President Obama speaks to the AFL-CIO Executive Council Meeting about the need to pursue bold, new options for the economy rather than fall back to failed policies of the past. August 4, 2010.
A couple of thoughts. First, President Obama hardly mentions the health care law which was supposed to be signature for the Democrats this fall, but in quite a few states more of a hindrance than help. Next, it was confirmed by Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO that the negative language coming from the White House after the Blanche Lincoln win and the anger it caused for Union members and progressives the supposedly person(s) apologized.
The AFL-CIO chief already caused a stir in the 2010 election season when he put the union's resources behind a primary challenge to Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.). Lincoln ultimately won the nomination in a runoff election sparking a heated bit of anonymous sniping from White House officials. Trumka stressed that President Obama never talked him out of backing Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in that race. As for the nameless administration aides, he said: "The anonymous sources have [apologized]."
Lastly, the AFL-CIO from their stance will not protect many Blue Dog Democrats based on their voting records for the mid term elections in November. And that is less money in November and up to the DCCC and DSCC to protect those particular congress critters. Good luck on that one.
Because labor has already given a shot across the bow, no public option, no boots on the ground for any Democrat that votes against it.
Is the Obama White House waking up from a long month's sleep? We will see.
President Barack Obama will unveil a retooled campaign for his health care overhaul on Labor Day at a massive union picnic in Cincinnati.
Obama will attend the AFL-CIO’s annual Labor Day shindig at Coney Island, an old amusement park on the Ohio River, accompanied by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka.
No word yet on content, but the president’s supporting cast could offer a clue. Last month, Trumka warned Democrats that union forces would sit out the next election if they passed a health plan that did not include the so-called public option, a government-run insurance plan that would compete with private insurers.
The nation's largest federation of labor organizations has promised to directly engage with boisterous conservative protesters at Democratic town halls during the August recess.
In a memo sent out on Thursday, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney outlined the blueprint for how the union conglomerate would step up recess activities on health care reform and other topics pertinent to the labor community. The document makes clear that Obama allies view the town hall forums as ground zero of the health care debate. It also uses the specter of the infamous 2000 recount "Brooks Brothers" protest to rally its members to the administration's side.
"The principal battleground in the campaign will be town hall meetings and other gatherings with members of Congress in their home districts," reads the memo. "We want your help to organize major union participation to counter the right-wing "Tea-Party Patriots" who will try to disrupt those meetings, as they've been trying to do to meetings for the last month. ...
And this from AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Richard Trumka:
Every American has the inalienable right to participate in our democratic process. Our politics is passionate, heartfelt and often loud -- as was the founding of our nation. But that is not what the corporate-funded mobs are engaging in when they show up to disrupt town halls held by members of Congress. Major health care reform is closer than ever to passage and it is no secret that special interests want to weaken or block it. These mobs are not there to participate. As their own strategy memo states, they have been sent by their corporate and lobbyist bankrollers to disrupt, heckle and block meaningful debate. This is a desperation move, meant to slow the momentum for change.
Mob rule is not democracy. People have a democratic right to express themselves and our elected leaders have a right to hear from their constituents -- not organized thugs whose sole purpose is to shut down the conversation and attempt to scare our leaders into inaction
We call on the insurance companies, the lobbyists and the Republican leaders who are cheering them on to halt these 'Brooks Brothers Riot' tactics. Health care is a crucial issue and everyone - on all sides of the issue - deserves to be heard.
AMEN. Again, when you have no plan, nothing NEW to offer, you go back to the old play book. America, wake up, don't be fooled by this. And Democrats get this damn bill passed ASAP. Damn.
McCain Campaign announced it is pulling out of Michigan. This means that the fight will be in Ohio and Pennsylvania. He must hold Ohio and must snatch Pennsylvania. But I will go further and agree with the Politico article.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) now must win Pennsylvania, Wisconsin or Minnesota in order to get enough electoral votes to win the presidency, his campaign says.
Those were considered swing states in 2000 and 2004, but George W. Bush lost them both times.
“Our ability to pick off one of those three states is where our fortunes are largely held,” a McCain official said. “These are states where Barack Obama is on the defense.
McCain must win one of those states. Personally and based on demographics, Pennsylvania will be close and McCain could win this state. Minnesota and Wisconsin, I don't see McCain winning. Minnesota has always been an independent minded state, always have leaned democratic. Wisconsin is a meat and potatoes state, always have cared about the economy. Again, if McCain snatches one of these states, I see Pennsylvania. It still is a tall order for the McCain Campaign.
Lastly, the push is for voter registration. Half the country voter registration ends on Monday, October 6, 2008. It is imparative to get as many registered to vote as possible. All the information and registration forms you need is here. Please pass the link along.
It was Senator Barack Obama who crossed the aisle.
As the senators gathered to vote on the $700 billion financial rescue package on Wednesday evening, Mr. Obama walked over to the Republican side of the chamber to extend a greeting to Senator John McCain.
He got a chilly response.
While it took Mr. Obama several seconds to make his way over to see his rival, Mr. McCain barely pivoted his body as he took Mr. Obama’s hand for a handshake that lasted just a moment. The eye contact was just as brief. continue
HELLO!!!!!! Is this not the same nasty attitude, condescending attitude that is partially responsible for McCain's tank in the polls? This same horrible attitude that McCain let the world see last Friday? Keep it up. That is a real winning attitude.
•• Joe in St. Louis, Missouri enroute to Washington University
••
After prison, felons regain right to vote in Ohio
For years, Wayne C. Bell didn't vote.
After serving three years for aggravated robbery in his 20s, Bell didn't even inquire about reclaiming his voting rights. He assumed that as a felon, he couldn't cast a vote.
It wasn't true, he now knows. In Ohio, ex-offenders are allowed to vote once they've served their time.
But it sure is hard to erase the myth that so many Ohioans seem to believe, said the 50-year-old Clevelander, who calls himself a "soap boxer" when it comes to encouraging people to register, vote and hold politicians accountable. "It's widespread that felons think they can't vote," he said.
As Monday's deadline for Ohio voters to register draws near, workers who are signing up last-minute voters are learning what Bell already knows - it can be tough convincing felons that they truly are able to participate in the November election. continue
You see brothers and sisters, there's not a single good reason for any worker -- especially any union member -- to vote against Barack Obama.
There's only one really bad reason to vote against him: because he's not white.
And I want to talk about that because I saw that for myself during the Pennsylvania primary.
I went back home to vote in Nemacolin and I ran into a woman I'd known for years. She was active in Democratic politics when I was still in grade school.
We got to talking and I asked if she'd made up her mind who she was supporting and she said: 'Oh absolutely, I'm voting for Hillary, there's no way I'd ever vote for Obama.'
Well, why's that? 'Because he's a Muslim.'
I told her, 'That's not true -- he's as much a Christian as you and me, so what if he's muslim.'
Then she shook her head and said, 'He won't wear an American flag pin.'
I don't have one on and neither do you.
But, 'C'mon, he wears one plenty of times. He just says it takes more than wearing a flag pin to be patriotic.'
'Well, I just don't trust him.'
Why is that?
Her voice dropped just a bit: 'Because he's black.'
I said, 'Look around. Nemacolin's a dying town. There're no jobs here. Kids are moving away because there's no future here. And here's a man, Barack Obama, who's going to fight for people like us and you won't vote for him because of the color of his skin.'
Brothers and sisters, we can't tap dance around the fact that there are a lot of folks out there just like that woman.
A lot of them are good union people; they just can't get past this idea that there's something wrong with voting for a black man. Well, those of us who know better can't afford to look the other way.
I'm not one for quoting dead philosophers, but back in the 1700s, Edmund Burke said: 'All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.' Well, there's no evil that's inflicted more pain and more suffering than racism -- and it's something we in the labor movement have a special responsibility to challenge.
It's our special responsibility because we know, better than anyone else, how racism is used to divide working people.
We've seen how companies set worker against worker -- how they throw whites a few extra crumbs off the table ndsh and how we all end up losing.
But we've seen something else, too. We've seen that when we cross that color line and stand together no one can keep us down.
That's why the CIO was created. That's why industrial unions were the first to stand up against lynching and segregation. People need to know that it was the Steel Workers Organizing Committee -- this union -- that was founded on the principal of organizing all workers without regard to race. That's why the labor movement -- imperfect as we are -- is the most integrated institution in American life.
I don't think we should be out there pointing fingers in peoples' faces and calling them racist; instead we need to educate them that if they care about holding on to their jobs, their health care, their pensions, and their homes -- if they care about creating good jobs with clean energy, child care, pay equity for women workers -- there's only going to be one candidate on the ballot this fall who's on their side... only one candidate who's going to stand up for their families... only one candidate who's earned their votes... and his name is Barack Obama!
And come November we are going to elect him president.
And after he's elected we are going to hit the ground running so that, years from now, we're going to be able to tell our grandchildren that 2008 was the year this country finally turned its back on men like George Bush and Dick Cheney and John McCain
We're going to be able to say that 2008 was the year we started ending the war in Iraq so we could use that money to create new jobs building wind generators, solar collectors, clean coal technology and retrofitting millions of buildings all across this country
We're going to be able to look back and say that 2008 was the year the tide began to turn against the Rush Limbaughs, the Bill O'Reillys, the Ann Coulters and the right wing hate machine.
Full video, here, under USW Video Library, Richard Trumka
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