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Obama Speaks with Union Members: ‘We Can Turn Around America’
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Sen. Barack Obama took part in a nationwide conference call with union members this afternoon, and he’s ready to work with the union movement to win this fall and turn around America.
More than 2,500 union leaders, activists and members across the country got a chance to hear Obama talk about the challenges facing the country, and the values and principles that inspire his campaign.
Everywhere I go I hear the same story. Wages are falling, good jobs are disappearing, families are losing their homes and prices on everything from fuel to food are going up and up.
Obama reflected on his experience as a church-based community organizer, working in neighborhoods crippled by closing steel mills. Working with unions, churches, and local government, he fought for job training programs to help turn those neighborhoods around. That’s the fight he wants to continue in the White House.
The fundamental truth at the heart of this country, and the heart of the labor movement, is that we have mutual obligations in this country. We rise and fall together.
Obama contrasted this message with the ideology at the heart of the Bush agenda, which benefits very few and leaves working families behind.
They call it the ownership society, but what it really means is, “you’re on your own.”
Those left on their own include workers who’ve seen their jobs shipped away, parents who can’t afford health care coverage for their children and millions of us struggling in face of stagnant wages and rising prices. Obama pledged to put an end to the Bush agenda and work with unions to fight for policies that improve workers’ lives.
If I have the honor of serving as your president, I will be a champion for working families.
Passing the Employee Free Choice Act is an essential part of building a strong, worker-friendly economy, Obama said, and promised to sign it if elected. He also pledged to fight for fair trade policies, and to stop rewarding companies that send jobs overseas. By investing in infrastructure and building a new energy economy, Obama said, we can create good jobs—including up to 5 million new green jobs.
We’ll create ripple effects through the economy, and put people back to work.
Obama also pointed to fixing our public education system, making college affordable and protecting Social Security as top priorities. He pledged to create a Department of Labor and a National Labor Relations Board that act on behalf of workers.
As a community organizer, state senator and U.S. senator, Obama has seen that union political mobilization is important and effective. He said that union outreach, through phone banks, mail, worksite visits and local union mail, is going to be essential to get union members engaged and energized. Obama spoke directly to the local union leaders on the call in noting the importance of union political mobilization.
Change doesn’t happen from the top down, it happens from the bottom up…People trust their union and local union leaders, because they work alongside you. They elect you. It means more than any other phone call, more than any other piece of political mail.
Obama knows he needs the support and enthusiasm of union members to win this fall, and he’s pledged to fight for working families and for the needs and priorities of working people.
We need to make sure we aren’t afraid to say we need a stronger labor movement in this country.
Obama said that the values that inspire the labor movement are those that drive his campaign. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says Obama is a candidate who is on the side of workers and will fight for them as president. Speaking on the call today, Sweeney said:
We all know he’s a great speaker, but what impresses me just as much is what a great listener he is. He has a deep understanding of the problems facing working families in our country.
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Paid for by the AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education Political Contributions Committee, www.aflcio.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
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19 Comments
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The increasingly dire situation of working people in this country requires a lot more than bland generalities and warm fuzzy pronouncements. What major programs is he offering? What changes in the corporate controlled economy is he going to initiate? Do the few specifics meet the needs of working people today and in the long term??
* Obama does not support single-payer national health insurance. Obama, like Clinton wants to maintain the privatized corporate profit system, perhaps with some superficial subsidies to help people meet the costs of the greed inflated privatized system. Europe, Canda has eliminated corporate profit from their health care systems because this is necessary to keep the costs affordable.
* Obama (like Kerry in 2004) does not want to end the war(s) in Iraq or Afghanistan. He merely wants to REDEPLOY troops from Iraq to Afghanistan.
This is the most critical issue for the well-being of working people! The vast corruption and profiteering is taking money away from public health, education, and all other public needs (infrastructure repair -Katrina, midwest flooding,etc.).
Obama does is all for the phony “war on terrorism” and expanded miliarism.
* (I could go on and on but no time or space here!)
The labor movement and working people must end supporting the Democratic Party. A new party “of, by and for” the people , a People’s Peace Party, that rejects corporate money and corporate war for profit agendas, is essential.
A new mass media that speaks to the needs of working people must be built.
The new media must inform, educate and organize working people to a new understanding that the existing economic system is designed to extract maximum profit for a few. The corporate controlled mass media never has broadcast time or newspaper space that discusses the needs of working people. Thus most of us remain forever in ignorance increasingly unable to understand why most of us being deligberately impoverished and destroyed.
Brother Wells,
Allow me to answer at least two of your questions that seem inter-related:
What changes in the corporate controlled economy is he going to initiate? Do the few specifics meet the needs of working people today and in the long term??
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Below I would like to share an email, minus my real name, that I received from Howard Dean on June 5th. This was Thursday, one day after the Wednesday announcement from Senator Clinton of the suspension of her campaign that was forced upon her from the Tuesday election results. (That’s how long it took for Obama to act.):
Dear XXXXX,
I wanted to drop you a quick note about a major policy change here at the Democratic Party.
As we move toward the general election, the Democratic Party has to be the Party of ordinary Americans, not Washington lobbyists and special interests. So, as of this morning, if you’re a federal lobbyist, or if you control political action committee donations, we won’t be accepting your contribution.
This is an unprecedented move for a political party to make — one that has sent shockwaves through Washington and has turned the debate on clean campaigns upside down. We’ve unilaterally agreed to shut lobbyists out of the process, and we’re relying on people just like you.
Just imagine what hundreds of thousands of Americans donating $20, $30, or $50 at a time can accomplish together. Imagine the signal that it sends to anyone who looks at John McCain’s political machine and the special interest money it needs to fuel every move it makes.
We have a chance to change the way business is done in this country, and we’re taking the lead. Will you join us and make a contribution right now to help us elect Barack Obama?
http://www.democrats.org/nonlobbyists
I’ve written before about guys like Charlie Black and Rick Davis, lobbyists who are at the highest levels of McCain’s campaign. But they’re just the start — John McCain and the RNC suck up lobbyist money millions of dollars at a time.
In May, McCain had his best fundraising month of the campaign, and it was directly because he refuses to shut special interests out.
But we did, and we need your help. This is an example of the kind of White House Barack Obama would run. Make a contribution to help elect him:
http://www.democrats.org/nonlobbyists
I’ll be in touch later about our plans for the general election, but I wanted to let you know about our policy change right away.
Thanks,
Howard Dean
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Now, do you remember where the Democratic debate on the subject of special interest contributions was a year ago? Allow me to refresh your memory with what began as a quite straightforward question:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LY0AqYXZC4
Shortly thereafter; Obama brought the crowd to their feet as he championed the cause with this follow-up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQK84pmCfBY&feature=related
This subject was brought up at every subsequent gathering, thereafter, and was debated with great enthusiasm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xaWahAwiiU&feature=related
(Just for the record, Labor PACs (Political Action Committees) were outspent $18 to $1, as stated by Edwards, in the previous election cycle by Corporate PACs. They are currently being outspent almost $30 to $1. There is just no way Labor can compete for equal access, let alone influence, with our government’s Representatives so long as the playing field heavily favors Corporate special interests. It was a fight that Labor and other Democrats were going to continue losing, unless something changed.)
Democrats have come a long way since then. Now, after a very long Primary season; victoriously, here is where Democrats find ourselves:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4122885930486275222&q=pac+money&ei=C5hLSJHOG4SSrgL9o_WbDA&hl=en
I welcome with open arms the opportunity to break from the political policies of old. I look forward to embracing a change because the current system of campaign finance has been failing an overwhelming majority of Americans. The new policy direction of the DNC has been made possible only because there were enough courageous people willing to stand together and defeat these powerful forces. Collectively, we have united and accomplished what none of us could have individually for the common good of all Americans, regardless of which candidate you may have previously supported. Although the victory was a close one; we have now empowered our candidate to bring about a CHANGE in policy that genuinely works for the betterment of the public interest. This is only the beginning of the kind of change in store for Washington and the United States, if you have the courage that is required to face down the fear that lays ahead.
Democrats have stopped feeding from the same corporate trough as the republicans fatten themselves. Together, we have run the special interests out of the Democratic Party; and soon, the rest of our government. In time, the influence they have over our government will diminish. Gradually, we will see even more ambitious policy shifts tilting power to the people and away from the special interests; but ONLY if we are willing to persevere and muster the courage to continue fighting the good fight. It’s one that our children can not afford for us to lose.
I am confident that things are going to continue to get worse, economically, before they get better as a direct result of this “shot across the bow.” Please join me and thousands of others, now, in making a small contribution in support our common good. Should you feel that you can’t afford to give, right now; I would argue that, especially right now, you can’t afford not to.
I believe George Meany would have placed this nation before union politics.
The following statement about Barak Obama…
“As the son of a single mother, as a Chicago community organizer and Illinois state senator, Obama saw firsthand and addressed the struggles of working families. And in his years in the U.S. Senate, he has earned a 98 percent record of voting on behalf of working families. One of the greatest priorities of America’s union movement and the millions of working people we represent, Obama’s record and proposals ensure he is the right choice.”… is abhorring.
The insinuation that the Republican Party and its’ leadership has … “been sold to the highest corporate bidders—Big Oil, Big Pharma, the insurance industry, the giant mortgage lenders and the speculators.”… is rediculous !
Please be reminded that there has been a DEMOCRAT CONGRESS for the past two years and that gas prices for Union Families, and ALL of America, were a little over $2.00 per/gal until they took the reins !
Please remember that if this inexperienced but preacheresque orator, who spews whatever you would like to hear is elected, Unions will be responsible for the downfall of this nation because Obama and the Democrat Senate will be responsible for 3 appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court. Unions will have effectively crushed this country’s future and therefore the future of my children and my children’s children !
Unions have SOLD-OUT this wonderful Nation for the politics of ignorance. Unions have placed their membership down an irretreivable path. Unionswill have Sold their Soul to the Devil/Highest Bidder !
Hopefully, informed Union membership will vote their conscience… Country, Family and Union… In that order ! Without a Proud Nation, where Strength and Freedom exist together.. there is NO UNION !
You sound as if you have lost confidence in the leaders of your Local. Moreover; you come across as being very in tune with the shared frustration of your fellow members. Perhaps you should initiate the transformation of your Union’s involvement in politics to a third party alternative by opposing your current Local’s leadership and changing the Labor movement from within. As a dues paying member, you should certainly exercise your right to descent. Surely, you are not the type that would be content to simply sit back and cast stones from without. The political insight you have shared above should carry you far in regard to support from your disgruntled membership. Unless of course, you don’t really mean what you say…or say what you don’t really mean. Come on now; don’t let fear of political defeat hold you back. Re-examine your own tough talk and it begs the questions:
WHERE IS YOUR COURAGE, NOW? and DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH TO MAKE A STAND FOR HOPE?!?
P.S.: I believe George Meany combined our nation with union politics and regarded the two as inseparable entities; meaning, the success of each was co-dependent upon the other. I find your assertion to the contrary to be in bad taste when considering what he dedicated his life’s work for.
I’m sorry Keystone. I completely forgot to address your fuel price concerns. Here is what the leader of the free world had to say about the prospect of $4/gal gas at the pump back in early March of this year. (That’s 5 months ago in case you need help with the math.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIHDPd7jHjE
Here is the “Official White House Response” that Dana Perino offered just a few days later to clarify their position on the rising cost of fuel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MugHx9wEao&feature=related
If you are happy with this kind of government; then by all means, you are free to vote for more of the McSame old thing. If you feel that your government should and can do better; then, I HOPE that you will have the COURAGE to vote for CHANGE.
Keystone’s comments for “Country, Family and Union” and “Strength and Freedom …there is NO UNION” is pure fascist rubbish.
To say that “Unions have SOLD-OUT this wonderful nation!” indicates this person has no grasp of the unfortunate political reality. Unions are virtually powerless today in terms of influencing national policy.
Under Bush/Cheney the oil corporations, the military-industrial corporate complex, financial capitalism (Wall Street, banks, World Bank, WTO), the “ruling elite” of the top 5% who own about 80% of all wealth, they have “privatized” the federal government. The CIA is now over 50% “outsourced” to profit-making businesses. Over 100,000 privatized mercenaries are now waging war with loyalty not to defend the U.S. Constitution but to the signers of their pay checks.
to protect their profits and wealth.
The destruction of the dollar, the vast debt (now into TRILLIONS of dollars) to wage war for oil profits in the Middle East, the completely corrupt housing market scandel, the manipulation of markets (Stocks, hedge funds, and now for food!) is totally the result of unregulated gangster capitalism run-amok.
Nothing is done about global warming by the Bush gang if it in anyway hurts the profits of the polluters. The entire physical planet and it’s peoples are being sacrificed and destroyed for corporate profit.
Globalisation (with vast resources of cheap and virtual slave labor) will almost completely destroy the living standards of working people in the U.S. as well as the trade union movement itself.
I think perhaps Keystone has spent too much time listening to Rush Limbaugh,
the Wall Street Journal, the American Enterprise Institute and the Ayn Rand Institute. All these have made capitalism a kind of secular religion, a secular anti-social, anti-human religion of greed.
Obama’s our man, this is history, and we’ll all have to do our part to win.
The other choices and critiques don’t offer hope for many people, so while these comments are interesting initially, they disappear off the road map for the normal voter.
Try phonebanking to undecided stressed out voters with these lines!
Chin-up, Wendall! Carry on my brother!!!
All of us had better wake up, it is Senator Obama or Senator McCain both are bad choices for working people.Neither has put forth any kind of platform.Neither talks much about anything but the war in Iraq.While I am concerned about the Wars my main concerns are domestic issues and neither has a plan they will tell us about.Both have helped put us where we are today.Both are for free trade,both are for Amnesty,neither wants to do anything about energy,both have health care plans that suck.No matter who is our next President nothing much will change we have an ineffective Congress run by a bunch of fools and we as Democrats and Republicans have been re-electing them for years.JerryWells is correct we need a thrid party and they must support workers Union and Non-Union alike.I say join the Independents and vote against all incubents if you really want change.If you continue to vote for the office holder shut the hell up because you are part of the problem.
The link below is what the “Official” position of the National Republican Senatorial Committee is with respect to the Employee Free Choice Act mentioned in the original article above.
Senator Obama does not support the following advertisement…HOWEVER; Senator McCain does.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2To8rZYJ4yE
As a union member, CAN YOU SEE WHO IS OPPOSING YOU AND WHO IS SUPPORTING YOU?!?
This is the kind of fear tactics we are facing. Corporate interests are focused on achieving at least 41 Senator’s to obstruct the Employee Free Choice Act. It requires a 60 vote majority to call for an end to a filibuster in the Senate. Now, who is the part of the problem?
Any other questions about Labor’s support of Obama and Democratic Senate candidates?
To: Wendall Chin (and everyone ele who are Obama/Democratic Party/status- quo “true believers”).
1. “Obama’s our man, this is history, and we’ll all have to do our part to win.”
Obama has not even been confirmed by the Democratic convention yet!
The election is still three months plus away! A lot can change in that time if people, realizing that a recession/depression is looming, that more war is being planned (perhaps Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan,etc.) with full Democratic Party and Obama’s support and complicity, that “change” is absolutely essential for our personal, national and global survival. Obama and the Democratic Party are not for “change” in any substantial manner. Obama is not “our” man! ( not for working people).
2. “The other choices and critiques don’t offer hope for many people, so while these comments are interesting initially, they disappear off the road map for the normal voter.”
There is a terrible truth here. The mass media (radio,tv,print, etc.) are all corporate controlled. For years this media has lied to the American people about everything. The lie especially about vital issues concerning the well-being of working people. It is necessary for working people to turn off the tv, unplug the tv (corporate controlled brain-washing machine), and start looking on the internet for truthful information. Talk to your family members, neighbors, and friends and find out what is happening to them.
Here are a couple of web-sites and pages with especially vital information never presented on mass media:
On the economy:
Global Research in Canada. (http://www.globalresearch.ca)their latest story:
The Real State of the US Economy
Henry Paulson has lost the control over US finance
by William F. Engdahl
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9728
[Please note the section on “The real economy contracting rapidly”
which lists 25 recent names of consumer chain stores, with hundreds of stores, laying off tens of thousands of workers across the country!)
On Obama:
Obama backs long-term US military presence in Iraq
By Patrick Martin
29 July 2008
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/jul2008/obam-j29.shtml
Democratic candidate in Berlin
Obama demands Europe send more troops to Afghanistan
By Stefan Steinberg
26 July 2008
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/jul2008/berl-j26.shtml
Obama promotes wider war in Afghanistan: Another presidential race between pro-war candidates
By Jerry White
25 July 2008
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/jul2008/obaw-j25.shtml
Get the FACTS on Obama and the Democratic Party. You truely “waste” your vote if you simply vote on the basis of propaganda and lies. One definition of insanity: to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different outcome each time! We must end this political “insanity” now.
Working people (and the labor union leaders) must stop their own insanity by continuing to financially support (millions of union dues money!) and NOT vote for the Democratic Party any more. We must “make history” by forever making the Democratic Party “history”.
Without a national party of working people and the labor movement running candidates at every level on a peace platform, what is to be done this November?
Given the current conditions existing on election day in November, I will probably vote for the Green Party (Cynthia McCinney) or the Peace and
Freedom Party (CA) running Ralph Nader. They are far closer to what
we need than ANY Democratic or Republican party candidates.
The time to “draw the line” is upon us. We are all being destroyed at some level or other, by this corrupt corporate gang of politicians in Congress and the White House. We must at least register a “protest” vote and say “ENOUGH! NO MORE!”
Brother Jerry,
Again, I must disagree with all the major and most of the minor premises of your arguments:
The election is still three months plus away! A lot can change in that time if people, realizing that a recession/depression is looming, that more war is being planned (perhaps Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan,etc.) with full Democratic Party and Obama’s support and complicity, that “change” is absolutely essential for our personal, national and global survival. Obama and the Democratic Party are not for “change” in any substantial manner. Obama is not “our” man! ( not for working people).
Get the FACTS on Obama and the Democratic Party. You truely “waste” your vote if you simply vote on the basis of propaganda and lies. One definition of insanity: to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different outcome each time!
Given the current conditions existing on election day in November, I will probably vote for the Green Party (Cynthia McCinney) or the Peace and Freedom Party (CA) running Ralph Nader. They are far closer to what we need than ANY Democratic or Republican party candidates.
The time to “draw the line” is upon us. We are all being destroyed at some level or other, by this corrupt corporate gang of politicians in Congress and the White House. We must at least register a “protest” vote and say “ENOUGH! NO MORE!”
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Of course, things are going to worsen before they get any better. How, in just three month’s time, is a third Party candidate going to realistically carry the message of Labor to victory in November? How will they then be able to work with a Congress, comprised of so many officials elected from two other major Parties, to accomplish anything substantive, (that you advocate), for us over the next 4 years? Will they align themselves with Republicans or Democrats to get the job done or provide us with another 4 years of stalemate?
Voting to, essentially, remain neutral when so much is at stake for the working families of our Nation is void of rational logic; sanity, if you will. How does registering a “Protest Vote” improve the lives of working families that are made to suffer during 4 more years of Cynthia McKinney or Ralph Nader or Bob Barr or anyone other than the Labor endorsed candidate that you oppose voting for? You can’t even spell the name of one of your candidates correctly. It’s McKinney, with a K. How am I to now trust that you know what she or anyone else you support really stands for? Your statements are politically naive and your approach is reckless not to mention down right cynical.
Wake up my brother…you are sustaining a Corporate Republican nightmare. The internal problems of the Democratic Party are repairable and are being addressed. Help me by joining the Party and changing it back, from within. I can’t do it alone. No one person can. Collectively, we will. Individually, we won’t.
Enough already with the self fulfilling prophesy. You know…the kind where you profess something bad will happen; then go out and do everything you can to make that bad thing occur, just so you can then sit back and say, “See, I told you so.”
Such is the kind of fear and despair that OUR candidate fights with the audacity of Hope and Change! Don’t force your children to question why you lacked the courage to stand against fear this time around.
Sorry brother Jerry,
I completely forgot to reference you back to a previous reponse that I posted for you in respect to “Answering the Rumors About Obama.”
http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/07/30/answering-the-rumors-about-obama/
How do I say this politely…a…you people don’t know anything (?). So “you want the world, and you want it now…” Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. The elections are upon us, like it or not. Do you think a Green party candidate or a Peace and Freedom Party candidate or another Independent is going to save us? You must understand how progress works, and how it unfolds. The only way to get a third party elected as president is by a grass roots effort to introduce and promote third party candidates with real, genuine platforms of policy and legislation that can move this country in a better, more humanistic approach to governance. I have not heard much from third party candidates that to me would put them on the map, much less invoke a cause for actual support.
So, whether you are a Dem or a Rep or an Indep, you must decide on how to best bring about the change that our country desperately needs. As far as any of us is concerned, any one of us would probably make a good president, because we do know and understand not only what we need, but what our brothers and sisters need for our own survival. But, and this is a big BUT, we cannot play the game. It takes a tremendous amount of power and influence and money to win an election.
We know what we want in a candidate. I think we are basically all on the same page, but in order to change the format of this country’s political map, we have to replace local, city, county and statewide politicians with real grass root activists who are willing to work extremely hard to change the way things are done. It simply will not work to say that one is an Independent and wants things to change and is therefore the best candidate for the job. No one will take you seriously, UNLESS, you start at the bottom and work your way up, and eventually EARN the respect and support of your constituents.
I would not vote for McCain for any reason, because he is so much like Bush it’s down right scary. The Independents do not have much of a platform, do not stand a chance and you know it, not now, not at this time. However, for all the reasons you choose not to vote for Obama, I’ll give you some very good reasons why you should. He is young, articulate and intelligent, so what he does not know he will find out. He listens. He is not perfect, but he admits that. No Republican, ever, has admitted to wrongdoing! The Republican platform is FOCUSED on trashing Obama no matter what he says or does, because they have no platform of their own. Watch The Keith Olberman show. Read The Nation. Chose your websites wisely. There are a lot of good ideas coming from Obama, but they don’t get media attention, and whatever is reported by the mainstream is often limited, piecemeal, and as a result, biased. Obama has more of a conscience about what plagues the American people. He already has green energy plans, wants to impose a windfall tax on the oil companies which will be given directly to the American people. He realizes Afghanistan is still a threat, whether you want to believe it or not, and understands that change cannot happen overnight, although he firmly believes we must get out of Iraq. He is certainly not propagating another war. He is also pro-union and understands the plight of the American worker. Besides any one who is humble enough to say, “…if I have the honor of serving as your president…” certainly understands the enormous responsibility of the task at hand. I want that person on my side. Congress is also as much to blame as to why things have not happened the way we would like them to, which is all the more reason why we have to begin with local elections and build up from there, if we really want a better party running our government. Besides, it is our country and our government, not owned by any political party. Our government will unfold exactly the way we want it to, if only we believe it and do what is necessary to make it happen.
Just keep on keepin on and this country will go to hell.Go ahead vote democrat again go ahead and vote republican again. They will think we are happy when we are not. Vote against incumbents if you truly want change in this country.Work for term limits work for a new party that truly represents us.Write or go see your representives and let them know your mad as hell and not going to take anymore I have have, have you.Do everything you can to turn this mess around and don’t believe anything this bunch of politicans tell you because if you don’t already know this is an election year no holds barred on the lies they tell.
To: FraternalOrder:
You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.
Abraham Lincoln, (attributed)
16th president of US (1809 – 1865)
The daily existential reality of working people informs them that everything you and the labor “leadership” say in support of the Democratic Party is false.
The vast destruction to people and the planet brought on by the Bush gang with full complicity of the Democratic Party can never be covered over by false
babble.
To those who tried to contradict my assessment of “Today’s Union Politics”…without success… I will just say that I knew George Meany, and the present Union Leader is NO George Meany… Period !
Secondly, if you still do not realize the affect the 3 Nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court will have on the direction of this nation, then go back to “Shaping-up”… for you have been indoctrinated by shallow Union Rhetoric.
The following is taken from the Article to which we have all responded:
Speaking on the call today, Sweeney said:
“We all know he’s a great speaker, but what impresses me just as much is what a great listener he is. He has a deep understanding of the problems facing working families in our country.”
Wow ! What impresses our Union Leader is that Obama is… Drum Roll Please…. A GREAT LISTENER !
God…Country… Family… Union !
9/11… NEVER FORGET !
In order for any progress to be made, for anyone able to address the needs of others, for anyone trying to understand just what it is that people are most concerned about, one had better have the ability to actually listen. Whether you are a parent trying to understand and guide your children, a teacher trying to make a difference in a child’s life, a union leader trying to understand the needs and grievances of the workers, or a political leader trying to address the needs and wants of his/her constituants, one had BETTER have the ability to LISTEN. Why do you mock this and make it a bad thing?
Just remember, the world is and has been FULL of dictators with something very significant in common – they do not, nor will they ever, LISTEN to the wants and needs of others. Your logic is lacking in understanding and compassion.
And PS: Most of us already know what the current newly appointed judges to the Supreme Court under the Bush administration have already done to our civil liberties and freedoms. I would welcome an Obama change of perspective. But who says there will be three more appointments in the next four years? SC justices are appointed for life. Do you know something I don’t.
Trying to make a judgement about Obama based on the political of either the Obama or McCain campaign literature is difficult as the information is so biased.
There is plenty of time for the November election to get a deeper understanding on Obama. The following article has a perspective, based upon information and research from many sources, on Obama that promotes this deeper understanding.
(Please note at the bottom of this article links to several more links on Obama’s political positions.)
The making and marketing of Barack Obama: Image and identity in US politics
By David Walsh
5 August 2008
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/aug2008/obam-a05.shtml
“An article that appeared in the New York Times July 30, along with an extended interview in Rolling Stone magazine earlier in July, provide insight into the thinking and personality of Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic Party candidate for president.”