Soultion to Red State Welfare

So all this talk about "Red State Welfare" got me to thinking. As a bona fide opposition party, what can we do through out legislative agenda to spin out the Repug traction in Red States while building up a core of support and a true majority of Congressional seats in the Blue States?

Here's my answer: Introduce a bill in both houses requiring the federal government to spend tax dollars in proportion to how much is collected from each state. In other words, lets get back what we put in.

I really think this idea has legs. See below the fold...

Possible outcome #1: The bill passes. This isn't the most likely outcome, but you'll see in a minute how getting this to a vote is a win either way.

If it were to be passed, more money comes into Blue States and less to the poorer, less educated reds. Perhaps if we yank the blue-funded carpet out from under these "moral issue voters" they'll finally understand how much they really do need a liberal agenda, and how little things like "Under God" and gay marriage affect their lives. It would expose the dirty little secret of the Republican agenda: throwing these "moral issue voters" (MIVs) a crumb once in a while to get them riled up is not benefiting them. The girl from the main page post might think twice about voting Republican if the programs she depends on are cut (I think she was from Mich., but you get the idea).

Possible outcome #2: The bill comes to a vote and doesn't pass. Assuming some bipartisan coalition of big-state Reps and Sens isn't possible, then we spin it against them. "Look at Rep. So-and-So. He voted against bringing $500 million dollars to Texas and sent it to Oklahoma instead."

It would be a great wedge-type issue to use against any Rethug in a state that pays more than it gets. We could solidify our grip on Congressional Representation in Blue States or make electoral inroads in some of the poorer red states.

Now, the question is how to take a minority in both chambers and get this to a vote. It's going to take some major concession to get this out of committee, especially in the House. I'd say we could sacrifice a little in the Judiciary, but the House doesn't vote on nominees. So, my next idea was tax cuts. Lets put the huge Bush tax cuts on the table. Lets give them their way, and then turn around and hammer them on gutting social programs, especially in red states.

And the best part is, anything that comes out of Congress is going to be pinned on the neocons because they're in control.

Here's the list of top 10 mooches on the federal government:

1. D.C. ($6.17)
   
2. North Dakota ($2.03)
   
3. New Mexico ($1.89)
   
4. Mississippi ($1.84)
   
5. Alaska ($1.82)
   
6. West Virginia ($1.74)
   
7. Montana ($1.64)
   
8. Alabama ($1.61)
   
9. South Dakota ($1.59)
   
10. Arkansas ($1.53)

And the list of the big losers:

1. New Jersey ($0.62)
   
2. Connecticut ($0.64)
   
3. New Hampshire ($0.68)
   
4. Nevada ($0.73)
   
5. Illinois ($0.77)
   
6. Minnesota ($0.77)
   
7. Colorado ($0.79)
   
8. Massachusetts ($0.79)
   
9. California ($0.81)
   
10. New York ($0.81)

And the real pickup opportunities: In the losers list of states there are (based on the 108th) 62 Republican Members of the House and 5 Senators, versus 77 Democratic Reps. and 15 Senators. So, if the measure fails, as we might prefer it does, then any of these 62 Reps. that voted against it would be on the chopping block. Most are from rural areas of blue states (upstate NY, central CA, Illinois outside of Chicago, etc.).

And if it were to pass, we'd have gutted the programs of 10 states that total 43 Electoral Votes and 13 Republican seats in the House and 9 seats in the Senate. All of these could be on the table as pickup opportunities, given the anger over losing so much state money. And, lets not forget, Blue States aren't perfect. I live in upstate New York, where more federal money would cure a lot of what has plagued my community. Lost jobs to outsourcing, lagging schools, stagnent economy. I would be mad as hell if my Congressman voted against getting $.19 more on the dollar back for us. I guarantee it would be the central issue of every campaign in these areas.

Now there are some serious risks involved in this. They could turn it around on us and paint us as hypocrits for preaching a social gospel in half the country. We'd need a lot of discipline and some very good spinsters to hit the airwaves hard. Everything from TDS to TOTN to Meet the Press. We'd also have to give up on the "Two Americas" theme for a while and go totally negative. We all know the possible repercussions of going negative, but they've been doing it to us for years with success.

We'd also need a Republican cosponsor from a big Red State, like Texas to get the spin angle against Rethugs in case it passes. We can't let them turn it around on us and take out the few Dems in red states (12 D Reps and 9 Sens could be at risk if it wasn't executed properly).

I realize I'm talking about ruining the lives of a lot of MIVs here. But, you know what, if they're dumb enough to vote for BushCo because of "values" then fuck 'em. A little tough love to show them the light. God knows pleading with common sense hasn't worked.