Last night, Democratic HD28 nominee Joshua Cole faced off against right-wing Republican Paul Milde, and it was basically a contest of reality (Cole) vs. la-la land (Milde), mainstream (Cole) vs. extreme (Milde), and verifiable facts (Cole) vs. demonstrable falsehoods (Milde). Check out the video, below, and see for yourself. Here are just a few of Milde’s many false and/or ridiculous statements last night.
- On whether he’d fight for a Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), Milde said it’s not something he would “run out and fight for right off the bat.” In contrast, Cole strongly supports an RTA, explaining, “with growth being a biggest problem for this region, an RTA is necessary, that’s how we will bring funds here.” Cole is right, Milde is wrong.
- Cole supports Medicaid expansion, while Milde does the usual right-wing ranting/Fox “News” talking points about the supposed “government takeover of healthcare has failed,” blah blah blah. Utter nonsense.
- On raising the minimum wage – which Cole, of course, supports – Milde claims, laughably, that “all the studies show that minimum wages actually cost jobs.” That’s a right-wing talking point, of course. In fact, the federal minimum wage hasn’t been raised since 2009, which means that workers today – in real terms – are “paid 29 percent less than their counterparts 50 years ago.” Also, studies show “reduced rates of child and household poverty ‘in counties with high relative minimum wages'”; “that women and people of color also did not suffer adverse effects from laws raising the minimum wage”; and “that six major U.S. cities — Oakland, Chicago, and San Francisco among them — didn’t experience significant job losses after they raised their minimum wages.” For more on this subject, see “A $15 federal minimum wage won’t cost American jobs, new study says”; and “Myths & Facts: The Minimum Wage,” which notes that “Researchers at Cornell University found that over the past 20 years, raising the regular and tipped minimum wage for workers in the restaurant and hospitality industries has ‘not had large or reliable effects’ on the number of people working in those industries.” At worst, the studies are mixed on this topic, not at all in line with the flat assertion by Milde that raising the minimum wage always costs jobs. But again, Milde is a far-right ideologue, so what else would you expect from him?
- On gun violence prevention, Cole supports “red flag laws” and universal background checks, while Milde supports…nothing, basically, other than claiming that gun rights are “something so sacred,” that it’s supposedly ALL a “mental health problem,” and above all not getting “emotional” about this topic. Seriously.
- Another topic Milde thinks we shouldn’t get all “emotional” about is the Equal Rights Amendment. Milde asks, rhetorically, “who wouldn’t support equal rights for women?” He also says he employs a bunch of women. Milde also claims, highly questionably, that the ERA is “dead…its expiration date has happened.” But regardless, Milde says, “I think this has brought up more as an emotional wedge issue,” that “it’s not going to do anything, except show that you say you care about women’s rights; federal law protects women.” As Josh Cole corrected responded, “Currently, the US Constitution only protects one right equally for men and women and that’s to vote.”
On and on it goes, but you get the idea. On November 5, every voter in HD28 should: a) make sure they show up to vote; and b) vote for Joshua Cole for delegate!
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