Yesterday I wrote about Ed Gillespie (R. VA) having his Rick Perry (R. TX) moment, now this is sounding like his Mitt Romney (R. MA) moment:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Ed Gillespie downplayed the difficulties of living on the minimum wage in a video of the Republican Senate candidate speaking to voters in Virginia Beach.
"A minimum wage job is where you learn to get to work on time. It's where you learn the great feeling at the end of a week of getting that paycheck, of knowing you gave an honest week's work. It's where you learn the social aspects of work," Gillespie said in a video recorded by a Democratic tracker and obtained by the Richmond, Virginia NBC affiliate. "It's where you play on the work softball team or go out for a beer after work."
The former Republican National Committee chairman, who said he didn't support the federal minimum wage, said that most minimum wage workers aren't heads of households. He said lawmakers should "find a way to help" those struggling to make ends meet on a minimum wage salary "without destroying their jobs and the other 97 percent of [non-household-heading] minimum wage earners' jobs as well."
Though few may head households, most minimum wage workers live in households that make less than the national median income, around $50,000 annually. - Huffington Post, 7/9/14
And of course Democrats pounced on Gillespie:
http://augustafreepress.com/...
Democrats are pouncing on Gillespie’s characterization as showing him to be out of touch with economic and social reality.
“Ed Gillespie’s comments are offensive and belittling to Virginians working minimum wage jobs. He opposes a federal minimum wage, but believes people working for $7.25 per hour have time to play softball after work. Even McDonald’s recommends that its workers find a second job to make ends meet. But what else should we expect from an out-of-touch hired gun who has joined his fellow Republicans in denying thousands of working Virginia families a raise and access to routine and affordable health care,” Democratic State Del. Mark Sickles said.
“Clearly, Ed Gillespie’s career rigging the system for special interests like Enron has left a blind spot to the plight of so many hard working Virginians who work multiple minimum wage jobs to get by,” Sickles said. - Augusta Free Press, 7/9/14
Senator Mark Warner (D. VA) also hit Gillespie on his comments:
It’s a pretty simple idea: no one who works full-time to raise a family should live in poverty.
That’s why Senator Warner supports raising the minimum wage and helping thousands of hardworking Virginians have a fair shot at success.
As reported by NBC 12, D.C. superlobbyist Ed Gillespie says that minimum wage jobs are “where you play in a softball league and go for a beer after work.” Gillespie also believes there should not be a federal minimum wage.
For too many Virginians, you don’t go out for a beer after work, you go to a second or third job. And for working mothers and fathers, there’s certainly no time for softball.
Add your name today to denounce these outrageous comments that disparage hardworking Virginians.
http://action.markwarnerva.com/...
An overwhelming majority of Virginians support raising the minimum wage. It’s time to give these hardworking families a raise -- not a slap in the face.
Stand against Gillespie’s ridiculous comments right now.
http://action.markwarnerva.com/...
Thanks,
Keyanna Conner
Political Director
Click here to add your name:
http://action.markwarnerva.com/...