Have you followed any of this ridiculous FAA situation? The U.S. Senate takes an annual August vacation. But after all the time-wasting debt-ceiling crapola, this year they left town without providing funding for the Federal Aviation Administration. This meant 4,000 FAA employees were laid off, airport construction projects were halted, and the agency was legally barred from collecting ticket taxes. So far, in roughly two weeks, this has cost the federal government $400 million in lost revenue. (The funding issue in question is a subsidy extension for smaller rural airports that costs $200 million a year -- a mere drop in the federal bucket. Today, the Senate cobbled together a temporary extension of funding through September 16th. Goody.)
So what's the problem? Republicans are again playing the extortion/hostage-taking card. (This is their new favorite M.O.) They want to tie approval of this routine, insignificant FAA subsidy to a larger transportation bill. And the R's want that bill to include language to make it harder for airline and railroad workers to unionize. (Hello, people of Ohio and Wisconsin! Sound familiar?) Current rules allow a union to form with a "yes" vote from the majority of those voting. The R's want it to be a super-majority of all employees, with all non-voting members counted as "no" votes.
So that's what it's all about; that's the real Republican agenda. These are the great fiscal conservatives, the fiduciary watchdogs, the protectors of our pocketbook who constantly lecture us about debts and budgets. These same geniuses do not give a flying fuck about pissing away hundreds of millions of revenue dollars if they can bust a union or two while they're at it.
The next time the R's trot out their old song and dance about how they're so prudent and the D's are so wasteful, call Bullshit on 'em!