Well, now we know what Santa earns! At $175 per hour, he's really living large, and since we know that he lives in Virginia, could it mean "red state" status for the Old Dominion?
Until about a few hours ago, Santa was going to have to hit the unemployment lines as another victim of the failed Bush economic policies: http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Fortunately, the "netroots" have saved the day. We learned that a veritable landslide of mail and email arrived at the Tyson Corners shopping mall in protest of firing Santa! Hooray for community activism!
Of course, Santa is probably a little out of touch with your run-of-the-mill fake department store Santas and the BDalton Santas and the WalMart Santas that make an average of $17 per hour.
Here is the money quote from the WaPo article
Hardin said the issue was not about money, although he said ... [Santa's] contract paid him about 10 times the average of most "Santa's helpers." The average mall Santa makes about $17 an hour -- "which is very decent pay for a Santa with a good heart."
Is this Hardin character saying that the obviously real Santa who is earning $175 per hour does not have a good heart? That's pretty harsh. Santa is known to have a jolly spirit and a good heart (despite the possibility that he may have heart problems due to his lifestyle choices)
So at $175 per hour, does this make Santa a republican? If he lives in Virginia, then he has at least two houses, since the other one we already know is at the unincorporated North Pole, which is clearly Palin country.
On the other hand, Santa does the great giveaway every year, what with his stop on the Island of Misfit toys. And he is a manufacturing business owner who employs people of smallish stature. His employees might be marginalized in the regular workplace, with the exception of the entertainment sector, in which many small people have lucrative employment contracts. So Santa has a democratic disposition.
Will Santa be a factor at the polls? Is he planning any GOTV events between now and the 4th? Let's get investigating, because frankly, I'm concerned.