And THIS Phony Award Goes to... Tim Scott

I don't usually have so much to say on one subject that I do it in two consecutive days, but I have just learned from Senator Tim Scott that he has just been awarded the "Taxpayers' Friend Award," and, well, it was just too juicy to resist.

Yesterday I wrote about how I nearly choked while forcing myself to watch Tim Scott's TV ad about how he has been hanging around us "everyday people."  Call it masochism, but as one of the simple folk, I subscribe to Senator Scott's email newsletter, in order to be better informed as to what headaches the royalty are experiencing on my account.  Usually it has to do with battling that great beast, Obama.  But at times Scott feels he owes it to us to share the good news.  Which, of course, has to do with him, not us.

When Scott was running for the House of Representatives two short (or maybe too long) years ago, he was conveniently awarded the folksy sounding, "Standing Up for Seniors Award."  He got that by insisting that we seniors would be far better off if we got off our butts and supported ourselves for a couple more years, and if we stopped letting the government coddle us the way it coddles Congress.

Quelle surprise!  The award was given out by a group called RetireSafe, whose name really referred to the fact that you should climb into bed and pull the covers up if you really wanted to be safe from these guys.  They are a group of right wingnuts that make buckets of money for Big Pharma; they are still out there doing their best to keep us away from drugs that don't maximize profit for their members.

As Arlo Guthrie once said, "Some things change; some things don't."  This year's "Taxpayers' Friend Award" is brought to Tim by the National Taxpayers Union (yes, a union),  one of those groups that like to throw around words like "freedom" a lot.  Their goal, of course, is to cut taxes, the byproduct of which would be to cut government services.  Oh, but they fail to mention the cutting services part.  Tim calls it a "nonpartisan advocacy group," which is what you do when you have a bunch of rich partisans giving you an award and you want to lie about it.

Anyway, I want to end once again by saying that Tim Scott is a phony, and I wouldn't believe him if he told me what day of the week it is.  What I would do is urge everyone who really does work hard and pay taxes and try to do the best they can to support someone who really will work in Congress for us.

Joyce Dickerson
Not afraid to speak her mind.

Joyce Dickerson has been and will continue to fight for our individual freedoms -- as opposed to Tim's battle for corporate rights.  The right to earn a living wage, the right to health care equality and privacy, the right to a good education, which requires investing in good teachers and good schools in order to invest in our kids.  The right of veterans and the unemployed to get back on their feet.  The right of each of us to vote.  The right to have our government work for us, and not against us.

Don't forget, the ETV SC Senate debate is on October 28.  Listen for yourself, and spread the word.

Joyce Dickerson

US Senate

Pretending to Be ... You and Me

You know I fast forward through TV commercials, but when I saw Tim Scott I slowed it down ... then I rewound it ... then I did it again ... and then I wrote it down.  Then I shut my mouth, which had been hanging open for some time.

Here's the appointed Senator:

"I've gone all throughout South Carolina, doing everyday jobs with strong, everyday people, so that I could understand their dreams, their passions and what inspires them.  I've bagged groceries, I've waited tables, cut chicken and swept floors..." (group of well dressed, mostly white older folk milling about, hanging -- casually -- on his words, laugh), "...even separated clothes at the Goodwill.  And what I've learned is so powerful....  Everyday people understand that they have been empowered by the greatness of our country."

First of all, what is this "everyday people" crap?  Obviously he is talking about us.  Which sets us apart from... Tim Scott.  Oh, he throws in the word "strong" so it doesn't sound condescending.  Only because he is being condescending.

Well, Tim Scott apparently has been out in the upper reaches for so long that he felt the need to come down to commune with us "everyday people."  He's bagged groceries.  The man has "even" separated clothes at Goodwill.  Excuse my French as well as my redundance, but what a condescending piece of crap.

And the human props in the ad:  one African American woman (might as well kill two demographics with one stone), one Hispanic looking man, dressed as though he's just come from his middle class job.  And an assortment of middle-aged, pleasant looking and prosperous white men.  Imagine the auditions.

But back to the rousing speech.  Because we are about to find out what our fellow Tim has learned that is "so powerful...."

I'm figuring that after a few eight hour shifts "cutting chicken" (and is there a Tyson poultry plant hereabouts?) and sweeping floors, he's probably gotten an earful.  No doubt he's heard about how hard it is to get a day off to take care of a sick kid, not to mention stay home with the flu.  Or maybe his co-workers have proudly told him about their kids who graduated college but can't find jobs, or have been having a hard time paying down their student loans.  I'm thinking he must have heard lots of stories about living on the wages from that job sweeping floors, and about trying to find the money to pay the month's rent as well as the car repair.

But NO.

What our Tim Scott has learned in the time he spent with those people he obviously has to go out of his way to meet these days, is that "everyday people understand that they have been empowered by the greatness of our country."

Well, let me just say this about that.  Tim, you really need to not just push those brooms around when you go out to be with us "everyday people."  You need to listen to what we are telling you.  Because you are really the one who has "been empowered by the greatness of our country."  The rest of us have just been getting by, one day at a time.  We worry about our family's health, our children's "minimally adequate" education, our jobs -- which, I might add, don't come with the great benefits that your job provides.  We worry about whether we will make it to retirement age before our tired old bones give out, and whether we will have enough in our monthly social security checks to get by.

You, Tim, are smarmy and self-satisfied.  You have had those rich folks praising you for so long you actually believe the crap they are telling you.  They are paying you, and showering you with praise and fake awards, so that you will continue to vote to give them power without responsibility so that they can continue to make buckets of money while us "everyday people" struggle with all the things that can go wrong in our lives, while you spend a couple of hours pretending you are one of us.

Paul Ryan tried that once during his vice presidential campaign.  He pushed his way into a soup kitchen, pretending to clean already clean pots and pans, in order to create a photo op.  Tim Scott is using the same political playbook.  And I truly hope it works as well for Scott as it did for Ryan.

Back to Tim's pandering TV ad.  This disgusting ad ends by calling him "A senator for all of South Carolina."  Well, no, he's not.  He's not even much of a senator for most of South Carolina.  He is a man who has his head set on getting ahead, so he can hobnob with his wealthy friends.

So lets spread the word about the woman who is running against this puffed up hypocrite.  We need to elect someone who truly knows what her constituents are going through day to day.  We need someone who understands what it is like to be afraid of losing a job, to worry about your child's education, to work hard for too little pay.  We need someone who will fight for us.  That someone is Joyce Dickerson.

Joyce Dickerson
...and she's not afraid to speak her mind.

She doesn't have the buckets of money flowing into her campaign like Tim Scott has, because she doesn't cater to the wealthy and the big corporations.  So you might not see a lot of ads, but mark your calendar to see her debate Scott on ETV on October 28.

And spread the word.

Joyce Dickerson

US Senate