Republican Values: Crime, Violence, Fraud, Poverty

Just your typical results when the Republicans take over.


1) GOP Congressman Paying Ex-Mistress $500K

Don Sherwood (R-PA), the Republican Congressman running for reelection in Pennslyvania, paid his ex-mistress $500,000 to keep quiet about his domestic abuse against her until after the election.

A Republican congressman accused of abusing his ex-mistress agreed to pay her about $500,000 in a settlement last year that contained a powerful incentive for her to keep quiet until after Election Day, a person familiar with the terms of the deal told The Associated Press.

Rep. Don Sherwood is locked in a tight re-election race against a Democratic opponent who has seized on the four-term congressman's relationship with the woman. While Sherwood acknowledged the woman was his mistress, he denied abusing her and said that he had settled her $5.5 million lawsuit on confidential terms.

2) Ford Motor Company announces layoffs and salary and benefits cuts.

The Republicans have always sided with the large corporations and upper management over the middle class worker. The conservative Christians were the ones who organized a boycott against Ford Motor Company for giving homosexuals more equal right. What is the end result from these right-wingers?

Ford Motor Company, which has provided many thousands of decent jobs for middle class America over the decades, continues to layoff and reduce salary and benefits because of these right-wing nutcases.

Salaried workers at Ford Motor Co. won't get pay raises next year and they'll pay more for health insurance under benefit changes announced by the struggling automaker. In addition, Ford will stop providing health insurance for Medicare-eligible salaried retirees over 65 starting in January 2008, company spokeswoman Marcey Evans said Thursday. Ford will give the retirees $1,800 that can be used to buy supplemental medical coverage, she said. Ford lost $7.24 billion in the first nine months of the year and is cutting thousands of jobs and closing plants to cut costs over the next few years. The latest cuts, announced to employees on Wednesday, also include some good news. Ford is restoring a company match to its 401(k) plan, paying 60 cents on the dollar up to 5 percent of an employee's base salary. But the merit pay cut and a 30 percent increase in health insurance contributions will mean white-collar workers will receive less money from the company in 2007 than they received this year.

With election day just a few days away, keep this simple rule in mind. If you want to see increased crime, violence, fraud, and poverty in your community and lives, make sure you vote Republican.