Angry Unions Sever Ties With Democrats, Obama (ALF-CIO!!)

reply to post by SmedleyBurlap



Hmmm, I guess the Tea Party Movement does have "power" and influence. If they didn't, the Unions wouldn't want to copy them.

Yes, a good year... another one for the Tea Party.

Going to be an interesting 2012....... (which I think Obama will be just a foot-note, if even mentioned-other than a one-termer who single handlely ruin the Dems Party...).

Don't be surprised if you see Mrs Bill in the race. If only to give Obama a way out.

Oh, get real. Obama will run again, and the Dems will stand behind him. the Unions have always run their grassroots programs (newsletters telling members why to support some party or other). Now they're going to step it up a notch and reinvigorate the base. They're not going to vote for anyone other than Obama in the election. They're going to change things up the same way the Tea Party did; by voting for alternate candidates in Congress instead of the same tired old guard Democrats.

I imagine that the left will win out in the end. Like the Russian and Iranian revolutions, the first wave of revolutionaries takes the most flak for being the vanguard of revolution - and the second revolution succeeds because they could bide their time. Just as the Bolsheviks overthrew the Mensheviks and the Blacks overthrew the Rainbow Coalition in Iran, so the New Left will overthrow the New Right.

herp to the derp.

reply to post by SmedleyBurlap


We'll see if he runs again. He has stated several times that maybe one term is enough. Time will tell.

Besides, it really isn't up to him... if you believe in the whole "Powers that Be" thing. They can't afford for him to stay in the game.

I dare say the damage to the DNC is to the point of un-reversable. Especially when the one of the biggest union/supporters goes public complaining about you (Obama).

The guy interviewed for the piece is Obama's 2nd highest vistor to the White House.

Lets put the shoe on the other foot.... if Obama caves to these "threats" by big unions... the USA is in deeper doo-doo. And, with the paper thin back-bone Obama has-I wouldn't make any bets of him staying around for a 2nd term.

This needed to happen.

Why should unions continue to support a party that doesn't support them?

Democrats are mostly corporate funded now anyway....same as Republicans.

Unions simply can no longer compete with the amount of money that corporations can flood into campaigns.

I hope they now only support non-corporate candidates...so there is an actual damned difference to whom you can vote for.

But as I stated...the unions can not match corporations who have unlimited money.

And btw...those who are saying this opens the door for hilary are being silly.

She's as corporate as they come...just as her husband.

reply to post by anon72

Lets put the shoe on the other foot.... if Obama caves to these "threats" by big unions... the USA is in deeper doo-doo. And, with the paper thin back-bone Obama has-I wouldn't make any bets of him staying around for a 2nd term.

Oh, he will cave alright. And you know what the sad part is? He won't even try to hide the fact that he is pandering to them. People will be outraged, but there is nothing we can do about it.

reply to post by David9176

This needed to happen.

Why should unions continue to support a party that doesn't support them?

Democrats are mostly corporate funded now anyway....same as Republicans.

Unions simply can no longer compete with the amount of money that corporations can flood into campaigns.

I hope they now only support non-corporate candidates...so there is an actual damned difference to whom you can vote for.

But as I stated...the unions can not match corporations who have unlimited money.

Unions have advantages over corps, such as the ability to organize picket lines and to disrupt rallies. They can provide 'street soldiers' to solicit votes, and do all the thug work.

And the unions have plenty of money -- they donated nearly $75 million in 2008 to Obama alone.

reply to post by mishigas

And the unions have plenty of money -- they donated nearly $75 million in 2008 to Obama alone.

That's because Obama was their hope for card check...remember that? All the socialism that was supposedly coming?

didn't happen did it.

Obama also received millions from corporations and banks.

Things will be even more skewed as they were in 2008....thanks to citizens united.

The flood gates are open...unions can't compete. Corporations have trillions of dollars put away.

This is good news - the AFL-CIO can disparage the Tea Party all they like but we're more in alignment with them than they want to admit. We don't like unions because a union is just a different pyramid structure with the top brass earning seven figures at the expense of the true labor. We do like industry and manufacturing returning to the United States.

That CLEARLY will not happen under the GOP or the DNC. "China Rising is Good-Good-Good!! Boo Boo" said Yogi Bear this week - I mean Joe Biden.

When a person in China makes $0.80 a day doing the same job as a person in the United States making between $180.00 and $480.00 then it is a fairly clear choice especially at economies of scale for the investment (and jobs) to head to China. FREE TRADE DOES NOT EQUAL FAIR TRADE. The promised high-tech jobs and green-jobs is a lie and frankly a lot of people don't want to do it - they like working with their hands.

The only way to solve this is by blockading products made off-shore which are made using slave-wage labor. The immediate response is 'but Ararisq that'll cause a trade war!! trade war!! oh my!!' and my response is that we're in a trade war already and we're losing! Ignoring it just accepts our decline.

I thought we cared about humans and people and wanted everyone to have an opportunity to grow no matter their skin color or nationality? I do. Why then do we accept that people can be treated like slaves in China, Malaysia, India, and Korea? We ALLOW our corporations and CEO's to treat them that way knowing full well its to OUR own detriment. Its lose-lose for everyone except a few people.

Just stop it already. I'll buy any product made at a decent wage no matter the source. I do not want to buy products made at the exploitation of others but frankly I have little choice at this point because damn near everything is made that way.

The Democrats and Republican parties are all ran by the elite upper class and corporations. What they really need to do to save this country is to form a new party for the working class people of this country. Possibly a third party - a working class union party not affiliated with the Democrats or Republicans. You are fooling yourselves and they are fooling you if you believe you belong to either of these parties. You are only playing this game for their benefit.

reply to post by ararisq

The only way to solve this is by blockading products made off-shore which are made using slave-wage labor. The immediate response is 'but Ararisq that'll cause a trade war!! trade war!! oh my!!' and my response is that we're in a trade war already and we're losing! Ignoring it just accepts our decline.

Couldn't agree more.

I propose a National Sales Tax on any product not American made. Is it a tariff...yes. But theoritically, it's not a tax on corporations...it is a tax on ourselves.... a fine for not protecting our own economy.

At the same time we should cut taxes for small businesses. Job demand will explode in this country if we do these things....and at the same time we can start shoring up our deficits.

As for those who say, "We'll start a trade war!"

They're wrong....the war is already happening and we are getting completely trampled.

Just sounds to me like they are focusing on diversifying their political power base.

I am no friend to the Unions. To me, Unions represent a communistic ideology. Sure, there was a day that this country needed Unions. But thankfully with labor laws, we have grown up and no longer need them.

So now they are turning into MORE of a special interest group. Which I can't agree with. We need to get these special interest groups out of Washington.

Originally posted by SmedleyBurlap
Oh, get real. Obama will run again, and the Dems will stand behind him. the Unions have always run their grassroots programs (newsletters telling members why to support some party or other). Now they're going to step it up a notch and reinvigorate the base. They're not going to vote for anyone other than Obama in the election. They're going to change things up the same way the Tea Party did; by voting for alternate candidates in Congress instead of the same tired old guard Democrats.

I imagine that the left will win out in the end. Like the Russian and Iranian revolutions, the first wave of revolutionaries takes the most flak for being the vanguard of revolution - and the second revolution succeeds because they could bide their time. Just as the Bolsheviks overthrew the Mensheviks and the Blacks overthrew the Rainbow Coalition in Iran, so the New Left will overthrow the New Right.

herp to the derp.

I agree with the majority of your post - except for one thing.

I believe the left is on the path of self-destruction. I think this whole little angry little Richard Trumka act is just that... and act.

I call them Dramacrats because of the seemingly never-ending theatrics.

reply to post by KennibleLecter


I wish I could say otherwise, but my gut feeling says that this is going to be the last gasp of the liberal-democratic civilization that won the 20th century. I don't want to believe that; I feel like it never reached its full potential and that the regressive forces that sought to destroy it have become even more unsavoury than they were in the past. I sure as hell don't want to live as a serf under a quasi-theocratic fascist-racist state.

At the same time, I think that there is still a strong hope that the regressives will falter and fail, because otherwise there is no real reason to participate in society.

reply to post by David9176

reply to post by mishigas




And the unions have plenty of money -- they donated nearly $75 million in 2008 to Obama alone.

That's because Obama was their hope for card check...remember that? All the socialism that was supposedly coming?

I know that. I mentioned it on page 1.

didn't happen did it.

No it didn't, thanks to the efforts of grassroots orgs such as the TPM and others. I remember signing many petitions and doing other work to defeat it.

Obama also received millions from corporations and banks.

Yes he did, as did Romney, Hilary, Huckabee, and every other candidate.

Things will be even more skewed as they were in 2008....thanks to citizens united.

Who is citizens united?

The flood gates are open...unions can't compete. Corporations have trillions of dollars put away.

Remember that there are campaign finance laws....except that, that new law that passed, does it remove donation limits?

reply to post by David9176

Couldn't agree more.

I propose a National Sales Tax on any product not American made. Is it a tariff...yes. But theoritically, it's not a tax on corporations...it is a tax on ourselves.... a fine for not protecting our own economy.

Please, tell me you're kidding! You propose punishing the most powerless, non-responsible segment of society for the mess we're in? Remember, we're not a democracy -- we don't get to vote on economic policy or anything else that matters. We put that power into the hands of our elected officials who promise (lie) to follow our requests and then stick the long knives in our back after we elect them.

reply to post by mishigas


Really?

Are you stating that the wealthiest of this country that has passed nearly all laws we live under are more responsible then the average working man?

what are you priorities exactly?

Who are you siding with?

Originally posted by SmedleyBurlap
reply to post by KennibleLecter

 

I wish I could say otherwise, but my gut feeling says that this is going to be the last gasp of the liberal-democratic civilization that won the 20th century. I don't want to believe that; I feel like it never reached its full potential and that the regressive forces that sought to destroy it have become even more unsavoury than they were in the past. I sure as hell don't want to live as a serf under a quasi-theocratic fascist-racist state.

At the same time, I think that there is still a strong hope that the regressives will falter and fail, because otherwise there is no real reason to participate in society.

To me, the regressives are the people who insist on using my skin color are their weapon, and thus perpetuating racism. My great grandparents would be very, very proud to see exactly what their bloodline as accomplished since the times when they were considered less than human by the so-called "progressives".

If one studies history it was in fact the "liberal Democrats" that did their best to keep the black man down, i.e. abortion being thrust upon us by Mary Sanger in order to control the "undesirable" population of Harlem under the guise of "woman's rights".

And to this day, most liberals either deny the fact that Martin Luther King was a God-fearing conservative.

These are the people that I call "regressive".

I personally hold Barack Obama and his merry band of racist shills responsible for setting race relations back 50 years in this country and they will be held accountable for it.

reply to post by KennibleLecter


When I say Progressive, I mean something different or, distanced from the historical Progressives. The Progressives that I knew, the Progressive movement that I grew up under involved greater social security; greater tolerance for people of all races, colours, creeds et cetera; increasingly inclusive global policy and more. It was a utopian vision of global society as a single, prosperous family. It was always opposed in my lifetime to the austere utopia of conservatives who wanted people to think utterly for and about themselves and their immediate interests, and to be responsible only for themselves and those closest to them. Progressivism in my mind has always been inseparable from cosmopolitan urbanism, and as a lifelong citizen of a large city, I could not see how anybody could think that racism and isolationism were viable policies.

That said, the Progressives of the past, in your country and mine alike, were incredibly racist because they let their prejudices rise to the top of what Progressive policies are really about; the scientific rationalization of everything in society. They were privileged whites living in isolation from other races (although Teddy Roosevelt employed the first Jewish and Black Americans in the White House) who thought that other races could be 'cured' of their degeneracy. This was actually a step above the previous racial paradigm - that 'degenerate' races had to be destroyed. In my country, the genocide against the aboriginal nations was kicked up to an awful new level, and the truth of it has been so repressed for so long that the public still doesn't know how severe it was. We can only speculate on the horrors of the residential schools.

To me, the late-20th century advent of affirmative action and political correctness were another improvement over the past paradigm. They still regarded minorities of all sorts as somehow inferior, but framed it as victimization instead of inherent inferiority. It is a very condescending paradigm, but it is far better than what existed before. The scientific-rational basis of politically correct society is essentially Marxist instead of the old Darwinian mode. Hopefully, in the new future, will will progress to a more egalitarian society in this respect.