More Change From Obama in His Cabinet

Hilda Solis


Tom Daschle

Two of Barack Obama's most recent cabinet nominees are Tom Daschle to head Health and Human Services and Hilda Solis to be Labor Secretary. Their nominations should not go by without comment.

Anybody who follows politics knows Tom Daschle, former Senator from South Dakota and one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress until he was voted out of office in 2004. If you think Tom left Washington and went back to South Dakota, think again. Daschle has stayed right there in Washington DC as.....a lobbyist! Actually, he calls it a "Special Policy Advisor" for the K Street firm of Alston and Bird (you are not supposed to go directly from Congress to being a lobbyist.)

Change (sarcastic).

One thing we know that will be on Tom's agenda at HHS is universal health care. He has already made it known that he favors it. He has also said that he would establish a Federal Health Board to overseeeeeeee......... everything.

Being a retired government employee, I can visualize it all now- a Federal Health Board with regional offices in 20 major cities overseeing dozens of district offices in their geographic areas. That, of course, will require regional directors, asst. regional directors, district directors, asst. district directors, and on and on it goes. Oh, I almost forgot; each of those offices will require EEO offices as well.

All that would certainly be change (not sarcastic). It will be change we cannot afford. But, hey! When did that ever stop a fast-spending liberal politician like Daschle?

Obama's choice to be Labor Secretary is Hilda Solis, a Congresswoman from El Monte, California. Where is El Monte, you ask? You don't want to know. Actually it is a community somewhere east of LA, which was made somewhat famous about 50 years ago when Rock and Roll DJ Art Laboe used to have record hops at El Monte Legion Stadium on Saturday nights. ("El Monte Legion Stadium Saturday Night! El Monte Legion Stadium Saturday night!") It was the place to go and be arrested.

Am I digressing?

If you need to know one thing about her (Hilda Solis, the lady I was talking about a couple of paragraphs above), she is very much pro-union, and even added in her acceptance statement that one of her goals is to make the unions stronger:


“I am humbled and honored to be nominated by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as Secretary of Labor.

“As a daughter of immigrants raised in La Puente, a community near East Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley, I learned from a young age the value of hard work, public service, and commitment to family.

“That is why I share President-elect Obama's belief in an America where if you work hard anything is possible.

“An America that values and rewards hard work. An America where we can both be standing on this stage today. But for too many Americans, that America is slipping further and further away.

“As Secretary of Labor, I will work to strengthen our unions and support every American in our nation's diverse workforce.
“I look forward to working with President-elect Obama to reinvest in workforce training, build effective pipelines to provide at-risk youth and underserved communities with sustainable skills, and support high-growth industries by training the workers they need.

“This includes promoting green collar jobs.

“These are jobs that will provide economic security for working families while securing our energy supply and combating climate change.

“We also must enforce federal labor laws and strengthen regulations to protect our nation's workers, such as wage and hour laws, and rules regarding overtime pay and pay discrimination.

“Through these and other efforts we can help strengthen one of America's greatest assets - its labor force.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank my family, especially my parents, Raul and Juana Solis, my husband, and my sisters and brothers for all of their support over the years.

“They have always believed in me, and have been my source of strength and teachers of the commitment to justice, equality and public service.

“To my extended family, those I have worked alongside with both in California and Washington, thank you for your commitment to public service and justice, and your loyalty.

“Quisiera tomar esta oportunidad para agradecerle al Presidente-electo Barack Obama por haberme nominado como Secretaria de del Departamento del Trabajo de los Estados Unidos.

“Como hija de inmigrantes, estoy muy honrada por esta oportunidad. También quisiera agradecerle a mi esposo, a mis padres, Raúl y Juana Solís y a mi familia, por todo su apoyo.

“I thank President-elect Obama and I look forward to serving as a member of his team.”

(Green-collar jobs? Thank God she didn't try to translate that into Spanish.)

One change I suppose we can anticipate with Solis in charge will the be the so-called "card check" system whereby union thugs can personally "ask" employees to sign the card with a yes vote. If fifty per cent plus one sign the card, the union is certified to represent the workers. This would supplant that out-dated and inefficient method hereto used called SECRET BALLOT. And who is not going to sign the card with Vinnie and Sluggo standing over you? The Democrats even have the chutzpah to name this bill something outrageous like the Employee Free Choice Act!!

Does all this sound like socialism, folks? If it does, it's because that is what it is.

Oh, yee suckers!

PS: In her confirmation hearings, the Republicans should ask Hilda if she ever went to El Monte Legion Stadium on Saturday night.