Jim Demint distorts the truth about the stimulus and religious freedom

Republicans like Demint will pretty much say anything to win even if its false. Even if its challenged, they hope that some shrapnel hits the target.

That's why back in February he argued against stimulus spending when he said:

"There is a provision in the economic stimulus plan that means that "students cannot meet together in their dorms, if that dorm has been repaired with this federal money, and have a prayer group or a Bible study."

Despite the fact that the courts have always held that religious groups had equal rights to the use of public facilities, Demint apparently hopes to rally the religious right against spending even when it means jobs and the improvement of desperately needed public facilities like universities and schools. 

Without Federal aid to education new green projects like this recently built University of South Carolina $48 million dorm would be less likely to see the light of day. You just have to look at the crisis in education in South Carolina to see that Demint has once again turned his back on his own constituents.

Check my source: http://jimdemints-southcarolina.blogspot.com/2010/11/despite-pro-biz-climate-demints-south.html

 

 

Jim De Mint's South Carolina: 4th highest unemployment rate of all 50 States

As of September 2010, Jim DeMint's South Carolina has the 4th highest unemployment of all 50 States. Makes you wonder why DeMint voted against extending unemployment benefits.

Check the Bureau of Labor Statistics ranking here: http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

DeMint wants the rest of the US to adopt so-called right to work legislation that has contributed to the poverty in South Carolina. Hear him lie about non-existant federal laws that he claims force workers to join unions.



Conservatives like Jim DeMint want to get rid of unions and destroy the right of workers to organize. Their intent is to keep wages down. Low wages mean a wider gap between rich and poor, less purchasing power in the hands of the majority of middle class people and while short term profits rise, the long term economic forecasts seem bleaker with each government report because businesses neither hire nor invest unless there is demand for the goods and services they provide.

Furthermore, conservative resistance to spurring efficiency by replacing and repairing existing infrastructure like the Charleston, SC port and building new transit and communication systems will mean a continual downward spiral in both profits and purchasing power which will be exacerbated by even more calls for cut backs and austerity by Conservative elites like Jim DeMint.

Governor Haley's solution to South Carolina's jobless crisis: drug testing for the unemployed

Demint turns his back on jobs in South Carolina to lead anti-earmark movement

Jim DeMint's ambition to lead a National movement to further impoverish the middle class has him turning his back once again on his own struggling State of South Carolina. His demagogic anti-earmark campaign which everyone acknowledges will make only a microscopic dent in government spending threatens the development of the Charleston Ports: one of the only job producing bright spots in the State that ranks 4th in unemployment. According to the South Carolina State Ports Authority, container volume increased 17.5% for the year 2010.

DeMint wins earmark freeze
Elimination of funds could hurt Charleston port improvement


By JAMES ROSEN and DAVID LIGHTMAN - McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint won one of the biggest legislative victories of his career Monday when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed to the South Carolina Republican’s demand for a freeze on spending earmarks.

But DeMint’s stance could hurt the State Ports Authority’s ability to fund a study on improving the Charleston port.

McConnell made his concession a day before DeMint, overwhelmingly elected to his second term two weeks ago, had vowed to force incoming Senate Republicans to hold an internal vote on the earmark moratorium.

The two senators have clashed repeatedly over spending bills and other GOP priorities, but DeMint commended the Kentuckian’s move Monday.

“Senator McConnell’s support for the earmark moratorium demonstrates the kind of bold leadership our party needs,” DeMint said. “His statement today and tomorrow’s vote to enact the moratorium will send a clear signal to voters that Republicans heard the message of the last election.”

An earmark ban could imperil funding for dozens of key projects in South Carolina, among them the U.S. Corps of Engineers funding of a study on deepening the Charleston port.

State and local port officials say South Carolina stands to lose millions of dollars to other East Coast states with harbors deep enough to accommodate a new generation of larger cargo ships.

Halimah Abdullah contributed to this account

Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2010/11/16/1563793/demint-wins-earmark-freeze.html#ixzz15YD5RGxf

Help keep the US from going the way of Jim DeMint's South Carolina, please SHARE this blog with your friends. Post it on your Facebook page, email it, TWEET it and come back for more information, videos and articles. And if you have anything to add or comments you wish to make, let me know at middleclasstaxcuts@gmail.com.

Despite "pro-biz" climate, DeMint's South Carolina remains poor because it lacks education.

According to the US Census Bureau, Jim DeMint's South Carolina ranks 41st out of the 50 states in household income.

Is it possible that some of the explanation for low wages in the State are accounted for by poor education? It sure looks that way. In this fiscal year, South Carolina will spend only $11,372 per student. By comparison Vermont, a small rural state spends $15,475 per student. The payoff in household income is clear: Vermont ranks 21st in the Nation.

The impact of poor funding for education also explains why only 61% of South Carolina freshman graduate from high school, compared to the national average of 73% and the regional average of 72% according to the Southern Regional Education Board. It also explains why South Carolina ranks 48th in the nation for SAT scores.

Without an educated work force, South Carolina loses any hope of attracting competitive businesses. Despite its right-to-work laws and its low corporate income tax, key ingredients, DeMint and the conservatives insist are needed to support a pro-business environment, the State remains one of the poorest in the Nation.

Perhaps Jim Demint should be fighting for funding levels for education that are more in line with more successful states. However his Senate website says: "Instead of funneling more money to states through federally run education programs, DeMint believes that it is time to empower students and parents with more flexibility in how they use education dollars.

Click here for a touching photo essay on how education makes a difference for poor kids in South Carolina.

South Carolina is not alone in proving the connection between poor education and poverty. Senator Mitch McConnell's Kentucky suffers from the same affliction. See for yourself: http://mitchmcconnells-kentucky.blogspot.com/

Jim DeMint's low tax-high debt solution: no help for South Carolina's unemployed and poor population

Jim DeMint and other conservatives like to claim low taxes are the answer to unemployment and poverty. DeMints South Carolina claims both high poverty levels and some of the highest unemployment in the nation even though its corporate tax rates rank among the lowest at 5%

And just as George W. Bush jacked up the US debt, South Carolina's low taxes are paid for with high debt and a less than AAA credit rating. The States per capita debt is $8,013, 16th highest in the Nation.

It's also clear that South Carolina's anti-union environment does not help to relieve the State of its wide spread unemployment, poverty and violent crime.

Republican fiscal irresponsibility is not confined to South Carolina. Senator Mitch McConnell's home state of Kentucky suffers from an even worse credit rating. See for yourself: http://mitchmcconnells-kentucky.blogspot.com/

Jim DeMint's South Carolina 46th in health rankings

With 16.1% of South Carolina's population lacking any kind of health insurance,  (37th in the US) it makes you wonder why Jim DeMint would oppose the recent health care reform legislation, that his constituents desperately need. In fact it is shocking that South Carolinians are some of the least healthy people in the US with low life expectancy, high infant mortality and unusually high incidences of obesity and some sexually transmitted diseases. According to a number of health rankings South Carolina lands nearly at the bottom of all 50 states.

Many South Carolinians are going without health insurance: With 16.1% of the population lacking any kind of health insurance, South Carolina ranks 37th out of the 50 states for number of people insured. 

South Carolina Health Rankings


No 1 for violent crime

No 42 for life expectancy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_life_expectancy

No. 6 for infant mortality http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2010/ranks/rank17.html

No. 3 for chlamydia and gonorrhea http://www.avert.org/std-statistics-america.htm

No 9 for obesity http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-06-29/health/chi-100629obesity-list_1_south-dakota-north-dakota-new-hampshire


Here's where South Carolina ranks for health among the 50 states:

http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20081203/report-vermont-is-healthiest-state

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-11-05-state-rankings_N.htm

Help keep the US from going the way of Jim DeMint's South Carolina, please SHARE this blog with your friends. Post it on your Facebook page, email it, TWEET it and come back for more information, videos and articles. And if you have anything to add or comments you wish to make, let me know at middleclasstaxcuts@gmail.com.

Of course it can always be worse. Just take a look at Mitch McConnell's Kentucky.

South Carolina education ranked last in US by conservative group

The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council has given Jim DeMint's South Carolina the lowest report card ranking in the US for education. See for yourself: http://www.alec.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Report_Card_on_American_Education

On his Senate website DeMint acknowledges: "In South Carolina, the drop out rates are dismal. More than 25 percent of our students do not make it to graduation"



And yet in an interview with David Brody on CBN he calls for the next President to dismantle the US Department of Education:

"The next President is going to have to tell Americans the hard truth that the federal government has got to do less rather than more. That President has got to figure out how to dismantle the Department of Education and move the power back to the states..."

Why? So the rest of the states can follow South Carolina's failed example in education?

Help keep the US from going the way of Jim DeMint's South Carolina, please SHARE this blog with your friends. Post it on your Facebook page, email it, TWEET it and come back for more information, videos and articles. And if you have anything to add or comments you wish to make, let me know at middleclasstaxcuts@gmail.com. 

DeMint's South Carolina ranks high for poverty according to official statistics

With 15% of its population below the poverty level, Jim DeMint's South Carolina ranks 12th poorest out of the 50 US States. The federal poverty level for a family of four in the lower 48 US States is $22,050 for a family of 4.

See the US Census bureau table: http://www.census.gov/statab/ranks/rank34.html

In 2009 this meant that 24% of children in South Carolina were living in poverty according to: http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/acrossstates/Rankings.aspx?ind=43

Read about Allendale County, SC, the 10th poorest county in the United States.

Help keep the US from going the way of Jim DeMint's South Carolina, please SHARE this blog with your friends. Post it on your Facebook page, email it, TWEET it and come back for more information, videos and articles. And if you have anything to add or comments you wish to make, let me know at middleclasstaxcuts@gmail.com.

Jim DeMint's political postions from Wikipedia

Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina is a leading conservative and tea party leader whose own state suffers some of the worst social conditions in the US. Long a stronghold of conservative politics, South Carolina has been victimized by poverty, poor health and education and increasing violent crime.  Below is Wikipedia's summary of his political positions although there's lots more to read about on the rest of the blog so first some highlights:


Blog Highlights: Is South Carolina Jim DeMint's vision for the rest of America

Violent Crime in Jim Demint's South Carolina: http://jimdemints-southcarolina.blogspot.com/2010/11/south-carolina-highest-violent-crime.html


Poverty and unemployment in Jim Demint's South Carolina: http://jimdemints-southcarolina.blogspot.com/2010/11/south-carolina-highest-violent-crime.html

http://jimdemints-southcarolina.blogspot.com/2010/11/jim-de-mints-south-carolina-has-46th.html

http://jimdemints-southcarolina.blogspot.com/2010/11/jim-demint-and-other-conservatives-like.html

Jim Demint and conservative group admit to South Carolina's failure in education: http://jimdemints-southcarolina.blogspot.com/2010/11/conservative-group-ranks-south-carolina.html

http://jimdemints-southcarolina.blogspot.com/2010/11/despite-pro-biz-climate-demints-south.html

Poor health and low health insurance rates for Jim Demint's South Carolina: http://jimdemints-southcarolina.blogspot.com/2010/11/jim-demints-south-carolina-ranks-46th.html 

http://jimdemints-southcarolina.blogspot.com/2010/11/teen-pregnancies-hiv-and-aids-skyrocket.html

Jim Demint making his name on earmarks turns his back on Port of Charleston, SC: http://jimdemints-southcarolina.blogspot.com/2010/11/demint-turns-his-back-on-badly-needed.html

Wikipedia on Jim Demint

DeMint is ranked by The National Journal as one of the most conservative members of the Senate.^[4]
DeMint opposes spending increases of the federal government. He opposed federal bailouts for banks and other corporations.^[5][6]
Senator DeMint has been a consistent supporter of school prayer and has introduced legislation that would allow schools to display banners such as one stating "God Bless America".^[7]
DeMint opposes abortion, including in cases of rape and incest. He approves of abortion only when the mother's life is in danger.^[7][8]
DeMint favors requiring all illegal immigrants in the United States to return to their home countries and apply for legal residency.^{[citation needed]} He is in favor of establishing English as the country's official language.^[7]

Jim DeMint speaking at rally for United States Senate candidate Rand Paul in October 2010

DeMint visited Honduras in 2009 and met with de facto president Roberto Micheletti, a meeting that was opposed by US President Barack Obama's administration. The United States officially viewed ousted president Manuel Zelaya as the legitimately elected president.^[9]
Following an attempted terrorist attack on December 25, 2009, DeMint criticized President Barack Obama for lacking focus on terrorism since taking office and for failing to appoint a head of the Transportation Security Administration.^[10]
DeMint is a member of the C Street Family, a Christian prayer group which includes mainly Republican members of Congress, but some Democrats, too.^[11]