These people never stop. I mean, the Republicans–it isn’t enough that people in New Orleans and Mississippi have been devastated by Katrina, losing homes, family and friends. Now, these low-lifes in Congress want to take away a chance for workers to make a decent living, particularly in the reconstruction efforts that will be fed by tens of billions of our tax dollars.

Led by Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL), Jeff Flake (AZ) and Marilyn Musgrave (CO), 32 other Republicans sent a letter to President Bush yesterday asking that he use emergency powers to suspend Davis-Bacon, which requires that workers on federally-financed projects be paid the prevailing wage.

So, get this: while you and other Americans are taking money out of your pockets to help the Katrina-area people recover, the Republicans want to effectively negate everyone’s efforts by forcing a wage cut on people who might actually get jobs–to replace those they lost because of the hurricane–in the reconstruction efforts. Your tax dollars–that would be the $62 billion, at a minimum, that would flow in federal money to the area based on Bush’s request yesterday–would be the best way to help workers get on their feet, way beyond the charity, in the form of decent, paying jobs. But, nooooooo….

Question: I wonder whether Halliburton, which will likely put its hands into those reconstruction projects (and Dick Cheney is being sent to the area so he can probably give his former employers a nice heads-up on what will be coming through the pipeline), will be required to do the projects for no profit or, better yet, at a loss…you know, for the public good.

To summon up an old historical rhetorical question: Have they no shame?