Revealing Comments

Hot Dang! My very first post and I get to comment on that aspect of the modern Republican party that is the most repugnant; that its complete antipathy toward the poor and underprivileged (i.e. others) is wedded to an obsequious servility toward the wealthy and powerful (i.e. themselves). 

Today I read that Murkowski vetoed about $60,000 for Legal Services, the paltry amount that the State was giving that worthy organization, accompanied by some ideo-illogical bloviation about how this was not a "core" service of government.  This is simply wrongheaded on every conceivable front. 

Nobody can deny that maintaining and effective civil and criminal dispute resolution system is a "core" aspect of government.  Nor can it be denied that the legal system is too confusing and intimidating for most people to navigate effectively on their own.  This is especially true for the poor and undereducated, yet, because they are poor and undereducated, they lack the means to pay for legal help.  So, when the poor are victimized or forced (through divorce or other issues) to go to the legal system, they either get rolled over by the system, clog it up with confusion, or both. 

That's where Legal Services steps in - what it does is to provide the poor with meaningful access to the legal system.  Without it, many people would simply be cut off from any such meaningful access.  What's more, Legal Services helps the system operate more efficiently and fairly through its counseling services.  It is, simply put, an indispensible aspect of the legal system, and it is simply wrong to say that it is not a "core" government service.

But it serves the poor, and if you're a modern Republican like Frank Murkowski that paltry $60k would surely be better spent paying a mechanic to keep to keep the Gubernatorial Jet it good working order.  Because surely providing wealthy, connected Republicans with the trappings of power and prestige is a "core" governmental function, right?