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Why Working Families and Our Unions Support Biden |
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As media pundits have noted, Sen. Barack Obama’s selection of Delaware Sen. Joe Biden adds many years of foreign policy experience to the ticket.
Less well-known is Biden’s long support for working families and their unions. America’s union movement, Biden has said, is
the only thing that keeps the barbarians at the gate.
But he doesn’t stop there.
There is a middle class in this country for one reason and only one reason: the union movement.
Biden recognizes that a five-letter word has too long been missing from the Democratic vocabulary: Union.
At an AFT presidential town hall with union members in July 2007, Biden bluntly stated that the next president of the United States better be able to utter the word “union,” they better be able to say “union.”
Not organized labor, not working men and women: “Union.” Because we Democrats have been reluctant to use that word. And when we use it, we tend to only use it when we talk to you all. I use it at the Chamber of Commerce, I use it on the floor of the Senate, I use it when I speak to the AMA [American Medical Association]. This is the first time…we have a chance to build the union movement. Not stop the erosion, build a union movement.
In reiterating how unions built and maintained this nation’s middle class and how essential they are to the future prosperity of our nation, Biden goes beyond being a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, federal legislation that would level the playing field for workers seeking to join unions. He believes it. Strongly.
On issues from health care to jobs, Biden has a lifetime 85 percent voting record in favor of working family issues and 100 percent record in 2007, according to the AFL-CIO Congressional Voting Record. (Yep. His 2005 vote on the bankruptcy bill is one everyone has heard about and one we all regret. Less known is that Biden voted for an amendment to the bill that would have protected workers from losing vacation and severance pay when their employers declare bankruptcy. The amendment failed.)
In a few of his recent votes on jobs, wages and Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy, Biden:
- Voted for an economic stimulus package that would extend unemployment insurance.
- Supported investing in America’s infrastructure.
- Opposed Bush’s unfair tax cuts aimed at the very wealthy.
- Voted to raise the minimum wage.
- Voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
- Voted to ensure prevailing wages and other protections for workers on federal projects.
- Voted against privatizing jobs in Walter Reed and other federal facilities.
- Supported investing in the energy industry to create jobs and lower energy costs.
Biden supports early childhood education, smaller classroom size and, as far as trade goes, Biden says:
There ain’t no such thing as free trade unless its fair trade, and that’s not what’s happening now.
On health care, Biden:
- Supports a health care plan that offers everyone a chance at affordable, high-quality insurance.
- Voted to allow Medicare to negotiate for lower-cost prescription drugs.
- Voted to re-authorize and improve the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
- Voted against cutting Medicare and Medicaid.
Biden backs working family issues and is a strong champion of unions because, to him, it’s personal.
At a Fire Fighters convention last year, he described why, telling the Fire Fighters how first responders have often come to his aid. From the AFL-CIO Now blog:
Biden spent about 10 minutes quietly and very emotionally talking about the three personal life-saving experiences he and his family have had over the years with firefighters. The first involved a horrific car wreck in which his wife and daughter were killed but firefighters saved his two sons by using the jaws of life. Years later, when an aneurism nearly struck him down, his local fire ambulance rushed him from Delaware to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Recently, lightening struck his Maryland home and seven fire companies responded to the massive blaze.
As Biden said to more than 20,000 union members at an AFL-CIO presidential debate in Chicago last summer:
Where I stand is with you. That I promise.
(This is a cross-post from the Firedoglake blog.)
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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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Sarah Palin is a great governor and reformer. And Governor Palin’s husband, Todd, is a lifelong commercial fisherman! McCain/Palin ‘08–the voice for working America!
Great Governor, huh; voice for working America, are you nuts? You’re kiddin’, right?
Since there’s never been a politician from Alaska on the national stage before, one would expect Alaskans and the Alaskan media to have a positive bias favoring Sarah Palin joining the Republican ticket. It’s not exactly turning out that way. Here are reactions from some of the people who know her best:
* The Daily News-Miner in Fairbanks: ” She has never publicly demonstrated the kind of interest, much less expertise, in federal issues and foreign affairs that should mark a candidate for the second-highest office in the land…. Most people would acknowledge that, regardless of her charm and good intentions, Palin is not ready for the top job. McCain seems to have put his political interests ahead of the nation’s when he created the possibility that she might fill it.”
* State Senate President Lyda Green, a REPUBLICAN from Palin’s HOMETOWN of Wasilla: “She’s not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?”
* Dermot Cole, a longtime columnist for Alaska’s second largest newspaper, The Daily News-Miner, called McCain’s choice of Palin “reckless” and questioned her credentials.
* Mike Doogan, a former columnist now serving as a Democrat in the state legislature: “John McCain looked all over the United States to find the single Republican who is qualified to be, as the saying goes, a heartbeat away from the presidency, and he came up with Sarah Palin. Really? … [L]et’s be honest here. Her resume is as thin as the meat in a vending machine sandwich…. The long and short of it is this: We’re not sure she’s a competent governor of Alaska. And yet McCain, who is no spring chicken, has decided she’s the best choice to replace him as president if he should win and then fall afoul of the Grim Reaper. Sarah Palin? Really?”
* The Anchorage Daily News’ Gregg Erickson: “[Palin] tends to oversimplify complex issues, has had difficulty delegating authority, and clearly has some difficulty distinguishing the line between her public responsibilities and private wishes…. It is clear that she has not paid much attention to the nitty-gritty unglamorous work of government, of gaining consensus, and making difficult compromises. She seems to be of the view that politics should be all rather simple. That often appeals to the wider public, but frustrates those who see themselves as laboring in the less glamorous parts of the vineyard.”
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Erickson’s description makes Palin sound like Bush? And don’t get me started on her scandal involving the firing of Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan. Alaska’s State legislature has already allocated $100,000 from the state’s taxpayers to investigate her for executive abuse of power. The word “impeachment” is getting thrown around quite a bit by them. For a peek at that click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQx42Tsz5NQ
It’s also curious to see how REPUBLICANS responded to the Sarah Palin announcement. I don’t mean campaign surrogates or Fox News; I’m talking about more traditional Republican voices who actually have to consider McCain’s decision on the merits (or lack thereof).
* Charles Krauthammer: “The Palin selection completely undercuts the argument about Obama’s inexperience and readiness to lead…. To gratuitously undercut the remarkably successful ‘Is he ready to lead’ line of attack seems near suicidal.”
* Noah Millman, presenting a defense for Palin: “I realize, of course, that she’s totally unqualified to be President at this point in time. If McCain were to die in February 2009, I hope Palin would have the good sense to appoint someone who is more ready to be President to be her Vice President, on the understanding that she would then resign and be appointed Vice President by her successor.”
* Ramesh Ponnuru called it “tokenism,” adding, “Can anyone say with a straight face that Palin would have gotten picked if she were a man?”
* David Frum: “The longer I think about it, the less well this selection sits with me. And I increasingly doubt that it will prove good politics. The Palin choice looks cynical…. It’s a wild gamble, undertaken by our oldest ever first-time candidate for president in hopes of changing the board of this election campaign. Maybe it will work. But maybe (and at least as likely) it will reinforce a theme that I’d be pounding home if I were the Obama campaign: that it’s John McCain for all his white hair who represents the risky choice, while it is Barack Obama who offers cautious, steady, predictable governance…. If it were your decision, and you were putting your country first, would you put an untested small-town mayor a heartbeat away from the presidency?”
* Kathryn Jean Lopez: “As much as I loathe Obama-Biden, I can’t in good conscience vote for a McCain-Palin ticket. Palin has absolutely no experience in foreign affairs. Considering both McCain’s advanced age and the state of the world today, it is essential that the veep be exceedingly qualified to assume the office of president. I simply don’t have any confidence in Palin’s ability to deal effectively with Iran, Russia, China, etc.”
* Mark Halperin: “On the face of it, McCain has failed the ultimate test that any presidential candidate must face in picking a running mate: selecting someone who is unambiguously qualified to be president.”
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As an Obama/Biden supporter, I can honestly say that I am proud of John McCain’s decision! I wish to extend my sincere thanks to John McCain and Karl Rove for helping the undecided voters make up their minds.
McCain/Palin have never provided a voice for working America. Not long ago McCain said, “51 million homeowners are doing what’s necessary; working a second job, skipping a vacation, and managing their budgets to make their payments on time.” Since when has ‘working second jobs and skipping vacations become necessary’ in providing a voice for working America? John McCain jokes when defining rich as making $5 million or more per year. Since when have most working Americans viewed making $3 million annually as being part of the middle class? I’m not laughing because apparently I must have missed the punch-line.
“McCain/Palin ‘08–the voice for working America!”
The logic of such a conclusion is riddled with false premises. In layman’s terms, you’re crazy!
As someone wrote here earlier, Biden was responsible for the bankruptcy bill that hurt consumers and favored big banks and credit card companies (many based in his home state).
As chair of the Senate Committee holding hearings on the confirmation of the reactionary Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, Biden sped up proceedings and ignored Anita Hill.
Biden is responsible for thousands of people being locked up behind bars in the phony ‘war on drugs’ - criminalizing youth and leading the way to draconian mandatory minimum sentences.
His record on labor issues is OK, but nothing to shout about. Raising the minimum wage to $6.55 - where it should have been 20 years ago - that no one can survive on should not be considered a victory. I don’t recall him trying to repeal Taft-Hartley, championing single payer health insurance or cutting the obscene military budget. How will the Democrats fund infrastructure upgrades, education and health care while also wasting billions of taxpayers’ dollars on unneeded weapons and imperialist war plans?
Progressives need to remind Obama that we are the ones who got him this far and make sure he keeps his promises for real change, not more of the same that Biden represents.
I trust that you’re not suggesting that we throw the baby out with the bath by voting for Mr. McSame. When the time comes to hold Biden’s feet to the fire, you need not be so regressive.
I agree. Everyone in Washington has made mistakes, and they will have to answer to them, at least by an Obama administration. We all know that those in Washington at the present time who have made THE MOST SERIOUS, THE MOST AWFUL, THE MOST EGREGIOUS MISTAKES and the MOST UNETHICAL DECISIONS are getting away with it, no accountability, no responsibility, no criminal prosecution when it is certainly warranted. Vote for McCain/Palin, and they will continue to get away with it. Makes you sick, doesn’t it.
Go Senator Biden! I am a member of Local 74 in Delaware and I am so proud of our Senator! He is an average “Joe” that lives 15 minutes away. What a great guy and a great choice Senator Obama!!! We are going to do everything we can to get you guys elected!