Thune Republicans: Sudden Friends of the Working Person?
By: Todd Epp
The Right’s defense of John Thune in the Dan Nelson/MetaBank MetaGate intrigue has taken an odd twist: the Daschlistas lost people their jobs at DNA.
Sen. John Thune did not campaign on a platform of increasing minimum wage, supporting unionization, or otherwise doing anything to help working South Dakotans (and by extension, working Iowans and Americans). Now, his supporters want us to believe that it was some vast, Leftwing conspiracy to screw Dan Nelson’s employees.
Hardly.
Iowa consumers complained in droves about DNA. Even South Dakota consumers have complained. DNA apparently failed to pay its workers for the last three weeks. (See comments section.) Sources tell me that DNA also failed to pay for health care insurance that had been deducted out of those same workers’ paychecks and now those workers get to pay again for going to the doctor or the hospital. That is DNA’s fault not Tom Daschle’s, Tom Miller’s, Steve Hildebrand’s, Dan Pfeiffer’s, mine, or any other blogger or reporter.
The DNA workers are also victims in this drama, along with consumers, and, perhaps, shareholders of MetaBank. (I think all citizens are losers in this drama as we wonder about the relationship a powerful U.S. Senator has and what he can do for his friends. Ah, to have such friends.)
Erin, who has commented regularly the past couple of weeks on this blog, has set up a website to help DNA workers. (See comments section.) The DNA workers will also get unemployment insurance (and probably as long as they are employees and not “consultants” and 1099′d).
It is disappointing to see the Right wrap their arms around people who two weeks ago were nothing more than just another corporate asset to them.
Todd D. Epp is an attorney, former broadcast journalist, Democratic activist, and editor of S.D. Watch (http://thunewatch.squarespace.com).