{"id":1008,"date":"2008-07-09T12:05:38","date_gmt":"2008-07-09T16:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/?p=1008"},"modified":"2008-07-09T12:05:38","modified_gmt":"2008-07-09T16:05:38","slug":"the-gops-responsibility-shell-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blacknell.net\/dynamic\/2008\/07\/09\/the-gops-responsibility-shell-game\/","title":{"rendered":"The GOP’s Responsibility Shell Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congress is holding hearings on the toxic FEMA trailer<\/a> issue today.\u00c2\u00a0 A quick review: the travel trailers that FEMA provided to Hurricane Katrina victims contained high levels of formaldahyde, which can cause respiratory problems and is a known carcinogen.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Congress (and by this, I mean the Democrats in Congress) has asked the heads of the companies that manufactured these trailers to come and explain why they were manufactured like this.<\/p>\n

The GOP – party of responsibility, remember – wants to make sure that no one holds these manufactures responsible for their dangerous products.\u00c2\u00a0 To wit<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Companies that make recreational vehicles should not be blamed for high levels of formaldehyde in FEMA trailers, according to a report by House Republicans.<\/p>\n

The partisan analysis instead points the finger at the federal government for not having standards for safe levels of formaldehyde before Hurricane Katrina victims lived in the trailers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s right. The party that continuously proclaims that the government should keep its hands off of industry is now saying that the government should<\/em> have regulated this industry, and since it didn’t, the industry couldn’t possibly be expected to ensure that its products were safe.<\/p>\n

That’s remarkable only in that it’s the least common tine of the GOP’s three-pronged approach to responsibility in business.\u00c2\u00a0 Most often you hear that government has no business setting any kind of safety standards – “let the market sort it out!”\u00c2\u00a0 Of course, this means that you end up with things like trailers made with carcinogens. \u00c2\u00a0 In this case, the market has clearly decided that it’s okay, but only because trailer residents generally can’t afford to hold the builders responsible for resultant breathing problems or cancer.\u00c2\u00a0 And if, by chance, those residents somehow figure out how to do that – say, by trying to hold the builders responsible for their actions in court – the builders can count on the usual GOP mock-outrage over “trial lawyers!”\u00c2\u00a0 They’re the Party of Responsibility, but only until it actually comes time to be responsible.<\/p>\n

The third approach – which they use when they’ve been unable to shimmy out of responsibility in courts, or have been laughed out of the “the government should have made us!” defense – is resorting to using the machinery of government to provide industries with immunity.\u00c2\u00a0 Want to hold an employer responsible for screwing you out of equal pay over your 20 year career?\u00c2\u00a0 Immunity<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 A gun company responsible for turning a blind eye to the distribution of its products?\u00c2\u00a0 Immunity<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 Telecom companies for breaking the law that keeps them from sharing your information with anyone without a warrant?\u00c2\u00a0 Immunity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The GOP reliably hits on the theme of responsibility, and it’s the reason a decent number of voters identify as Republicans.\u00c2\u00a0 But it’s just a marketing them.\u00c2\u00a0 Nothing more.\u00c2\u00a0 Too bad its supporters can never seem to figure that out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congress is holding hearings on the toxic FEMA trailer issue today.\u00c2\u00a0 A quick review: the travel trailers that FEMA provided to Hurricane Katrina victims contained high levels of formaldahyde, which can cause respiratory problems and is a known carcinogen.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Congress (and by this, I mean the Democrats in Congress) has asked the heads of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-law","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t