Captain Regulation on the Balance of Power and the Interests of Big Business

ring...ring...

Captain Regulation: Hello Ms. Buerkle. It has been awhile. What's up?

Representative Ann Marie Buerkle: REINS [Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act: see the Washington Post's article yesterday for a full explanation]. We have been working hard to streamline government regulations. What do you think?

CR: I am afraid you and your colleagues have missed the point of strong regulations again. What you've done is about ideology rather than good government. Also, you are trying to tinker with the balance of power. Don't you remember what you learned in your 9th grade civics course about balancing the three parts of government?

AMB: We think the President has too much power.

CR: Please let me explain something to you. One of the advantages of regulations is continuity. Because the balance of power can shift so quickly, in fact every two years in the House and four years in the Presidency, without regulations things can become unmanageable rather quickly, creating chaos and confusion. Quite simply, there has to be some stability we can all depend upon, and regulations contribute greatly to that.

AMB: But we like using words like "certainty" and "job creators". We want the American people to believe that we have their best interests at heart.

CR: Do you?

AMB: To the extent that big business uses an expendable and cheap labor force, yes.

CR: What? And what about the consumer and community protections REINS would erode?

AMB: I am always in favor of consumer protections so long as they do not reduce the ability of corporations to maximize their profits.

CR: Sorry, you are not making sense. Not only that, but Lisa Lowery's headline this morning, Rep. Buerkle Stands Up for Businesses, is  deceptive and really not true at all for local concerns. It promotes your false contention that the interests of big business are compatible with the interests of workers, local businesses and communities.

AMB: But we are in the business of getting our point across in small bites. We know that our Tea Party supporters don't read deeply or care about facts.

CR: Honestly, Ms. Buerkle, I do not understand why you and your Republican colleagues waste so much time with stunts like this when you have so many more important issues to deal with right now.

AMB: [click]

CR: [to colleagues working nearby] Buerkle again…Tea Party politics as usual. Nothing to do with good government. Back to work. I swear she would be happiest taking us back to the Dark Ages, like yesterday when she came out against new protections for children employed in farming who have been working with pesticides, powerful PTOs and in giant silos and manure ponds.