If the GOP is the “party of the people,” is supposedly for the common man and not just the wealthy and corporations, why are they so intent to cut taxes for and give juicy handouts to the wealthy and corporations, and so eager to cut the pay and benefits for the common worker?

Right now, a majority of those in the Senate have followed the Democratic lead to turn down President Bush’s plan to eliminate overtime pay for eight million workers, but the Republicans, with a razor’s edge of a majority, are refusing to allow it to come to a vote, at least as long as the Democratic candidates are in D.C. The GOP hopes to wait for a dark and lonely evening, like they have done so often over the past two years, when no one is looking, to pass this law. And this Bush pay decrease would come at a time when countless American families depend on both parents working overtime just to get by.

It comes on the heels of other Bush proposals to cut pay, benefits, and education funding for the same working stiffs and soldiers in the military who are fighting Bush’s wars, as Bush ladles out lucrative, non-competitive contracts to businesses the administration has close ties to.

Add to this the measly token of a tax cut given to many, but not all of the middle class, while people making millions or billions get huge amounts of what little they still pay in taxes returned to them because “it’s only fair.” And the GOP’s traditional grudge against ever raising the minimum wage–each and every time, they claim it will put companies in a crunch and cause workers to be fired, and every time nothing of the sort comes close to happening.

Party of the people? For the common man? Just like Bush’s “compassionate conservatism” and the GOP’s claim to “inclusiveness,” these are lip-service platitudes that have no standing in reality. Ever wonder why labor unions so regularly support the Democrats?