As John Nichols reports in The Nation, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has thrown down the gauntlet. In an address before National Nurses United, Trumka proclaimed that "I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a snootful of that shit!”
What has gotten Trumka so upset and why is he sounding defiant?
He has finally figured out that the party that the labor movement tirelessly supports -- the Democrats in national elections -- hasn't done much for the longest time to support the needs of this nation's working majority. He went on to say,
I would really, really, really like to believe that sort of stuff...but I don't. The reason I don't believe it has to do with timing.
It is about at this point every four years that a labor representative appears to throw down the same gauntlet. They talk tough because there is no imminent election genuinely to impact. They routinely sound defiant and like they might very well walk away from the Democrats. They rattle their sabers and hone in their focus on the key issues affecting labor and not on particular candidates or parties.
They will continue to engage this spectacle until...the election season starts to commence. It is at that point, little by little, that they will tone down their criticism and, before long, they will mute their revolutionary voice entirely. In its place, they bring out the pompoms and start leading cheers for almost ANY Democratic candidate.
Vote for this or that scuzzbucket, they will demand or else you are an anti-labor, anti-American troglodyte!
Consequently, the ONLY way I can take Trumka's declaration seriously is IF, come the 2012 election, I see the labor movement stay on message and not support anti-labor Democratic candidates just because they aren't Republicans.
I certainly won't hold my breath because I've seen this same pre-election resolve evaporate time and time again.
What has gotten Trumka so upset and why is he sounding defiant?
He has finally figured out that the party that the labor movement tirelessly supports -- the Democrats in national elections -- hasn't done much for the longest time to support the needs of this nation's working majority. He went on to say,
When it comes to politics, we’re looking for real champions of working women and men. And I have a message for some of our “friends.” It doesn’t matter if candidates and parties are controlling the wrecking ball or simply standing aside — the outcome is the same either way. If leaders aren’t blocking the wrecking ball and advancing working families’ interests, working people will not support them. This is where our focus will be — now, in 2012 and beyond.Oh, how I would love to believe that he is serious. How I would love to believe that he means it. How I would love to believe that this signals the labor movement's investment in founding a new political party independent of the two corporate parties.
I would really, really, really like to believe that sort of stuff...but I don't. The reason I don't believe it has to do with timing.
It is about at this point every four years that a labor representative appears to throw down the same gauntlet. They talk tough because there is no imminent election genuinely to impact. They routinely sound defiant and like they might very well walk away from the Democrats. They rattle their sabers and hone in their focus on the key issues affecting labor and not on particular candidates or parties.
They will continue to engage this spectacle until...the election season starts to commence. It is at that point, little by little, that they will tone down their criticism and, before long, they will mute their revolutionary voice entirely. In its place, they bring out the pompoms and start leading cheers for almost ANY Democratic candidate.
Vote for this or that scuzzbucket, they will demand or else you are an anti-labor, anti-American troglodyte!
Consequently, the ONLY way I can take Trumka's declaration seriously is IF, come the 2012 election, I see the labor movement stay on message and not support anti-labor Democratic candidates just because they aren't Republicans.
I certainly won't hold my breath because I've seen this same pre-election resolve evaporate time and time again.
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