Clay: GOP, Tea Party trampling America's middle class

In his latest report, Rep. Lacy Clay, D-Mo. says the situation is Wisconsin is a reminder that what the GOP and Tea Party are doing has nothing to do with reducing the deficit or balancing the budget and everything to do with crippling middle class Americans:

As someone who has championed the rights of working people for twenty-eight years, both in Congress and the Missouri Legislature, I would like to thank the Tea Party Republicans for doing us a big favor.


Over the last month in Wisconsin they provided the American people with a very clear picture of who they really are, who they represent, and how far they are willing to go to trample on the middle-class families who actually do the work in this country.

The truth is that this is a historic moment in the history of organized labor because much more than just union membership is on the line.

This fight is about stopping a blatant, offensive attack on the American middle class.

All across this country…in Wisconsin, in Indiana, in Ohio, and in Missouri…extreme, anti-worker GOP politicians and the predatory special interests who back them are attempting to break the back of organized labor.

And please don’t believe the nonsense that this is just about reducing deficits or paying off the debt.

We all know that union members are more than willing to do their part to make tough sacrifices to help this economy become more efficient, help state and local governments reduce wasteful spending, and help tighten our belts during tough economic times..

But that’s not what this is about.

This is not about conservative versus progressive, or whether the government should do more or less.

This is about playing raw politics to destroy the ability of working people to organize and defend what really matters to you and your family.

This is about the moneyed special interests who have always gotten rich off of the hard work of others…who have bought and paid for a number of elected officials in different states.

They are willing to sacrifice your family’s economic future to line the pockets of their wealthy donors, many of whom engaged in the reckless and irresponsible financial practices that destroyed millions of jobs and pushed more than three million American families into foreclosure.

They think this is their moment to strike a fatal blow to the labor movement.Stripping collective bargaining rights from public employees and bringing back the right to work for less legislation is not about helping the economy.

It’s not about creating jobs or reducing the deficit. It’s about pure politics.

So I want to thank the extreme, anti-worker leadership of the Tea Party Republicans for taking this issue on.

As a result of their efforts, the American people are solidly standing with us, and not with them.

Working people in Missouri and across this country are waking up to a very clear picture of who is on their side…and who isn’t.

I can assure you that as the battle heats up, I will be on the front lines of this fight, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with you.

We will once again defeat the right to work for less.

We will protect the collective bargaining rights of public employees.

And we will defend the American middle class that organized labor helped to create.

Thank you for all your hard work, faith and courage.

Let’s stand up strong together.