Burying The Minimum Wage

An overlooked political boner pulled by the Democrats was tossing the minimum wage increase into the Iraq funding bill. I guess the thinking was that a victory - finally - on a minimum wage increase would appease liberals upset over the funding bill.

Yet, a minimum wage increase was an issue that put Republicans, especially those up for reelection in 2008, in a tough spot. It is popular supported but hated by the Repugs biggest campaign contributors.

Put it in the Iraq funding bill let Republicans off the hook. They can now say that they had to place priority on funding the troops. Plus it put a lot of liberal Democrats to vote against an issue near and dear to them. Indeed, the minimum wage issue is passing through the media like a whisper on a windy night.

The Democrats should have kept pounding away on the minimum wage issue as a stand alone issue. Keep forcing the Republicans to filibuster it. Making them pay at the polls for their unpopular position. Wrapping it into the funding bill was like handing them a get-out-of-jail-free card.