More Republican branding. Note I didn’t say “re-branding.” Branding. Reinforcement of a widely perceived and in 2012 rejected brand:
House Republicans unanimously voted down a measure Friday that would have raised the federal minimum wage, from its current $7.25 per hour to $10.10 by 2015.
Six Democrats joined 227 Republicans in voting it down; 184 Democrats voted yes.
The legislation was proposed as a last-minute amendment upon passage of the SKILLS Act, which reauthorizes a jobs training program. The procedural move, known as the motion to recommit, was invoked by Democrats with the instruction that the minimum wage amendment be tacked on to the SKILLS Act, an aide said.
An increase in the minimum wage to $9 was backed by President Obama during this year’s State of the Union, and immediately shot down by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who argued that it would drive up unemployment by making it harder for small businesses to hire.
Democrats believe it’s a winning issue for them, and Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the author of the amendment, offered a glimpse into how they intend to talk about it.
The bottom line is that it feeds into the existing image about the GOP — an image someone like Rush Limbaugh who has a job demonizing Democrats for three hours a day won’t see as destructive, as he wonders why the poor can’t get jobs (are there more jobs demonizing Democrats for three hours a day), and ponders it in his private jet. An image that well-fed GOPers in the Senate and House who had fat bankrolls that allowed them to win, have government health care won’t see as destructive.
The sound you hear won’t be the end result of GOPers dining on Bean Soup in the Senate dining room, but yet another negative pillar of GOP imagery falling into place. This might not hurt GOPers in their redistricted House seats in 2014 but it reinforces negative imagery about the Republican Party that won’t help them in 2016.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.