Ed Schultz Talks to USPS Letter Carrier Who Was Screamed at By Rep. Joe Walsh
Ed Schultz talked to USPS letter carrier and Rep. Joe Walsh constituent Melissa Rakestraw about her encounter with Walsh at a recent meeting he had where he basically melted down and started screaming at Rakestraw and some of the others who were unfortunate enough to be attending that event.
Susie's prior post on this here at C&L focused on the fact that Walsh was defending the banks and Wall Street. If anyone's got the stomach for it, there's also an almost hour long video of that same meeting posted on line, and Wall Street and the banks were not the only subject that came up during that meeting.
Walsh also confronted Rakestraw about the Post Office and whether private industry can do a better job of delivering our mail, with Rakestraw rightfully pointing out to him that if left to their own means, private industry will not serve rural areas and make sure that everyone can afford to have mail delivery at a price that doesn't do things like force seniors to pay so much for their drugs being delivered that they just can't afford it anymore.
As Ed Schultz rightfully pointed out, the Republican Party "thinks public jobs are disposable and not worth anything." Rakestraw called out Walsh for getting as aggressive and obnoxious as he did with his own constituents, but said she didn't feel threatened by how he acted during that public meltdown that so many of us have watched. Rakestraw said she was a lot more concerned about his "anti-worker ideology and his total disregard for facts."
She was a whole lot kinder to Walsh than I would have been had I received the same treatment and after him going on the air and just chalking his behavior up to too much coffee and an empty stomach.
I just have to wonder how this union member who obviously understands how important her job is with making sure we have affordable mail service to everyone in the country and who gave the arguments she did here against the nonsense Walsh was spouting can call herself a Republican when her party has fallen so far off the cliff they obviously don't believe in a lot of the same basic values she does and ones that would mean she keeps her job. Had I been in Schultz position, that's one of the questions I would have asked her during this interview.**
What's sad and really just a shame is the fact that we don't have as many Democrats as there should be out there speaking so clearly and plainly on the issues Rakestraw addressed here when it comes to whether the private sector would ever give rural communities affordable mail delivery and why privatizing that business and leaving it to the private sector is really just a horrible idea.
Regardless of her party affiliation and whether she ought to rethink it or not, it was nice to hear someone who is just your average working person like Rakestraw call Walsh out for his nonsense and it's too bad Ed Schultz got caught on a hard break with her at the end of the show and that his producers didn't allot more time for the interview. She was just in the middle of making some really great points when he had to cut her off since the show was over and out of time.
** [Editor's Note: Melissa Rakestraw identifies herself as a progressive Independent, not a Republican. We apologize for the error.]
Anybody who watched the video has a pretty good insight into what life at home was like before he became
"America's Number 1 Deadbeat Dad". What a nauseating piece of shit he is.
Like the Academy Awards, we need some Douche Bag of the Year awards. I nominate Joe Walsh for top prize.
far left loon >.<
for a Darwin Award.
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”
- Albert Einstein
Mr. William Joseph Walsh (you can't trust a man who doesn't use his real first name) has already reproduced (only the childless are eligible). That's why he's a douchebag - he's not paying child support. The only way for him to score a Darwin is to somehow take himself and his five kids out in one swell foop, thus deleting his genes from the pool. However, since I haven't seen any evidence that his kids inherited his supreme assholeness, it wouldn't be fair to them.
I will paraphrase Clarence Darrow in saying that Walsh is one of those people to whom I wish no harm but will read his obituary with great satisfaction. In fact, I'll throw a party.
His problem wasn't coffee on an emtpy stomach. He has douchebagitis.
far left loon >.<
regardless of performance, to talk so boldly about "competition."
The teabaggers do love to talk about a constitution which they, apparently, have not read: The Postal Service is one of the few federal agencies mandated implicitly by our founding fathers, reliable communication and exchange of ideas being a fundamental aspect of a democracy and all.
I am sick and tired of Republican congress critters who continually pretend they have nothing to do with the federal government they draw a salary from, and that they bear no responsibility for the actions of a government whose legislative and judicial branches they command partially.
CTHULHU 2012 "Why vote for a lesser evil?"
Most of the people I know claim to be "apolitical". Their opinions always start with "all politicians are crooks".
They also get almost all their information from the headlines and lead sentences, without reading the article; sound bites they heard as a lead in for the TV spewz, without paying attention to the story; or bumper sticker slogans, 'cause they sound right.
Yet these people also do their "patriotic duty" and vote based on that, at best, minimal information; then claim they have no control because all politicians are crooks. (That's what happens when you vote without knowing what you are voting for, dumbass).
Who are the masters of disinformation by headline, sound bite, and bumper sticker slogan? KKKarl may be the consummate liar, but he is also the master of the mendacious headline, sound bite and bumper sticker slogan.
That is how the Repugs retain control and the loyalty of people like this despite being against their own self interest.
You want to see the difference between a government rollout of a service and a private sector one? Look at coverage, cost, and available speeds for internet service US vs South Korea. Spoiler: South Korea has more ubiquitous, faster, and cheaper service than the US.
how do you know ms. rakestraw is a republican? did she say she was? was the meeting only open to local republicans? or, did you just assume she was, because she was at the meeting? i ask because you seem to have overlooked something painfully obvious to us here in va: just because your elected representative is a barking mad republican, doesn't mean, by definition, that you are too, or that you even voted for him/her. one's constituents are ALL the citizens residing in your district, not just those of your own party.
This guy is a wing nut dead beat punk. The sooner he is out of office, the sooner we can get on with making America better again.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
They're all punks.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
She should run against Walsh!
She had incredible composure when he was yelling at her.
And made excellent points against him just about effortlessly.
If she is a Republican - primary him.
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
In 2006 the Bozos, ASS WIPES, WORTHLESS, scum bags and the Anti American corporate OWNED republicans passed a LAW, FORCING the USPS to project out a certain amount of years the medical and retirement benefits. this is a COMPLETE and TOTAL FORCE to FAILURE for the POSTAL SERVICE, and the only ones benefiting from it it are the COWARDS and SCUM BAGS like walsh the ASS WIPE.
Funny how this piece of SHIT, doesn't know or refuses to accept the FAILUES of his Anti American corporate OWNED worthless COWARDLY party.
Even funnier is how this piece of SHIT, can NOT do anything unless the GOVERNMENT develops ot FIRST, now this BRAIN DEAD, ASS WIPE, ZIPPER FACE piece of SHIT, wants his Anti American corporate buddies to come in and take over,
News Flask ASS WIPE, do what you do best, SUCK a BIG DICK and take it in the ASS like the rest of you COWARDS and Anti American SCUM BAGS.
Joe Wallsh is not original, he's just an asshole. They all say the same exact thing. It is the marching orders. It makes no sense how any normal human being could be a Republican. My party affiliation in not equivalent to my sports teams. If my party sucks, I am baiing. Unfortunatley we only have two, and although half of my party is corrupt, there are stiill a few good ones.
Walsh, Cator,Ryan, etc. their all the same, with the same atnit gov't message. I thinik it is funny that people think they'll ever change. People keep voting for them because they are sure that Dems hate babies, and want to end Christianity, and want all of thier hunting rifles. It's absurd.
thinking much the same thing. Walsh sounds just like the wingnuts that listen to rush and get their knowledge from Fox and Friends. He sounded just like one of the hackneyed meme repeaters I hear in my personal life everyday. He gives no respect and deserves none back. He just a dumbass wingnut talkshow fan and that is the extent of his knowledge about anything. Its clear when he talks that is the case.
Republicans have been divorced from reality for like...oh...FOREVER.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
"I don't care about Public Sector jobs", says the man holding one. So quit
I am a Progressive, a Liberal and Independent, one thing I most certainly am not is a Republican. I'm not sure how anyone got that impression. I work for a living so Republicans obviously don't represent me. I never voted for Joe Walsh but unfortunately he represents me. I did in fact vote for Melissa Bean the blue dog Democrat he ran against even though I wasn't a big fan of hers. He held an open forum in a bar and grill, he invited constituents to come and "discuss concerns." My main concern that I wanted to address with him was saving jobs in the USPS and that is why I was at "Cup of Joe with Joe." If you watch the entire video you will see that I was one of the few people of the 11 there that wasn't a tea party cheerleader and felt compelled to call his BS about blaming the government and not Wall Street Banks. You can call me a lot of things but please do not ever call me a Republican. ~Melissa Rakestraw
We are working on a correction, Thanks for standing up to him.
The only reason I thought you were a Republican is I thought they identified you as one in the chryon with your name on the Ed Show. I promise I will never make that mistake again. And great job standing up to Joe Walsh and on the show. It's too bad Ed had to cut you short as I said in the post. Thanks to the site editors for taking care of that for me. I was out with my mom earlier and couldn't get to it myself.
every weeknight, but was extremely annoyed how Ed cut her off. It appears all these shows have so many commercials there's little time for in depth discussion, and this segment had me screaming at the screen the way it was so brusquely ended. This is the reality of corporate dominance of the media, I suppose, but KUDOS to Melissa for pushing back on this Joe Walsh piece of total garbage.
Glad to hear from another person who spends time educating themself on the issues instead of, as Joe said, "sitting on their butts".
"Someday somebody related to some of these sufferers, these victims, these collaterally damaged souls, may try to kill you. And I have to tell you, I think you’ll have it coming." - Christopher Cooper
He may be an enormous asshole, and he may not understand the Post Office's mandate, but he's right that the post office shouldn't be a jobs program in itself.
If its function could be done more cheaply & efficiently, with fewer employees, then the logical thing to do would be to lay people off or let them retire.
The real problem for the Post Office is that it has to compete with private companies that can cherry-pick their delivery-zones & ignore high-cost, low-density areas. Worse, they have to subsidize them by doing the final deliveries for Fedex & UPS.
They never have any safe profit center to offset their expenses, so they can never win.
There are only two solutions: Give them a monopoly - which Fedex & UPS would not accept , or accept some level of subsidy. That makes Tea-Baggers erupt with fire - but it's in the constitution..
A man who picks up a cat by the tail .. will find knowledge that cannot be gained in any other way - Mark Twain
The USPS had record revenues in 2006. During the lame duck session of 2006 the Republicans passed a bill requiring the USPS to pre-pay retiree healthcare benefits 75 years in advance, over the next 10 years. This is an onerous burden placed on no other government agency.It's paying benefits for people that haven't even been born yet! Due to this ridiculous mandate designed to sink us the USPS has been making a $5.5 BILLION yearly payment since 2007. We would have had positive revenues during all these years were it not for this payment.
The USPS also overpaid the FERS retirement system by $75 BILLION due to an accounting error over the course of many years. If this money were refunded to us and the onerous $5.5 BILLION payment was rescinded we would be fine. Productivity is at an all time high. The workforce does not need to be reduced. 20% of the people that work at the USPS are Veterans and Issa is backing a bill to put 200,000 out of jobs needlessly and end 90% of door to door deliveries.
There are tons of small businesses and people running businesses out of their homes now due to the internet that rely on USPS for much cheaper and more efficient pick up and delivery. There was a reason that the Constitution mandated the formation of the Post Office. One of the main reasons was to ensure the flow of commerce between all points in our country. If we are scaled back to 5 days, lose workers, close sorting facilities, we will be less efficient provide slower service and lose business.
Completely aside from the over-funded pension mandate,
My point was that UPS & Fedex couldn't exist without the USPS doing their deliveries in much of the country - so they're subsidized by USPS.
If USPS has to make a profit with these monkeys sitting on it's back .. it may barely make it, or it might fall into deficits. It's not their fault. It's the fault of the model where private companies get to piggyback. Much of the premium delivery market has been taken away from them.
Darryl Issa is a cruel and stupid man, but USPS isn't a jobs program.. (sorry - I know that makes me sound like a jerk..)
We should do what they've done in France -which is add extra duties to the mail carriers for public good - like checking in on elderly, meter-reading etc.. but
A man who picks up a cat by the tail .. will find knowledge that cannot be gained in any other way - Mark Twain
We can get a letter across the country in two days for less than 50 cents, where private express services cost many times that. Wait times at the post office are very short given how much business they do. There's a picture on-line of a letter carrier putting mail in a mailbox in Boone NC, with snow up to to the mailbox. AND unlike private companies, they need an act of congress to raise their rates. Even as gas prices rose significantly, they were expected to accomodate those costs. We think that postage should be raised to a high enough rate where the postal service could catch up and then leave it for awhile -- the cost would still be a bargain.
I admire the lady's poise in dealing with a mad man.
I posted on a friends facebook page, who knows Ms. Rakestraw, that I was surprised she's a Republican.
She posted back, she's not.
She's a progressive liberal who votes for Democrats.
I am relieved to hear that seeing as Ms. Rakestraw is so clear, informed, and smart, she couldn't possibly be a tea partier.
You should change the post to reflect Ms. Rakestraw's true politcal leanings.
Nobody gives a shit what Ms. Rakestraw's political leanings are?
The thruth is she made walsh look like a fool!
I'm sorry, but I do not want to be accused of being a Republican. It's wrong in the post and it even admonishes me for supporting Republican idiocy which by association calls my judgment into question. I vote Democrat mostly but I made an exception for Rod Blagojevich.
He won an election, (Assuming it was fair and square)
You lucky voters have the representation you deserve!
Hope you all are happy with your choice!!!!!!
"I do not care about the loss of public sector jobs," was what he told me which is a clear indication that he doesn't represent me. I didn't vote for him and he won by just over 200 votes. His opponent should have challenged the outcome.
And please know that we're not all complete fuckwits :)
Welcome to C & L!
FB
FB
99%
Melissa Bean should have challenged the outcome. I'm a Letter Carrier, too and live in the same district as you and would have loved to have joined you at the Cup of Joe with Joe. You handled yourself real well. I probably would have spouted off so it's probably just as well that I wasn't there. You were right-on with your talking points even though he was beyond listening or caring. Hopefully we get a strong candidate that will send this idiot packing. I plan to do everything I can to see that he doesn't get a second term.
I watched this yesterday, and Melissa further enraged the angry shouting Walsh, by grinning at him and not cowering the women are supposed to when confronted by angry macho guys. Joe is a terrible person and a stupid politician...I hope he'll be out next election cycle!
wagonjak
than the Post Office than why do the private sector companies hand off their packages to the Post Office. Just today I ordered from QVC and they shipped using UPS, but once it got to the local UPS center they transferred my package to the Post Office to be delivered by them. Two weeks ago the same thing happened, but with FedEx. Doesn't seem like they can do it better or cheaper. BTW, I do not work for the Post Office.
Thanks for the correction. I hate the thought of being seen as someone aligned with the principles of the GOP.
Great job Melissa. You exposed him for what he really is. a creep, a jerk. A self serving ahole.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
why were you shocked? he's a REPUBLICAN
Watching that video and remembering the expose of the family court judge of Aransas County, Texas (drug use, child abuse, wife abuse), I wondered if Walsh might be a manic-depressive who gets agitated and angry when manic, but in any case I think a shrink would have a field day with him. Seems to me you just have to question the altruism of a pol who runs for the office he holds to use his salary to pay off child support arrearages. Otherwise, he could go to prison.
"Respect for the rights of others is peace." --Benito Juarez
I have a question to all the postal privatizers. How do we the "Ron Paul" and "read the constitution" when it specifically says to have a post office? Of course, I am sure they will find a million reasons to get around that small technicality.
Melissa, thank you for showing such poise and grace. Many people including myself may of lost our "cool" by a moronic representative shouting and pointing fingers in our face. You are a true inspirtation to all postal workers who are in a fight for our livelihoods against the corrupt leaders of our country. I am totally honored to share this video to my family, friends, and co workers. Thank you and keep fighting the good fight. God bless.
Well done, Ms Rakestraw!
You stood up to that bully with poise, grace, but above all intelligence and strength ... as unfortunately you have also had to here ... so bravo for posting here and dealing with that. The idea that a representative of 'your government' as he puts it ... (... apparently he isnt aware of who pays his nice salary, expenses and healthcare ...) misrepresents that fact that his own party is actively trying to destroy / privatize the USPS is appalling.
Thank you for calling the liar out!
I'm Boycotting NewsCorp! Heres what not to buy: http://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php?c=news...
Vote by mail much? Located in a rural area where your polling place is a long enough distance away that it makes it difficult to physically travel to vote? Or live in Oregon where voting by mail is the norm? Hmmm . . . wonder why doing away with the Post Office and privatizing mail delivery is such an attractive idea to the party that can't win elections based on their ideas?
Who votes for these dishonest shitheads? Who are these swine? They speak for all that is cruel and stupid and vicious in the American character.
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