Rachel Maddow: “This little ‘Republicans hate the post office’ hearing” - postalnews blog
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Rachel Maddow: “This little ‘Republicans hate the post office’ hearing”

Rachel Maddow’s take on yesterday’s “Oversight” hearing:

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 6th, 2011 at 7:22 am and is filed under politics, postal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

  • Tony

    It amazes me that these Politicians can be not only completely in the dark regarding the The Postal Service and what it truly means to our nation, but to add the arrogance, disrespect and complete stupidity they displayed to our hierarchy is simply repulsive. Keep voting Republican everyone if you enjoy having your future in these morons’ hands. God help us all!!!

  • cindy

    rachel rocks !

  • Mailer

    If you knew a business executive who personally disliked television, who thought it was a dying, wasteful industry with few redeeming traits and no future, a man who found everyone from the cameraman to the writers and performers to be talentless and feckless, let me ask: would you put him in charge of CBS or NBC?

    Why would you elect into government those very people who religiously hate the existence of government?

  • Lawsons voice

    keep voting republican

  • jonah

    Ask how many politicians get FREE mail from the post office especially for their re-election campaigns !! UPS or FEDEX does not do that !! Mail is sent free for the blind as well . Do the other carriers do that ? Politicians dont cry foul over the free mail they get now do they !!

  • Vicki Griffin

    I am a postal worker. The Republicans have decided to attack all the agencies that will endorse the Democratic Party. It will not stop us, we still believe in the Democrats. Republicans at the Postal Service better wake up before we all end up on the short end of the stick. With no benefits and no collective bargaining just like they are trying to do with the nurses, teachers, firefighters, and police. This is not about balancing the budget, it is about busting up unions. PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!! All I can say is RECALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • bubba

    1bubba
    April 6th, 2011 10:01
    maybe ross needs to take a paycut,and pay more for his fat pension and cadillac health care,ross do everyone a favor you and issa both need to resign ,the usps pay is in line with private sector delivery service,the usps doesn’t receive a penny from taxpayers unlike ross the taxpayers pay your salary

  • Lynn

    jonah
    Political mailings, Matter For The Blind, Selective Service, is considered ” Revenue Forgone” and the PO is paid “after the fact” by congress for these public services.

  • Bigwheel

    Lynn,

    What you say is correct,, only USPS does not get paid.

    USPS is owed 29 million in Revenue Forgone money right now..

    Congress seems to think that the PO does not need that money. They pay when they get ready.

  • Gerry

    What a bunch of dorks and what a day wasted by these yo-yos. So there’s a one sentence line in the Declaration that gives the almighty power to the elected law makers. I think we ought to make it manditory that all congressmen and senators in each state don a blue vest and spend 4 months every year as door greeters of our nations largest employer.
    They just might get a clue as to what’s important when they wander back to DC.

  • jerry m

    The Republicans started union busting with Reagan ,the have been working on it ever since,trying to pass bills to erode our rights.

  • Cookie

    I love the Post Office. I cannot stand the Republicans making these statements about one of the best agencies around. I get my mail with no problems and extra help whenever I go. I’ve had the postal workers CALL ME when I mailed a letter by accident with no postage. They carefully opened the invitation, so as not to damage it, and CALLED ME to let me know that the invitee had not gotten the invitation. How great is that! The workers have steered me to the cheaper ways to send things and all in all, done a fantastic job at a really inexpensive cost. Therefore, if you are a postal worker and reading these comments—THANK YOU, YOU ARE GREAT, NEVER FORGET IT. And screw those who speak against you.

  • cibindiby

    My husband and I are retired postal workers after 30 hard years. I hope all of my Republican coworker hear this and finally come to their senses and realize that the Republicans have NEVER been on the workers side and they should WAKE UP and vote Democrat! The Republicans would love to steal away every benefit we have ever earned! The only way to stop them is to vote the bastards out!

  • Randy

    The real reason the Republicans are dissing the USPS is that it’s employees are Unionized. Just like Republican attacks on Union workers in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and elsewhere and just like the Republican antipathy toward the Unionized domestic auto makers when their CEO’s came to testify before Congress in their time of need, these attacks are chiefly political, aimed at Unionized workers who are the supporters of Democrats. This again shows these Republicans for who they really are! Would be autocrats ever willing to suffocate any challenge to what they see as their right to rule America!

  • sb postal

    kudos for rachel backing us on her show. not too many politically broadcast shows would do that. she must love her mailman. 83% kicks 14%’s ASS! darrell issa your a jerk. cut a check back to the nalc for what you swindled from us. go get a haircut.

  • DB

    Issa has publically stated he thinks current first class postage is 47-cents. And he’s the head of the postal regulation committee?? These politicians need to GO!

  • cozmot

    Gee, I just love the way Republicans are focused on jobs. Those pompous fools made complete asses of themselves. Rep. Mica proved to be a particularly despicable human being, but by not much more than Issa and Ross.

    The Republicans got their tax breaks on a platter for the rich, thanks to Obama lacking backbone. Now they’re going after women, public sector unions (private sector to follow), the poor, the old and the ill. People are going to start waking up to the fact that they created a monster in the 2010 mid-term elections.

    It’s not Republicans, however, who put these goons in power; rather, it’s the so-called “Independents,” those namby pamby voters who cast ballots with the wind. They are without any foundational principles and ideas. It is they who create these wild swings.

    So, yes, every one of you in the Postal Service who voted Republican in 2010 are getting what you deserve, but you couldn’t have gotten it with the Namby Pamby Party. And they, too, are getting their just desserts.

    2012 anyone?

  • Michael Coughlin

    I loved Rachel Maddow’s take on the USPS as a valuable and highly respected institution. She is absolutely correct on that point. While it is not perfect, by and large, it does it’s job so well that most people take it for granted. And that is a credit to the dedicated employees who go out everyday and serve their customers, often in the face of the ignorance and contempt displayed by various members of Congress. It is also one of the least understood organizations in government. Today’s USPS has a fundamental problem with its “business model” (i.e., how it raises revenues to support its operations), and the Congress has failed to deal with the problem for years. There will long be a need for a basic physical mail service in this country, but it cannot be successfully provided by an institution that is forced (by the Congress) to maintain a physical infrastructure that is all out of proportion to real need and to provide services that make no sense in today’s marketplace. Tuesday’s hearing was, once again, a monumental display of ignorance and political posturing by the Congressional Committee, but don’t get the idea that it is only Republicans. As one with personal experience with the process, Democrats have been just as guilty in the past. It is time they truly educate themselves on the issues, forget the politics and work on solving the fundamental “business model” problem. If they do not, they are going to have a very messy and expensive problem on their hands and the cause will not be found in USPS management or its union leadership

  • maryann fiorentino

    Rachel Maddow – you tell it like it is – has our country gone mad for voting republican or are the elections fixed??I’ve always wondered………..

  • Common Sense

    Rachel:
    You are right that the US Postal Service is a valued institution….but it has to change with the times. Mail volume is way down and as such, the USPS is losing money. You mentioned that we (yes I am a Postal Employee) have the largest vehicle fleet in the US….and that means when the price of gas goes up the PO is losing even more money. The PO has made major changes in the last 7 years and has cut its workforce substancially, but more still must be done. We need 5 day a week delivery, no matter what the unions say. This will save 1/6th of the gasoline costs and the savings to the PO is estimated conservatively to be 1.7 billion dollars. That is real money and easily obtainable. Everyone must sacrifice….it doesn’t mean the republicans hate the PO, it means that Americans have got to start heading John F. Kennedy’s statement of “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” I’d say that 5 day a week delivery is something every American can live with and it saves the PO money. By saving money we are protecting jobs, benefits and retirements of postal workers. Nothing in the Constitution requires 6 day a week delivery. It is a no brainer…..so why can’t Congress agree to 5 day a week delivery???? Could it be the special interests of the unions? Every American can get by on 5 days of delivery….heck…with the reduction of mail volume, we could probably get by on 3 day a week delivery. Emails, faxes and so many other forms of communication can keep commerce flowing. And if something really needs to be delivered, send it Express Mail -overnight delivery…and produce more revenue for the Postal Service. Come on America…..we all have to give up something and 5 day a week delivery hurts virtually no one. This is something we all can agree to and live with.

  • cliffyclaven

    I don’t know what to say there is no excuse for what the Republicans are trying to do to the Post Office and the country for that matter. None of them deserve to have there jobs and that Mr Mica goes out of his way not to use the service that his employer provides this guy is truly Un-American what kind of car does he drive bet it’s not American!

  • Pffft

    I am a postal worker and a registered Republican..at least I am so far today.
    I take seriously all my co-workers comments above about the Republican attitude toward USPS and postal employees.
    It will be a cold day in hell before I put another checkmark next to the name of a candidate whose name is preceded by (R) on the ballot.

  • steve lee

    Nice show, bottom line is rich Republicans are against the middle class, people who work for a living! They would love to get rid of the USPS and profit from a private company delivering the mail. It’s all about the money for the republican rich cats.

  • Tony G.

    “Republicans” (LET US MAKE THE USPS PRIVATE) and THEN we can make the( UNITED STATES ARMY PRIVATE). “money,money,money,money,money??????. SO Lets Give are Country Away. I wonder why my Brothers & Uncles served in WW II?.

  • Tom

    For all that it does, the USPS awes most people who have no idea how it works. To deliver to every address in the US everyday.

    It is far from perfect, employee turnover is very slow and some employees work beyond what would normally be considered retirement age. This is true of about every government sector. Take a look at some of the grey covering republican congressmen who fortunately have hair dressers at their disposal in the video.

    Another issue that plagues the USPS is decision makers that by shear virtue of their authority and belief they are beyond reproach, costing hundreds of millions in contractual violations, safety violations for the employees, labor law violations like EEO’s, violations against our nations disabled veterans, the list goes on.

    If you want to correct inefficiency in all sectors of our government agencies, its time to bring back public floggings and the highest degree of accountability for those who make the decisions that hurt the service and our goverments reputation, for currently if you have the money, you can get away with anything.

  • k.

    Why doesn’t the post office charge people what it costs to run the organization? Why are we subsidizing the Post Office? If it costs a dollar to deliver an envelope, then so be it. That is the only way we can continue to pay all of the benefits and salaries. Break even. I know that is a new concept, but why is that a problem? No profit needed, just break even. I won’t vote Republican either.

  • Paul G.

    All the history that the United States and Postal Service have made together joined this Union and seperated the American People from the British who ruled at that time. The need for the Postal Service is as relevent today as it was 250 years ago. The only concern individuals have about the Postal Service is the amount of money that can be made from it (example Fed-Ex and UPS). The Postal Service is allowing the Direct Mailers subsidized mailing, as well as, Politicians their Frank Mailing when running for office or other political contacts. So next time you think that the Postal Service is not needed look back at how much you spend on your telephone after the deregulation of the major telephone companies. Its all about the MONEY, stupid!