How conservatives will spin the West Virginia mine tragedy.

[arbusto_baboso]

"If only the government didn't regulate things so tightly, the mine owners would have more money to spend on safety."

"What? Regulations decreased during the Bush Administration? And this still happened?"

"Oh."

"Well, it's those evil, socialist unions driving up the costs for mine owners and leading to safety issues."

"What? It was a non-union mine?"

"Crap."

"Well, those miners had it coming, then."


Trust me, Rush will reach a conclusion very similar to this, if he hasn't already.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. Au contraire, They will simply ignore it.

the facts do not fit their view of the world. Therefore, it never happened.

Starting with fox, then CNN, watch coverage drop to zippo by tomorrow.

[Ian David]

2. Their only way out is to blame the victims (which they will).

"It's dangerous work. They knew that when they went to work. Nobody put a gun to their heads and made them go down there."

That will be the Conservative talking point.

[county worker]

3. They have already said that death is just a risk you take when you are a miner!

[arbusto_baboso]

4. Well, there you go.

Their kind of consistent inhumanity has become utterly predictable.

[Recursion]

5. The anti-Union pro-mine hack on Diane Rehm literally said that

I nearly through my radio out the window. He said "You have to wonder why these miners who see all these violations going on day after day are still willing to go underground -- they really have to take responsibility for what happened here."

[Toucano]

6. I'm going to have to listen to that and put him on my list. n/t

[CurtEastPoint]

9. THIS dolled-up old trollop?

[Toucano]

21. Now, now. I love that woman!

Besides she had the day off.

There was a guest host, but it wasn't even him who made the ridiculous assertion.

It was Gardiner Harris, "science" reporter for the New York Times and so-called novelist of Hazard.

He's qualified to talked about the people who work the mines and their "inertia" because he's *lived* there.

[Recursion]

28. Actually I was thinking of Watzman's comment

Harris made an at least defensible argument that sometimes miners are trying to be macho around each other so they don't wear proper safety equipment. Bruce Watzman (who works for some national association of mine owners) actually said it was the miner's fault for continuing to work even when the owners wouldn't meet safety requirements.

[Volaris]

10. ok I'm new here..

But I've been lurking for about 3 months.
In the Interest of Full Disclosure, I have to tell you all that I am a Progressive Republican that voted for President Obama. Try and be assured that I am not a troll. (I'll understand if everyone here is skeptical) I have not had much personal experience with union membership, but isn't that what the fuck unions are for? Workers organizing for the betterment of not just themselves or their working conditions, but to help assure that the companies they work for don't suffer these kinds of disasters due to unchecked mindlessness and greed? if the company does well for itself by not having a(n) blow up and kill people, the company will continue to be a viable business and keep people employed? Isn't A Union Workforce supposed to benefit the Company and Management just as much as it benefits the Workers? This is my first post, so I expect some negative responses, but please be gentle, its my first time =)

[arbusto_baboso]

11. Yes, that is the point.

The thing is, traditonal conservatives HATE unions and will blame anything they can on unions.

Inflation? It's the unions.

Stagnant economy? Obviously the unions' demands for "ridiculous" wages.

Genocide in Sudan? I don't know how, but it's gotta be unions.

See how the logic works?

[Volaris]

12. That kind of logic

is why I like it here so much. (so far)

[arbusto_baboso]

17. Welcome. And just realize that we are a very sarcastic bunch here.

If you keep that in mind, you should do alright here.

[Toucano]

13. Welcome.

You have to understand that the unions have been rendered toothless.

Do you remember when the air traffic controllers went on strike in 1981? Reagan fired 11,345 union workers who would not return to work.

This crippled the power of the unions to be effective.

This particular mine is non-union, directly as a result of the union's reduced ability to force management to accept their contracts.

[tnlefty]

14. Welcome, Volaris!

:hi:

[Volaris]

18. thanks everyone for the welcome(s)

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. First welcome to DU

second, this is not a Union Mine, in fact, Blanckenship is KNOWN for busting unions and not allowing union organizers in.

IF this were a Union Mine, you'd have a safety committee... that critter did not exist.

In fact, Blanckenship is running a fiefdom, where the place is run with a reign of terror were workers are blacklisted if they try to organize, or go and tell all to outside sources. By the way this is in theory illegal not that this has stopped the reign of terror.

There's been actual honest to goodness open warfare (civil uprising) in coal country before... see Blair Mountain, Harlan County... and I fear we are about to go back to that.

Last time troops were involved. It wasn't pretty either. I mean people died.

[Generic Other]

29. I heard the head of the steel workers union on ed schultz yesterday

The mine had 1300 violations of safety standards. Mostly improper ventilation which causes explosive situations.

In a union mine, the workers could not be forced to go into a deadly hellhole like they were here. The owner preferred to pay fines rather than address problems. He should be held criminally liable.

[Toucano]

7. It's worse than that. "You see! Big Government doesn't work!"

"Where were all the regulators? If they had so many violations, why weren't the shut down? The gubbmint can't even process the mail or enforce the laws on the books! And you want them to takeover health care?"

I'll be interested in seeing the Libertarians weasel a response. Stossel? Waddya' say?

[Volaris]

16. Big Government works just fine

if you're not trying to constantly dismantle it for the sake of a goddamn percentage.

[keith the dem]

8. They will us it to push mountain top removal mining.

Just days after the EPA put tighter controls on that horrible practice.

I will use this opportunity to plug Ben Sollee. I think his song "Panning for Gold" is the most beautiful eloquent protest song concerning mountain top removal. Check it out.

[Bigmack]

19. Actually, the freeps are just doing their prayer thing.... but...

later posts are blaming anybody who brings up the safety issue for politicizing the incident.

'Apparently, the left will stoop to any level - any at all - in order to make a cheap political point. With the horrible accident ongoing and the fates of some miners still not known, the propagandists have already begun linking the West Virginia mining disaster to Tea Parties, global warming, and capitalism.'

[Sheepshank]

20. Haven't heard a peep from my Libertarian aquaintances.

non of them cheering the mine bosses for ignoring safety regulations and dragging their feet in fixing safety problems. None of my libertarian aquaintances telling me that it was good thing these mine bosses practiced any civil disobedience by telling the gov't where to shove their safety regulations. I wonder why they are so quiet?

[kctim]

22. Maybe

because the incident is only a few days old and they would rather judge from facts instead of emotions or political points?

[arbusto_baboso]

23. Maybe because they know this incident points out how wrong they are?

That seems much more likely to me.

[Toucano]

24. +1

Exactly.

What can they say?

"It was up to those individuals to make the decision about going to work in the mines. The "nanny" government has no place trying to protect people from themselves.

We're all free to choose!"


Deluded bastids!

[BootinUp]

25. Miners just need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps!

:sarcasm:

[DatManFromNawlins]

26. What's more pathetic

Is that you're using the tragedy to attack other people.

[WildEyedLiberal]

27. The tragedy only happened at ALL because of "those people"

I think it's more than fair to point out to all the free-market deregulation conservatives the natural consequences of their philosophy.