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‘Apathy Is Our Biggest Adversary in This Election’
Kathy Cummings, communications director for the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) sends us this video of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) rallying union activists yesterday to ramp up their election action enthusiasm.
“You need to be fired up, and you need to feel it, and you need to convey it to your bothers and sisters. Apathy is our biggest adversary in this election….The issue in this campaign is are we going to put the car in R? When you put the car in R, you go backwards and we have a lot of work left to do.”
He told the crowd that the two congressional candidates sharing the podium, Suzan DelBene and Denny Heck, are “two extraordinary candidates.”
I want you excited about them because they will make a difference….The character of our country is at issue in this election….Our priorities are at issue in this election.
Take a few minutes and watch the full video. Learn more about Labor 2010 in Washington State here.
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(Note: The following is copied from the PEACE AND FREEDOM PARTY BLOG by Jeremy “Jerry” Wells. The PFP is California’s only “ballot-status” Socialist Party.)
http://peaceandfreedom.org/blog/?p=3626#more-3626
A Labor Day Appeal to AFL-CIO President Trumka
Posted by Jeremy Wells on September 1, 2010
(PFP Blog administrator’s note: I have taken the liberty of reformatting Jerry’s post for clarity.)
(My comment below is an edited version of one first posted on the AFL-CIO NOW blog, to the article Trumka: Palin’s Rhetoric Is Dangerous, Poisonous by James Parks, Aug 26, 2010.)
The radical right, massively funded by the most reactionary corporatist elements of the ruling class, dominating the corporate owned mass media, have created a “class-war” terrorist media campaign to drown out any expression or understanding of the many crises now impoverishing millions of working people. The AFL-CIO is feeding off this terrorist media campaign, to frighten working people to again support the Democrats and Obama yet again in November 2010. There is, we think, a small but growing element within the organized labor movement that understands the need to break away from both Democratic and Republican parties. to form a party the struggles for the economic survival needs of working people.
Here’s my open letter to Richard Trumka:
To: AFL-CIO President Trumka
What will your Labor Day speech have to say to the working people of America this coming Monday, September 6th?
Please do not trivialize yourself or the AFL-CIO on this Labor Day by further belaboring the obvious, as you have done here, by denouncing absurd Sarah Palin, the Tea Party kooks, or the evil Republican Party! These easy targets are nothing but corporate media distractions to divert attention from the crises now facing millions of working people today.
In 2008 you gave millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours of precious AFL-CIO resources to support Obama and the Democratic Party. He was supported by you, and tens of millions of working people, with a promise of hope and of change from the eight years of reviled Bush policies.
But President Obama, with full Democratic Party control of Congress, has not brought about any change. Instead of change Obama has continued and expanded the very policies most opposed to the needs of working people.
He has expanded the wars in the Middle East, and not ended them. He has re-established the profiteering gangsters on Wall Street with trillions of dollars in “bail out” funding. Obama has continued Global Warming by supporting “Cap and Trade” gimmicks that does not shut down profitable polluters. “Socialist” Obama has not nationalized the oil companies as a first step to end Global Warming, to end environmental pollution or to end the wars for oil profits.
Most of all, President Trumka, in opposition to the expressed wishes to the delegates at the Pittsburgh convention that elected you into office, you supported Obama’s “Health Care Reform” instead of single-payer universal health care. Obama has continued the destruction of public education.
Most tragically, Obama and the Democrats are now implementing the destruction of Social Security.
Mr. Trumka, the time is now, on this Labor Day, to renounce President Obama’s anti-labor corporate agenda and announce that you can no longer support the Democratic Party, now completely inebriated with corporate money and corporate agendas.
Mr. Trumka today, on this Labor Day 2010, announce that the AFL-CIO is now calling for the foundation of a new political party that will be “of, by and for” the economic interests of working people. By 2012 the new party should be established with a platform and candidates to run at every level of federal, state, and local government, up to and including a candidate for President of the United States.
The effect of this historic announcement would once again restore the hope for needed change held by tens of millions of desperate working people.
Jerry, I understand your statement about the Democrats but to start a new party at this late date in the election is futile. It is our job as working citizens to elect more worker friendly candidates and bring the the party back to where it was. I feel it was Bill Clinton’s brand of Democrats that have moved the party to be more “BIG corporate” friendly and less worker friendly. Especially in his support of NAFTA and CAFTA.
As far as Obama is concerned, I think he did what he could with what he was up against. The auto workers got everything and more with the deal they got during the Wall Street bailout. He also has opened the door for more health care reform. It is up to us to elect people that will continue to push him further left than he is right now. The Democrats need to be more on the offense and start hawking to the American people just how bad the Republicans are for the working and middle class. The republicans won’t be happy until we Americans are working for $1 an hour and they have the media in their pocket. Especially the right wing talk radio scene. Republican candidates say enough things to bury themselves, it’s the fact that Democrats don’t unite and capitalize on that and stay on message that the divide between the two is not crystal clear.
Labor should seize the Democratic Party. In Florida, every 4 years the registered Democrats elect their precinct committee men and women. From the precinct committee the county executive committees and state representatives are elected. Make no bones about but the New Labor Democrats would dominate the agenda of the Democratic Party.
1. “I understand your statement about the Democrats but to start a new party at this late date in the election is futile.”
The only election date noted was for 2012. There is plenty of time to call for the founding convention of a new party, to start people talking about the needs of working people, the undending failures of Obama and the Demcorats, to start making demands for action on incumbent politicians, etc.
The effect upon Obamam, the incumbent Democrats, and upon working people would be like a lightening bolt! Demands upon the mass media, with law suits against PBS and NPR to give “equal time” to programming that represents the interests of working people would be STUNNING!.
NEW MASS MEDIA PROGRAMMING MUST BE DEMANDED NOW TO ALLOW FULL INFORMATION AND OPINION THAT REFLECTS THE ECONOMIC NEEDS OF WORKING PEOPLE MUST BE IMPLEMENTED ASAP TO COUNTER ALL THE WALL STREET BABBLE, TO COUNTER THE RUSH LIMBAUGHS, GLEN BECKS, PROGRAMMING THAT CATERS STRICKLY TO THE INTERESTS OF CORPORATE PROFIT INTERESTS!
2. Attempts toi “reform” or “re-align” the Democratic Party have been discussed endlessly since the 1950s. The Democratic Party cannot be reformed or realigned because corporate money and big-business agendas completely controy the Democratic Party. Obama got 3 times the money than McCain from the “Health Care” corporations to assure the passage of the so called “Health Care Reform”. Rupert Murdoch (owner of FOX media), Warren Buffet, major elements of the corporate ruling class, fully understood that Obama was their man. Obama is personally a well-educated lawyer, law professor, the profession of which is to develop the lawer’s (and politician’s) most powerfull intellectual tools: to be learn the skills of rhetoric and logic, to argue any case of a client brilliantly. In this case the “client” was corrupt Wall Street gangsters, banking interests, oil companies, the military-industrial complex, etc.
In other words, Obama and the Democrats have continued EVERY major foreign and domestic policy goal of the Bush/Cheney/Republican/corporate administration. Obama has continued and expanded wars in the Middle East, continued Global Warming, enhaned the wealth and profit of the top five percent, continued the destruction of public education, etc.
OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATS ARE NOW WORKING TO DESTROY SOCIAL SECURITY>
AND TO THINK THAT OBAMA AND THE AFL-CIO, AFTER GIVING OBAMA 50 MILLION DOLLARS IN 2008, IS NOW GIVING OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATS, $80,000,000. EIGHTY MILLIONS DOLLARS FOR THE NOVEMBER PRIMARY ELECTION! 80 MILLION DOLLARS OF DUES MONEY COLLECTED FROM WORKING PEOPLE!!!!!
OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATS WILL NOT DO ANYTHING SUBSTANTIAL TO EMPLOY MILLIONS OF UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE.
THEY HAVE REPEATEDLY SAID THAT THEY WILL NOT CREATE ANY PUBLIC SECTOR JOBS THAT ADD TO THE DEFICIT, BUT ONLY WORK TO CREATE PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS RESULTING FROM FREE MARKET CAPITALISM. BUT THESE JOBS HAVE ALREADY GONE TO CHINA, ETC.
THUS THE MASSIVE ATTACK ON WAGES AND BENEFITS TO REDUCE JOBS TO THAT OF THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES, BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY WAY PROFIT CAN BE MADE FROM LABOR-INTENSIVE JOBS IN THE U.S.!!!
THE AFL-CIO PRESIDENT TRUMKA, THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, THE LEADERS OF THE UAW, CTW, ALL KNOW THESE FACTS OF ECONOMIC LIFE. ;UNLESS AND UNTIL THE ORGANIZED LABOR “LEADERSHIP” ACTS ON THIS FACTS, OR UNTIL THESE “LEADERS” ARE REPLACED OR BYPASSED, NOTHING WILL CHANGE FOR WORKING PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY.
ALL THE PERSONAL AND FAMILY SACRIFICES WE ARE TODAY DOING TO TRY TO HELP OUR CHILDREN AND GRAND-CHILDREN SURVIVE WILL BE IN VAIN BECAUSE OF THE RELENTLESS DESTRUCTION OF THE ECONOMY NEEDED FOR WORKING PEPLE TO SURVIVE WILL BE DESTROYED.
BY 2012 MILLIONS OF US WILL HAVE NO JOBS, FEWER LIVING WAGE JOBS, NO AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE, PUBLIC EDUCATION IN A SHAMBLES, SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE WILL BE DESTROYED, EVEN WATER AND FOOD WILL BECOME EXPENSIVE, CLIMATE CHANGE WILL CREATE MORE CATASTROPES, ETC.
ALWAYS WILL BE THE EXPLANATION ‘THERE IS NO MONEY AVAILABLE” TO HEALP THE PEOPLE. BUT HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR MORE WARS! TRILLIONS AVAILABLE TO SECURE THE WEALTH AND PROFIT OF MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES. ETC.
THIS WILL THE FUTURE OF US ALL IF ORGANIZED LABOR, AND MR. TRUMKA, REFUSES TO CHANGE THE CORRUPT SUPPORT OF THE DEMOCRATS AND OBAMA.
All union members and believers should google into The Progressive Populist this issue and read the Labor Day article by retired Union Organizer Bill Johnston on page 13.
Lot of points the “leadership” of organized labor needs to think about hard….enjoy!
Hhmmmmmmmmmmmm – How to combat apathy.
Empower the masses. Stop lying and get out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Executive order allowing all public employees to organize unions. Jam employee free choice act through Congress. Reinstate habeus corpus. Support repeal of health plan in favor of free health care for all. Executive order ending the expulsion of Gays from the military. Call for the formation of a Labor Party. Open travel and trade with Cuba. Expose all of the secret crimes of Bush/Cheney. Arrest all of those responsible. Nationalize the energy companies that pollute and arrest the polluters.
Would you not agree that these steps would reduce voter apathy? Do you know what increases voter apathy? Letting the far right always frame the debate, giving in whenever a right wing senator whimpers, and compromising on principle before the debate evens begins, as in health care, social security, war, civil liberties – everything. Also, I can’t leave out, letting Bush and all of his criminals keep their jobs and money and get off scot free. We have very, very good reasons to be apathetic about this election, since not even Labor will allow a Labor Party. Like Simon and Garfunkel said in the 60s : “Every way you look at it, you lose.”
Every political party has to start somewhere. If it represents an unrepresented majority, which is what we are, it will grow like crazy. Such a development would only embolden Democrats like Kucinich to either move the Democratic Party into alliance with the Labor Party on key issues, or lead a split to join our new party. The fact that we have needed this for 100 years is not reason to wait another 100. A Labor Party would put principled fighters in office for a cause, not greedy corrupt opportunists who go whichever way the wind blows to get elected. We need a long term perspective. It took us 35 years to get to this dead end, and it will take a while to turn the tables, but without a Labor Party, it will never – NEVER – happen.