proffer this example about mine safety, something in the news lately due to the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster.
Say you are a miner, a historically dangerous job in which more than 100,000 of your compatriots have perished since 1900. Who would you want to have in charge of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the government agency charged with inspecting mines and promulgating and enforcing safety regulations, J. Davitt McAteer, the Clinton appointee, or David Lauriski, the man selected by George W. Bush?
Here is a bit about each:
McAteer was a law student at West Virginia University when an explosion occurred at a mine near Farmington, W.Va., that killed 78 coal miners. The disaster led McAteer to organize fellow students to study the West Virginia coal industry. The resulting report helped convince Congress to pass a series of safety reforms under the 1969 Coal Mine Health and Safety Act. The act revolutionized mine safety, requiring regular inspections of underground mines, fresh air supplies for miners and fines for safety violations.

snip

I'm just saying that, contrary to the view of many, there is a real difference between the political parties, and if you were a miner your life might depend on it.

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_6786993

Don't ever forget. We are different from them.

[AZBlue]

1. Great read!

We are VERY different from them in so many ways. Just because a Dem doesn't do and say everything that you want them to is no reason to label them a Rep. Unfortunately that's become a knee-jerk reaction around here to some extent. Thanks for the reminder!!

[applegrove]

2. Good post. This is the truth of the matter. Dems will put responsible & knowledgeable

people in positions of power. The GOP will only put neocons and other regulation hating types into positions of power and once there..they will try and push the political agenda (30 year GOP reign) of their President.

[Junkdrawer]

3. On domestic policy...great differences.

On foreign policy, well the majority of both parties are very similar. However, the left of the Democratic Party and the right of the Republican parties couldn't be more different.

[jody]

4. To voters perhaps but IMO the one per-centers who own perhaps 50% of our financial wealth & control

every multinational corporation with headquarters in the U.S. finance candidates in both political parties.

They keep voters distracted by a dozen or so bitterly divisive issues while commanding bipartisan support for every law that moves us inexorably toward a corporate state.

True the parties are different but the same financial power is behind the curtains of each party.