Thrown Out Of Work? Have A Drug Test

Friday evening, when everyone was freaking out about Irene, Chris Hayes was freaking out about something more directly man-made, the Ohio Republican Party's latest plan to kick the unemployed while they're down. A video of the segment is embedded above. "The legislation," opined the always astute Hayes, "is being driven by the apparently unkillable prejudice that the poor are shiftless, drug-addled lay-abouts scheming to get their hands on your precious, precious, gooey tax dollars."

Buoyed by what an embarrassing failure Rick Scott's drug testing bill has been in Florida-- all it proved is that poor people use far less drugs than the average American, probably because they can't afford them-- Ohio Republicans see it as another battle in their vicious class war against the poor. They're coming up with their own bill-- one that is much worse than Rick Scott's! Perhaps next Ohio Republicans will follow Rick Scott and Florida Republicans down the political sewer of cutting back on the health clinics that serve... who else?... poor people. So many ways out there for well-financed right-wingers to attack poor people.

To balance the budget, state lawmakers slashed funding for county health departments, and along with other federal cuts, it resulted in $55.6 million being cut this year from the health agency's $2.9 billion budget.

Already, 172 county health department workers have been targeted for elimination statewide. Some have already been laid off, left or switched jobs, including doctors, nurses and support staff.

Another round of layoffs will happen next month and raise those statewide totals, including 30 staffers in Orange County. Osceola County laid off 37 workers earlier this year, shrinking its staff to 200, and dozens more health workers will be let go next month in departments across Florida.

To make ends meet, some health departments have shut down offices and reduced services for immunizations, women's and prenatal health, children's dental care, AIDS treatment and other needs. County clinics often provide free services for the poor and underinsured working poor.

"They have a good system," said Dewey, who recently moved from Illinois to Central Florida with her 11- and 14-year-old kids. "But there's so many people who need help. I don't know how they can cut their budgets."

Local health officials also monitor for contaminated drinking water, rabies, flu and mosquito-borne illnesses and staff special-needs shelters during hurricanes. Osceola's layoffs cut across its entire department, an official there said.

"We knew those cuts were coming and the impacts would be devastating in some circles," said Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Community Health Action Information Network, a group that advocates for more access. "A lot of people depend on health departments for care."

Back in Ohio, Tim Schaffer, a former p.r. hack who was elected to the legislature from Fairfield County in 2000, serves as Chairman of the Senate Ways and Means and Economic Development Committee. Previous to Friday's MSNBC exposé (above) revealing his role in the GOP class war against working families, Schaffer was best known for a harebrained bill that allows Ohio gun nuts and violent criminals to carry concealed weapons in bars and restaurants provided that they are not consuming alcohol. The bill was strongly opposed by bar and restaurants owners and workers and by both the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police and the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio. But the MTA, the Republican Party and John Kasich love it and Schaffer's bill passed and was signed into law.

Tim Grendell, long one of Ohio's most controversial GOP nut cases, and who is conspiring with Schaffer against the unemployed on this mandatory drug testing bill, was also first elected to the legislature in 2000, to represent Geauga County. He's the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary-Criminal Justice Committee. He was one of the few Republicans to oppose Ohio's union-bashing anti-collective bargaining law and is thought to be working with Schaffer on this one to regain his right-wing cred with party extremists. (He had previously been a key backer of Schaffer's guns-and-booze bill.)

And, like Hayes pointed out in his monologue, Grendell and Schaffer want anyone seeking unemployment insurance to pay for their own drug tests. I guess that's because the Florida law it's based on is not only showing that poor people use less drugs but is winding up costing Florida taxpayers a lot of money-- rather than saving them any. Rick Scott's mean-spirited foray into class warfare is costing Florida taxpayers over $40,000 a month in reimbursements for basically showing that welfare recipients aren't a bunch of drug addicts. Hayes:

The Florida and Ohio drug testing laws come at a time when Republicans are launching a new attack on the working poor. In his presidential announcement speech, Texas Governor Rick Perry expressed outrage that 46.4% of households paid no federal income tax in 2011... He's not outraged that the injustice that nearly half of American households work but are paid so little that their take-home pay barely covers basic necessities. He's outraged because they're not paying more taxes.

Rick Perry feels pretty

Nick Ruiz, Blue America-endorsed candidate running for a central Florida congressional seat currently held by a garden variety teabagger, is outraged too-- but not because working families aren't paying enough taxes. No fan of his state's extremist governor, Ruiz thinks both Florida and Ohio are unfairly targeting people who have been thrown out of work.

"The whole drug testing-private-prison complex paradigm is the fantastic conjuration of conservative imbeciles who have no faith in the working poor of America. It is literally the abandonment of Americans that is being purveyed by fanatics like John Kasich (R-OH) and Rick Scott (R-FL) As if drug abuse had some moral component. It does not. Rather, it is a disease, like cancer or heart disease, and all medical authorities reveal drug abuse as such. But let's not forget, conservatives like these don't believe in global warming, don't believe in evolution, and do believe they have the God-given right to control the female body, and police sexual orientation. These hypocrites epitomize the Big Government they decry as a way of life.

"The facts are simple. People abuse cigarettes and alcohol everyday-- shall the Republicans deny these people benefits as well? And who else? The disabled, or mentally incapacitated? We've been down this road before as a people. It leads to great suffering, abuse and inhumanity. To deny citizens, employed or not, basic public services like unemployment insurance or other welfare programs because of a disease is categorically inhumane and should be denounced as such."

If you'd like to help replace a crackpot teabagger (Sandy Adams in this instance) with Nick, think about contributing to his campaign fund. One lucky contributor today-- regardless of how big or small the contribution-- will get a thank you note from Blue America along with 3 autographed books-- The Truth by Al Franken, Framing the Debate by Jeffrey Feldman, and The Audacity of Greed by Jonathan Tasini. Just contribute (any amount) to Nick Ruiz's campaign here and you'll have a shot at getting all 3 signed books.


UPDATE: How About Lie Detector Tests For State Legislators!

What a great idea I just ran across from Dave the Wave at Daily Kos. Voters in Ohio are proposing a new law requiring all Ohio legislators, administration officials, and the governor pass monthly lie detector tests related to kickbacks,  campaign contributions, sweetheart contracts, voter caging, and lobbying activity.

Each month government officials would be required to pass a battery of questions regarding government expenditures and legislation. Officials who failed the tests would be suspended pending further investigation and subject to recall elections.

Sample of the questions:

1. Have you accepted any campaign donations as a condition of access to your office?

2. Have you failed to report any offers of campaign donations as a prerequisite to performing a service or awarding a contract?

3. Have you discussed proposing legislation for receiving campaign contributions with anyone?

4. Have you lied to your constituents about the purpose of any proposed legislation?

5. Have you accepted campaign contributions from any interest groups without revealing the source of the contributions.

6. Have you spent time soliciting campaign contributions during normal work hours from 8:00 AM till 5:00 PM?

7. Have you or any member of your staff participated in attempts to reduce the participation of legal voters by sending false information regarding voter eligibility, time or date of elections?

And... aren't these questions perfect for Florida as well?