S'More Tales From Around the Democratic Campfire
Tale 1 - Make New Friends and Trash the Old, One Has Silver, the Other Lacks Gold
Chuck Schumer poked the fire, sending a rush of burning embers into the night air. They resembled fireflies, and the assembled I'm With Her retreat attendees watched them dreamily. Life was good here at Camp Bubble. Days were filled with team building and role playing exercises, capped off every evening with the chance to engage with one of the Party bigwigs in a sort of informal Ted talk to work through any questions, challenges or anxieties they may have encountered in real life as they consorted with The Great Unwashed.
"Who has a question? Go on, give it to me, no holding back," said Senator Schumer.
The volunteers from Ohio had drawn straws earlier in the day to pick who was going to be the one to level with Sen. Schumer about what they were encountering on the ground. The chosen one cleared his throat and said , "Uh, Senator, I think you should know that I'm finding a bunch of folks are really mad when Secretary Clinton said she was gonna close down the coal mines and put a lot of miners out of work. What can I say to them, Sir?"
Sen. Schumer chuckled indulgently. "Well, son, you can tell them to go F themselves." He smiled even more broadly at the collective gasp that went up around the circle. "You're young and hardworking and I respect that, but sometimes you just have to believe that us old war horses know exactly what we're doing. Tell them that we have some exciting barista training classes coming up to get them back into the economy. If that's not good enough, well, too bad."
The Senator noticed that the group seemed restless and uncomfortable with his advice so he leaned in deeper and said in a conspiratorial whisper - "Listen, don't let it out, but we don't particularly care about their vote. We have another demographic we're shooting for. That's on the QT."
The head of the retreat stood up, thanked Senator Schumer for his time and told the campers it was time to head back to the cabins, as a big day was planned for the morrow. The group doused the fire, responsibly gathered their litter for the compost heap, and then trooped back to their bunks. Tragically, unbeknownst to them, an errant ember originating from Schumer's poke had wafted into the drought dried brush and was now burning lustily and would inch towards Camp Bubble before destroying it entirely in the days and weeks ahead, turning it into smoldering rubble.
********
So just exactly what was the gameplan to replace the Ohio blue collar votes that Senator Schumer referred to around the campfire at Camp Bubble?
This story This Statement From July Might Explain Hillary Clinton's Shocking Loss by Mike Rothschild in attn.com lays the whole ill-conceived plan out for us. Here is the strategy as laid out by Schumer (originally reported in the The National Review as credited by Rothschild in his article:
“The number one factor in whether we retake the Senate is whether Hillary Clinton does well, and I think she’s going to do really well. [...] For every blue-collar Democrat we lose in western Pennsylvania, we will pick up two moderate Republicans in the suburbs in Philadelphia, and you can repeat that in Ohio and Illinois and Wisconsin.”
Shocking but true - the Dems willingly sacrificed their traditional blue collar base with the hopes of gaining suburban moderate Republican votes in their stead. Sadly, while the lost blue collar votes did pan out as predicted, the second half of the equation, the influx of Republican moderates did not. In fact as Rothschild points out:
The strategy of picking up votes in the suburbs of major cities to replace them also failed, while most of Philadelphia's suburbs did trend slightly more Democratic, there weren't enough new Clinton voters to make up the difference.
Ohio and Wisconsin, both won by Obama twice, went the same way. A number of vital blue-collar counties in both states either flipped Republican or were won with low turnout, costing her both states — and with them, the election.
Now, how many more times (s'more times?) will the Democrats believe their own urban legends about triangulating and moving to the center and abandoning their original base is the path to victory?
Next Campfire Story : The Incredible Two Headed Party That Ate Itself
Comments
So the voters ain't so dumb after all.
The Ds say, "Fuck you," and the voters say, "Go fuck yourself."
Who knows where we're headed, but at least it's not down the road where the Ds were trying to herd us.
Exactly right
"We're gonna put you out of work" is not the most ringing statement to make in the rust belt, but who knew?
" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "
I don't want to surf to find the # of Starbucks in coal country
I.just.refuse.to.look. They do machine-sew quilts for sale and hang them in their front yards, or did years ago. KY coal country always seemed like a charity project for other Kentuckians.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Meanwhile everytime they dragged out a Bush retread endorsement
They just confirmed everything everyone thought about their willingness to say anything.
So now we know for certain,
Chuck Schumer is not a psychic. Whoever gave him any idea he could predict people's behavior will be fired!
Great campfire story. I can hardly wait to hear about that two-headed party! Yikes!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
That's Senate Minority Leader Schumer.
He's the best and the brightest.
~annominous
emphasis on "Minority".
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
And this
is why the Democratic Party is no longer the home of Democrats. No wonder Dems lose elections up and down the ticket -- Republicans are the favored occupants of both parties.
The delusion is beyond belief, isn't it?
What can you do with a Party whose leadership is so clueless? Schumer is looking like he's going to be Minority Leader and take Reid's place.
" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "
It's his turn! /nt
The moderate republicans in
the suburbs voted to have something to chat about at their dinner parties. The blue collar Democrats voted like their lives depended on it..
In other words, they have no principles at all
It's just about their own jobs and their own power.
To hell with The People, to hell with life on earth.
Why are we believing stuff --
that comes out of the National Review?
Jus' askin'.
"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama
For this "thought" exercise, I was willing to ignore the
source but you are correct about the hateful & lying National Review.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Perhaps because it is so believable...
I mean really...
Do we have any idea of how many people the Democrats told to Fuck Off this election cycle?
I'm just having trouble understanding where the profit is in losing elections...
Aren't they in it for the money?
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."
~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,
Did you read the article?
It is by and large nothing but reporting Schumer's words as said by Schumer. If there is something within the article that you would like to point out and disagree with or discuss, then by all means go for it.
One thing that did happen to me after leaving Daily Koolaid is that I no longer restrict myself to mainstream or liberal media outlets or blogs - they were horrendous in this last go round and they all pretty much missed the story due to their own biases which most have openly admitted and apologized for, since their collective reputations are now on a dung heap.
For instance, as many here know, the only outlets reporting the Hillary email story with any thoroughness or accuracy were The Daily Caller, the National Review and Fox News, as world-tilting as that may be to Democrats and Liberals who actually cared about the email story, for both its FOIA and National Security angles. It was also world tilting for many to find themselves agreeing with the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee during the Comey testimony.
My reading practices now are much more expansive than they have been in the past - I read left right and in-between and I think I am more educated for doing so. It gives you a much better handle on what are facts and what is dogma overall.
" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "
Agree
I was amazed that we are wishing the best for the Judicial Watch investigations using FOI. In the supermarket the other day, I was fascinated by the National Enquirer frontpage calling Clinton a criminal. Made me remember when it was the National Enquirer that caught John Edwards. It's a sad day when a progressive has to rely on right wing news for the real news. It's not so easy these days to be able to tell what the truth is...
That’s what’s driving me up the wall in Germany
I never thought I’d see the day when partisanship, filtering, and gatekeeping of the “serious” German media would become so bad I would have to read extreme-right sources regularly to get the full story.
Judging strictly by its headlines,
Spiegel Online seems to be having a collective panic attack at the moment. It's not exactly what looks like balanced reporting.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/
native
I also found that rt.com had the full email and wikileaks story
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020
"Daily Koolaid"? LOL
I am stealing that.
Schumer must NOT become Senate Minority Leader. The Nation online is reporting that Sanders is thinking of trying for a leadership position.
Any Oregonians here? Maybe it is time for your guy Merkeley to make his move?
Mary Bennett
Schumer needs to step aside
I think the Nation piece suggested Bernie was going for leadership but NOT minority leader, implying he is willing to let Schumer take it. Given the makeup of the Senate Dems, that may be inevitable. But I would really prefer to see Sanders in that position. If we are going to whip the Dem party into any kind of reasonable shape, it will take some leadership from the left - which Schumer decidedly does not represent. Still: Sanders in ANY leadership position at this point could also be good, looking forward; for if the next election brings new Dems to the Senate, Bernie might be better positioned to take the top leadership (which with luck will be majority leader).
Indeed, Sanders said he wanted a leadership position,
but made it clear it wouldn't be Senate Minority Leader.
I think your suggestion of Merkley challenging Schumer is a great one.
Thanks for this essay
I don't have much time to devote to political sites, so I stick to c99 and The Guardian for now. I appreciate your research.
Thanks for that Schumer quote.
It's nice to have stark little pieces of evidence like that to lend 'smoking gun' proof to what we all seem to know so well: that the Dem party is blind to poverty and the public weal because it is corrupted by class privilege.
Good for you for reading the "other side", especially if that's what it takes to get the real lowdown. Maybe you could make a regular weekly series of it? 'News from the Other Side'. Or maybe 'The Word from Mars'... I jest in all earnestness.
But here's a question: I find it interesting that the National Review (or the DC or Fox) should express such chummy concern for the economic fate of the Pennsylvania worker, when it has done so much to support the people and the policies that have destroyed that worker's job and hollowed out his life with his town. Was this folded into the usual frame of libertarian BS from the intellectual Right, about how less regulation and lower taxes?
Maybe you can tell me if this seems right to you from your reading: This past election year *seems* to show that substantial numbers of ordinary Americans of the "99%" have begun to recognize their class interests, and even to see themselves as a class. BUT they seem to have done so separately from each other, in two large groups: the 'conservative' and the 'liberal/progressive'. Stereotypical 'hard hats' still have trouble seeing liberals as anything but enemies; Stereotypical 'sensitive new age' liberals still have trouble seeing the white working class and poor as anything other than racist sexist bullies.
I really encourage you to read the article yourself
It is very short and will take you 2 minutes tops. It is not some long involved tactics piece, but basically might be considered a brief bit of commentary on what the Democrats, specifically Schumer, predicted would be happening in the upcoming election in what was a presumably open forum covered by the Washington Post originally. It did not have any chummy concern for blue collar workers or discuss the fallibility or infallibility of Schumer's viewpoint.
As to whether Americans are finally starting to sort themselves out according to class, yes, I believe that they are. As people have pointed out, that results in horizontal splits between the 1% and the 99% instead of the vertical left vs right split we are used to. I credit Occupy with beginning the breakthrough to the American consciousness of the entire concept of 99 vs 1 and oligarchs against everyone else. I think Bernie carried on in that vein. The American public is starting to find commonality in class although many of TPTB would actually prefer IMO that we stratify ourselves in numerous demographic categories involving race, ethnicity, gender, age, education, sexual preferences, etc. etc. The more splits there are, the more "others" there are.
" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "
Specifically, . . .
. . . the National Review was quoting Schumer's words delivered in a Forum at the Democratic National Convention in July. This was Schumer's argument to the American people, in the Dems' most visible opportunity to court voters. Schumer openly said the Dems didn't give a whit for blue-collar workers when there were suburban Republicans to cozy up to.
Quotes are quotes. That editors from the conservative side of the spectrum noted them does not alter the truth the Senator revealed with his words.
Schumer's words
are very typical of the neo-liberal mindset. The neo-liberal fielty to the concept of meritocracy explains exactly why neo-liberal Democrats prefer to dump blue collar workers in favor of suburban Republicans. Thomas Frank clearly pointed this out in his book "Listen Liberal!"
I would venture to say that nearly 100% of those in power in the Democratic party believe in the concept of meritocracy.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
They believe that those
of us in the 99% don't deserve to breathe air in the USA, are no different than RW Ubers and Filthys (rich, 1%, oligarchy) that would deport us in a heartbeat.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
The truth is not partisan, near as I can tell.
Maybe - but people sure are, and politics must be
The truth is that the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few is destroying our lives and our world. Recognition of that truth requires one to choose sides.
Because we're all now living in Bizarro World.
Because we're all now living in Bizarro World. It makes sense to give credence to an official organ of the Bizarros.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Demi will gain two Rep. for every Dem. lost
About Dems. picking up two Republican voters for every lost Dem. I saw that quote somewhere during the campaign, and I have never read the National Review.
It's simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves that we've been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back. Carl Sagan
Since the Democratic "strategy" is out in the open and will be
known to anyone interested, maybe, though I kind of doubt it, the AFL-CIO will abandon the Democrats and try again to form a labor party like was halfway tried years ago but didn't have the full support of the federation. Since Trumka spent two years in the mines - he had to to become a UMW officer - and tried before to form a party, I am hoping the AFL-CIO will devote their full resources to this effort. If they seriously tried, they would start off in a better position than the Greens are in now(after a couple of decades of bourgeois ineffectiveness)and will leave the Dems to the New York arbitragers and pick up minimum wage earners in the south and midwest.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
I have long dreamed of a Labor Party.
I have often suggested it be called the W2 Party to signal that it is the party of workers and not the wealthy who derive much of their income from 1099-I or 1099-D returns
" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "
Sign me up!! Good name also.
The W2 party also needs to make clear that the biosphere comes before earth-ruining projects like the pipeline in North Dakota.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
somehow, I don't think we can count on a labor
party to do that...somebody is just going to dangle "jobs" in front of them, and they might go for it.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
agree, that's a danger.
So our job must be to show them how to see the difference between right jobs and wrong ones. That job ought to be easy for us, since we desperately need infrastructure improvements and alterations to deal with decay plus climate crisis. We can create far more jobs than can all the extractive industries combined; and our jobs contribute TWICE as much to the general welfare since they not only employ individuals but also benefit the public at large (rather than line the pockets of bankers and gas and oil companies)
At retirement from the labor force, don't we all get 1099's?
Nope, I guess some did not get an invested retirement (shrinking). I cashed out all but one so far. One so small, I used it to pay taxes last year. I am not smug. I may start selling things--wait, I already have. One unfinished house, no cap gain there, just eventually cash.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
A rapidly-increasing percentage
of what's left of the "labor force" in the good ol' USofA also gets 1099 forms - the 1099-MISC which qualifies you as a participant in the "gig economy". No retirement to go along with that -- also, no other benefits; no promise of a steady income; and frankly, no guarantee that you even will be paid (the "gig economy" is notorious for fraudulent employers/clients). Add to that the likelihood that with the number of 1099-MISC forms you may receive at the end of the year (if you are "successful" in the "gig economy", you have A LOT of clients, dontchaknow), the numerous potential business deductions that may result from your own expenditures in trying to drum up new clients/"gigs", and the receipts that you retain for legitimate business deductions (home-office supplies; mileage; copy & shipping expenses; etc., etc.) and it is likely that you will require the services of a tax-prep specialist before the next April 15 -- another substantial expense.
When Cicero had finished speaking, the people said “How well he spoke”.
When Demosthenes had finished speaking, the people said “Let us march”.
Won't be a problem. With the impending repeal of the ACA
we can all look forward to dying young. Don't need no stinkin' retirement when the system requires that workers work till drop we drop in our tracks. President Trump is sure to line up some $3.00 an hour jobs (after killing minwage) and technically speaking, it can't even be called slavery!
~annominous
It's too narrow, eliminates
may not appeal to the casual voter, who might think it's a commie party. Those casual voters are the ones we never seem to get. We already have a brand. And once we get beyond January will no longer be identified with - or less identified with - the Obamas or Clintons. The party, then, will be up to us to define.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
Don't Count On Trumka
I am a union member, and I have been one for decades. I have NO faith in the AFL-CIO to do anything but take my per capita "contribution" and waste it on themselves.
I lost faith in the AFL-CIO when they did nothing for PATCO after Reagan used them as the labor-management example for the corporatists. Too often, they have given their endorsements to the worst possible candidates that the Democrats can put up (see: Clinton, Obama) and then never "held feet to the fire" to get anything -ANYTHING- but lip service in return. And members pay with their livelihoods for this malfeasance.
Double cappuccino with espresso shot and whipped cream, anyone?
For what little remains of organized labor, and with the growing prospects for even further reductions in our numbers, there isn't enough "there" remaining to produce a viable labor party. In fact, I expect that the victorious Republicans will use their political dominance and reverse every labor-friendly law on the books and return unions to the criminal status they once "enjoyed" - and it will be done with the support of far too many union members tired of being taken by so-called labor-friendly Democrats (see: Michael Moore in Ohio) We can now expect to lose minimum-wage, the 40 hour week, the 8 hour day retirement, weekends, and so very much more.
The lives of thousands lost gaining those things were wasted by the pusillanimous likes of Trumka maintaining their artificial status and higher incomes for delivering only expensive losses to their members. They led us into a long, dark tunnel and told us the approaching brightness was daylight. It was instead a train, and we got run over. As a result, I wouldn't trust them to walk a stray dog much less form a labor party to represent my interests.
They obviously have no clue what my interests are.
Vowing To Oppose Everything Trump Attempts.
PATCO engaged in an illegal strike. PATCO also endorsed Reagan
over Carter in that election. The air traffic controllers thereby forced the government's hand by the illegal walkout after alienating the labor movement by endorsing Reagan.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Are you saying the whole thing was a big put-on?
If the strike was "illegal", then it sounds to me like the whole thing was planned. If that's the case, somewhere in PATCO, they had some Bad Actors move in long before the end of Carter's term.
Federal employees are not allowed to strike. 5CFR I think is
where the law, of very long standing, is found
Federal unions also cannot bargain over base pay.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Federal Employees Not Allowed To Strike
are not represented by an actual Union as unions were conceived.
And no offense, but there is no way that "fact" excuses the summary dismantling of unions that Saint Ronnie kicked off. They used an entity with a bullshit "union" to bust the backs of real unions.
Federal unions are indeed unions. They represent members in
grievances over workplace conditions which is a large advantage to the rank and file. Federal unions are governed by the Federal Labor Relations Authority just as unions in the private sector are governed by the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
Federal unions just cannot strike and cannot bargain over base wages but can bargain over premium pay especially if there is favoritism involved by management or non-payment when law and regulation seem to require it.
There are real unions in the federal sector just like in the private sector.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
!!
People here are well aware what a union is, what is it with the lecturing today?
Real unions can strike. What "Federal Unions" did with their "federal law" was to undermine unions, period.
It was an illegal strike because they were completely
forbidden to strike.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
And that "forbidden" thing was nonsense
to begin with. Who ever heard of a "union" that wasn't allowed to strike?
I called bullshit on that "rule" back when that shit was going down, and time hasn't excused it one bit.
It's not a rule: It is federal law. People may or may not like
law and it can be changed through an act of Congress plus presidential signature, but it is federal law.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Really?
You're going to make pains to distinguish "rule" from "law" in the context of these comments? Whether it's some organizational "rule" or codified into state or federal "code", bullshit is bullshit.
So is it possible to address the question directly? What kind of "union" isn't allowed to "go on strike"? Are you saying that because that bullshit was codified into law, that we should just accept that somehow it was okay to bust that union? Because I can't imagine someone on the left being so acquiescent to such hair-splitting.
PS please don't lecture others about "changing laws you don't agree with"; maybe it wasn't your intent but it's very patronizing.
There are legal ramifications to a federal union going on strike
and Reagan was in the right to do what he did. Organized labor could have supported the air traffic controllers with sympathy strikes(now also outlawed) but chose not to.
I am just pointing out the legal constraints federal labor unions operate under. If they run afoul of the law, the FLRA will pull their certification and the bargaining unit is dissolved. To go against the law takes widespread solidarity among a large spectrum of workers and that was not forthcoming in the PATCO strike.
Under Taft-Hartley, passed in 1947 over Truman's veto, many private sector unions can be constrained from striking for lengthy periods - months - because a judge buys a national-interest argument. Such an injunction can be prettied up by calling it a cooling-off period but the fact remains that it's a government interruption of a legal strike.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
alternatively, of course reagan could have had the
FAA undertake good-faith negotiations that would have satisfied the PATCO union members.
remember that, when you say "Reagan was right."
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
In the full comprehension of all of that I would think that
the appropriate response remains "And? Who ever heard of a union that cannot strike? Did we not outlaw slavery (well we didn't see 13th Amendment doc)."
If I disagree with a law AND it is wrong AND it is causing injustice or harm. Well that is no law I feel obliged to obey.
More education on jury nullification. Start showing up outside courthouses protesting important cases with the clear intent of making everyone know the jury can rule not guilty no matter what the laws say. And really, all we need is for one holdout on a jury to cause acquittals. If we can get full nullification awesome, but even just raising awareness of the power of the tool is a win. I mean, why do only the KKK get to use this tactic?
I agree. Trumka is
no friend to Labor. Bought by the 1%.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
At Netroots Nation in Phoenix,
I had a chance to chat with a guy from the AFL-CIO every morning when we went out on the hotel patio for a smoke. He was there to "check things out." I was asking what his unions thought about Bernie, he seemed dubious. I reminded him that Randi Weingarten of the AFT had endorsed Hillary early on and gotten flack from the membership. Then I asked, what's Trumka gonna' do ? "President Trumka," he said, "hasn't made up his mind." We all know what he did eventually, I hope he realizes that he fucked up.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
this:
If I were still working along with large numbers of co-workers, I'd recommend organizing with IWW and/or UE. Fuck AFL-CIO.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
There's lots of internal strife in the AFL-CIO federation,
apparently much of it to do with increasing "coziness" w/ industry leaders, most specifically fossil fuel industry.
This is a very interesting and informative article about it, as it relates to the strife over DAPL:
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/09/22/tribes-fight-pipeline-intern...
I voted Green, anti-Schumer
We know how that turned out. But I tried. My son is now in the airplane machinists union. My nurse-daughter can join a nurse's union, after NLRB declared the hospital officially union-unfriendly. She will go union with the vote, should it finally come. I was affiliated (non-paying) with the SEIU in NY.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
The most remarkable error laid bare in Schumer's
strategerizing is the bizarre notion that Republicans who jumped the fence to vote HRC would vote Democratic downballot!
WTF? I've never heard any politician ever suggest that crossing the party lines at the top of the ticket would bring downballot success as well. In fact, one of my particular worries was that HRC's candidacy might bring out Republican women to the polls -- women who, otherwise disquieted by stuff like their party's assault on Planned Parenthood (my concern began long before the party nominated a fucking cro magnon) would likely stay home, but who would vote R downticket once they were in the booth.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
It's those "Long Hillary Clinton Coattails...
See how well they worked?
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."
~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,
Truly fantastic writing PL!
I really enjoy reading your stuff. You have a way with words! Can't wait for part two!!
“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
George W. Bush
A brilliant strategery.
Worked flawlessly!
Well done, Chuck.
In the heady days of the Reagan coalition
there simply weren't enough Democratic voters to get elected, except in a minority of Congressional districts. Thus the "New Democrats" plan to seduce Republicans by becoming Republican-lite. The traditional base had "nowhere else to go". They either held their nose and voted D against their own interests, or stayed home. Each moderate Republican "swing voter" you could capture counted twice - once for you and once by removing a vote for your opponent. It was effective enough to break the back of the Reagan coalition (with some help from Ross Perot) and let Clinton slip into the White House with 43% of the popular vote in 1992. This confirmed the strategy among the Clinton wing of the party, and the rest is sad history.
Schumer was just restating the 30 year strategy of the party. "Picking up two Republicans" is shorthand for "picking up a Republican that is twice as valuable".
This is the problem with trying to retake the Democratic Party - this has been going on so long there isn't anyone left who thinks any other way. There just isn't any value to the party apparatus. It isn't a few bad apples, it's every single one of them.
The problem with any other approach is the voters who will vote straight ticket for the party regardless of the candidates - there's a lot of them, probably about 40% of Democratic voters. This is why Bernie ran within the party - you're guaranteed a loss unless you can figure out a way to pry those loyal voters away from the rotting corpse of the party.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Apparently, much like the Germans failing Hitler in 1945
We failed Her:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/12/hillary-clinton-we-failed-...
(The Guardian appears to have gone off the deep end since Tuesday.)
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
Exporting Jobs Was A Big Part of Losing Ohio
Ohio has been slammed hard by "free trade" agreements. NAFTA hit hard, but so did the Korean agreement. It has decimated the steel industry, along with other manufacturing.
Former OH governor Ted Strickland began hitting hard on this topic when he launched his campaign for the US Senate. He was doing well against Portman until the DC Dem crowd withdrew their funding. If we do an honest post mortem on that race, I think we'll find the Dem corporate backers and Obama didn't want any anti-TPP and anti-free trade talk going on in Ohio. DC Dems trotted out the usual smear campaign against Ted - he's running a bad campaign, etc.
Don't forget, in September, Ford announced all of it's US small car production was moving to Mexico
http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2016/09/14/mexico-ford-shiftn...
Really bold move on their part to make that announcement right before the election, but it was barely discussed in the news media. Hillary said nothing about it, but Trump was all over it.
Ford made lame excuses, claiming they would shift some production from Mexico to Ohio, but auto workers have played that "preserving jobs" shell game before. It never pans out.
While anti-coal talk might have hurt Dems a little in southern Ohio, it was their refusal to focus on bad trade deals and Ohio jobs going overseas that sunk Hillary. Tim Ryan boosting her in the Youngstown area while she refused to talk much about "free trade" issues really hurt. Those folks were ripe for Trump.
"If you can't eat their food, drink their booze, take their money and then vote against them you've got no business being in Congress."
You make a crucial point in understanding the election results.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Ohio and Indiana I think of as 'sister states,'
like I think of Kentucky and Tennessee as 'sisters.'
Trump picked Pence as a strategy- particularly after Carrier closed up shop in Indiana to move to Mexico SOLELY for the advantage of being able to pay lower wages-- and was smugly unapologetic about that reason. Indiana Repubs AND Dems were PISSED. What pisses them off in Indiana is going to piss them off in Ohio, and vice-versa (even though Indiana wasn't as successful as Ohio in holding off the most recent round of union busting).
Gore/Kerry NAFTA
I've been having flashbacks to 2000, having the very same conversation about NAFTA both before and after the election. And both with the same response and outcome now as then.
Walmart America, flyover states
her heinous could care jack shit about them, but we knew this all along.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/11/11/blaming-everybody/
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
the agonizing thing for me is....
....that if Trump puts into place even half of his economic populist rhetoric then the Republican party will get the credit for helping out the working class. the Republicans will take the Democratic prized voting bloc that they long ago abandoned and it makes me sick to think of that. it's likely why the Democrats lost so bad in 2010 and 2014 and they didn't read the tea leaves even then. they were going to power forward with Clinton anyway. really, really poor strategy knowing this was an anti-establishment election on the right AND left.
2020 can't come soon enough with a new census and, hopefully, a more progressive Democratic majority in Congress and state legislatures and, thereby, rights to fair reapportionment. if only the pendulum swing of the electorate would be that quick which i only see happening if the economy goes bust again or Trump really fucks up and screws those who voted for him in the process. they will be ready for the next "new" candidate when Trump becomes just more of the same. people are getting impatient for change for the better.
it will be interesting to see if the Republicans in Congress will stick to their conservative mindset on budgets and not let Trump have anything he wants to succeed. then again, Republicans do tend to blow up the budget when they are in charge and then demand that Democrats balance the budget on the backs of the working class.
i just have a feeling Republicans are going try to find some way of tying Trump down like Gulliver but Trump's ego is too big. it's all a wait and see now for a winner in that struggle.
"people are getting impatient for change for the better."
Yes, they are. And if what I've read about who he's going to put in his cabinet, that "change for the better" isn't coming.
"they will be ready for the next "new" candidate when Trump becomes just more of the same."
WE- as in Progressives, who watch legislation closely- need to make sure that his supporters KNOW what his administration is doing, despite whatever MSM might be telling them. If we have to go on right wing sites and tell them, then that's what we need to do. Let us not get trapped in our echo chamber and assume these folks know who's doing what. Let us remember that "low info" means just that: doesn't have the information. Let's give them the information.
We may have dodged a bullet with Trump winning
Donald Trump has few allies among the GOP - who are suffering from their success and already fighting amongst themselves. He won't be able to get anything done without unity - which he cannot create. Meanwhile, progressives who can work together like Warren & Sanders have already made overtures that they're willing to work with him on economic programs that help the working class. We may wind up with more progressive economic policies than we would had the election gone the other way. (I will laugh and laugh if Trump turns out to be the most economically progressive president since Jimmy Carter - but Bill & Barry don't give much competition)
OTOH: Two-persona Hillary may have greater skill & experience but that means she'd have been far more effective at cramming her Wall St favoring crap down America's throat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OklGfyONt9c
Not Sure I Can Take Much More
Warren is the Democrats' beard.
A progressive she is not. She showed her colors during the Primaries (and before, really).