Min wage hike, maybe next year

Last week congress voted themselves a pay raise, increasing their salary to $168,500. It was the 7th straight pay raise for members of the house and senate. Today, the republican controlled Senate voted against an increased minimum wage 52-46, 60 votes was needed to pass. Only republicans voted against the increase, eight republicans did vote for the increase, but not enough to change anything at all.

Since 1997, the federal min. wage has been an unlivable five dollars and fifteen cents per hour. Kennedy wanted to increase it to $ 7.25.

These are the Senators that feel the min wage workers in America should be just fine with a paycheck that is less than 200 dollars for 40 hours of work, (after taxes of course).

Alexander (R-TN) Allard (R-CO) Allen (R-VA) Bennett(R-UT) Bond (R-MO) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Burns (R-MT) Burr (R-NC) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Cornyn (R-TX) Craig (R-ID) Crapo (R-ID) DeMint (R-SC) Dole (R-NC) Domenici (R-NM) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Frist (R-TN) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hagel (R-NE) Hatch (R-UT) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Kyl (R-AZ) Lott (R-MS) Martinez (R-FL ) McCain (R-AZ) McConnell (R-KY) Murkowski (R-AK) Roberts (R-KS) Santorum (R-PA) S essions (R-AL) Smith (R-OR) Stevens (R-AK) Sununu (R-NH) Talent (R-MO) Thomas (R-WY) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Voinovich (R-OH)

The Senators highlighted in RED represent states in which the minimum wage has been voted very close to the amount they voted against the rest of Americans to have. If the people in their states have clearly chosen to have an increased min wage, why then have these Senators chosen to go out on their own, denying millions of Americans the same increase in hourly work? It is unfair to their constituents, and dishonest of them, and the people in Alaska and Oregon should question the intentions of these Senators.
(I realize that even if they were with the "yea's" it still would not have passed, but that is precisely why it is so smug.)

Another Senator I would like to point out here would be Sen Mel Martinez, from Florida, where the 2004 ballot asked to increase min wage, and the people voted overwhelmingly for the increase, but today, for the rest of Americans he said no. Not his problem, hes looking at a $3,300 a year pay increase. Besides, we know Mel Martinez's usual excuses, (" it was some other person, at some level beneath his that made him look bad, he knows nothing about it"). Just like his abuse of the Terry Shiavo case, to help his parties popularity grow. This man never has the people in mind when he opens his mouth, sadly, he is not in the minority of his colleagues.

Senator Bill Frist, tried to add an anti-abortion amendment to the bill, that would have been impossible to have made anyone vote for the increase, his attempt to kill the pay increase was ultimately withdrawn, however, the intent was there, Frist is truly a snake. He managed to find himself on the receiving end of thirty two thousand dollar wage increases over the past ten years, the same amount of time that we haven't received any.

McCain couldn't be more disappointing, as usual. I am guessing he never was the real deal, just another paid for politician, In bed with Bushco.

I hate to bring up gay marriage, but I am going to. The religouse right, shout about how the "American people" are strongly against gay marriage, and that's why they need to push the issue so forcefully. The same should be said about minimum wage. Americans need to be paid a fair wage, but instead our Representatives are caught up in getting themselves pay raises without the American people finding out about them. Pay raises they don't need (the majority of Senators are millionaires).

Make these phonies uncomfortable, send them letters, call their offices, I'm not sure that voting is a real option anymore, but go through the motions. They have taken the dream away from us, and replaced it with corruption and greed. I see no greatness anywhere, that's what we need, not the lesser of two evils, because that is only an illusion.