When the GOP says ‘we,’ you know they mean ‘me, me, me’

One of the reasons it’s so easy to forgive the Founders who embraced the prejudice of their time and even wrote it into our founding documents is because of how the first line of the Constitution begins: We the People…

In a time when only white males who owned land were permitted to vote, this was a tremendous nod to the notion that this was a document and a county built to evolve until all people were recognized as equal in their inherent rights.

America’s great vision is a place that invites all to rise up and succeed together. That’s why I love it when the people who want bigotry against gay couples written into the Constitution accuse others of dividing people.

The idea that Democrats are trying to divide the country is a constant Republican complaint, which means they know it’s something Republicans are obviously guilty of. They seek to set workers against their right to bargain, seniors against affordable health care for all Americans, women against their own bodies.

But the Republicans’ disdain for America’s great middle class is their most grievous fault.

Last week at their national convention, they ranted again and again how “WE” built this as if the only people who should decide an election are those who sign a paycheck on the front.

America as we love it was built by the great mass of those who sign both sides of paychecks. What made this incredible country thrive – with its millions and millions who own homes, pay for their kids education, save for retirement — is by and large the labor movement.

So how does GOP House Majority Leader Eric Cantor celebrate Labor Day?

Today, we celebrate those who have taken a risk, worked hard, built a business and earned their own success. — Eric Cantor (@GOPLeader) September 3, 2012

No, Mr. Cantor. That’s what we do every other day of the year.

Workers get one day in America. And Republicans even want that. If we, the people, don’t get what’s at the heart of this plot to pit the bosses against the workers, we better get used to living a life where we’re lucky if we get to shop at the company store.