Job, Jobs, Jobs

These days one hears stories from all over about devastating cuts to government programs, and about the capricious and destructive mass firings of government employees.  

Having been on the receiving end of no less that three savage and incompletely conceived and executed firings from which I never recovered, my initial impulse was to sympathize with the newly unemployed.  And having spent nearly two decades in workforce development in one role or another, I am also keenly aware of the terrible ripple effect that mass layoffs can have on a family, a community and a country.   

But when a higher authority tells me I'm stupid and wrong about all of this, well, I guess I need to be humble enough to have a seat and learn a lesson.  Because all these layoffs were of government employees, and no less of an authority than the now-former head of the Republican party (pre-Trump) is on record as saying that government jobs aren't real jobs.  

Shocking, I know, but I'm just a nobody blogger typing away from wat out in the middle of Middle America, and this received wisdom came directly from the man running one America's two major political parties.  And he didn't mutter it into the dirty microphone of some podcaster no one had ever heard of: he said it on one of the Sunday Showz, back when people actually watched the Sunday Showz.

Only private sector jobs are real jobs, ergo, ipso facto, QED something something government jobs aren't real jobs and therefor don't count.  

Period. 

I wrote a whole long thing about it back when this was the official policy of the Republican party (pre-Trump), which I will link below, but you know me.   Maybe I was drunk.  Maybe I made the whole thing up on a lark.  Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of Liberal bloggers?  So let's turn to PolitiFact to see if I'm lying.

Michael Steele stated on January 31, 2009 in a speech to House Republicans:  "You and I know that in the history of mankind and womankind, government — federal, state, local, or otherwise — has never created one job."

Steele says government has never created a job.

Michael Steele, the former lieutenant governor of Maryland, recently won a contest to lead the Republican National Committee. He also made history as the first African-American to lead the party. 

One of Steele's first appearances was before a retreat for House Republicans on Jan. 31, 2009.  Steele praised the House Republicans for voting as a block against the stimulus package promoted by Democrats and President Barack Obama. Then he said that the stimulus was pointless, because government can't create jobs.

A week after talking to the House Republicans, Steele appeared on This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Stephanopoulos showed Steele video of Republican Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida praising the stimulus bill. Steele didn't seem to back off the spirit of his previous comment.

Steele: "Well, no — you know, with all due respect to the governor, I understand where he's coming from. Having been a state official, I know what it means to get those dollars when you're in tight times. But you've got to look at the entire package. You've got to look at what's going to create sustainable jobs. What this administration is talking about is making work. It is creating work."

Stephanopoulos: "But that's a job."

Steele: "No, it's not a job. A job is something that a business owner creates. It's going to be long term." 

Stephanopoulos: "So a job doesn't count if it's a government job?"

Steele: "Hold on. No, let me finish. That is a contract. It ends at a certain point, George. You know that. These road projects that we're talking about have an end point. As a small-business owner, I'm looking to grow my business, expand my business. I want to reach further. I want to be international. I want to be national. It's a whole different perspective on how you create a job versus how you create work."

I thought all video of this event had been lost or scrubbed, but digging around in my archives I found that, in addition to my long, angry post about it, I had actually made my very own video record of it, with a little twist at the end.  

I guess I figured I  might have another use for it someday.

(Not Work Safe)

Turns out, Steele is a very handy fella to have around, because he will say anything his employer pays him to say, no matter how obviously ludicrous it is.  

When Democrats elected the first black man as president, the deeply racist Republican party had a sudden, urgent need to have a black face out front swearing that they weren't racist at all.  And Michael Steele answer the call!

When Republicans needed a black man to explain that, sure, the GOP used to be racist, but all the bigots scampered back to the Democratic party in 1992, Steel was only too happy to do that job too.

...Well, guess what happened in 1992, folks, 'Bubba' went back home to the Democratic Party and voted for Bill Clinton."

After he was deposed as party chair, Steele would go on to explain how, despite driving all the racists out of the party during his tenure as party chair, the racists had all, somehow, mysteriously reappeared after he had been voted out.  So mysterious!

Sometime during Trump's first term, Steele began gradually making appearances on MSNBC, decrying what had happened to his party...over the previous three or four or five years.  You will have no doubt noticed long ago that has always been the time horizon for almost all Never Trumpers:  the party was doing great until they ran me out.  Then, suddenly, with no warning...

And over time, Steele successfully completed the MSNBC Republican Reputation Rehabilitation program -- 

Former RNC Chair Michael Steele Erupts On-Air: To Hell With Republicans!

-- to the point where he began showing up as a substitute host here and there,  began the rounds of the A-list political podcasts, and was given 1/3 of his own show on Saturday morning.

Then, last week, after MSNBC completed it racist purge of on-air talent, like the RNC back in 2009, MSNBC needed a familiar black face out front, reassuring the public that everything was okily dokily.

And so...

Joy Reid’s MSNBC Show Canceled in Major Shake-Up

Ms. Reid’s 7 p.m. program will be replaced by a panel show co-hosted by Symone Sanders Townsend, Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele.  

I Am The Liberal Media