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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWisconsin Recap: Thanks to Obama, American Left Lies in Smoldering Wreckage
Wisconsin Recap: Thanks to Obama, American Left Lies in Smoldering Wreckage
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/06/wisconsin-recap-thanks-to-obama-american-left-lies-in-smoldering-wreckage.html#comment-729935
On Tuesday, Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker humiliated his Democratic opponent, Tom Barrett, by easily turning back a popular recall attempt sponsored by unions and liberal activists. The numbers in the election, which were supposed to be close, were ugly, in favor of the Republican. But this wasnt just any Republican, Scott Walker is THE Republican, the politician who made his governorship a referendum on a hard right agenda, in a blue state. Walker waged a direct and very public attack on the major constituencies of the Democratic Party, rolling back rights for women, the working class, and the young with measures such as ending collective bargaining for state employees, privatizing state assets, and repealing Wisconsons equal pay provisions for women. His agenda provoked a fierce reaction Wisconsin citizens occupied the Statehouse for months - and then a recall.
Yesterday, Walkers agenda was ratified by the voters of Wisconsin, the state where public sector unions were born. Its hard to overstate how bad this is Wisconsin is now on the road to becoming a right-to-work state, in what is likely to become a right-to-work country. Right-to-work laws are provisions that allow individual employees to withdraw from unions, and they make it much harder for unions to organize.
And the deeper you look into the race, the worse it looks. By calling for a recall instead of a general strike after Walker stripped collective bargaining rights and cut benefits for workers, labor and Democratic leadership in the state diverted and then subverted populist energy, channeling it into an electoral process (at least one union, one very active in the occupation of the Capitol, stood apart from the electoral stupidity). Then, Barrett, an anti-labor centrist, won the Democratic primary by crushing his labor-backed opponent, Kathleen Falk. Finally, Barrett himself was destroyed by Scott Walker, who outspent Barrett 7-1 with corporate money. In other words, first, liberals lost a policy battle, then they failed to strike, then they lost a primary election, then they lost a general election to the most high-profile effective reactionary policy-maker in the country. The conservative beat the moderate who beat the liberal. And had Barrett won, he wouldnt even have rolled back Walkers agenda. Somehow, in a no-win electoral situation, Democrats and labor managed to lose as badly as they possibly could.
What happened?
(more at link)
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I find it a bit ironic that this article calls for a general strike and support from Obama when most of the posts I read by Stoller are divisive and highly critical of the administration, but whatever. Maybe it's just another chance to tell readers how there's no difference between the parties. (This working mother thinks otherwise, but Stoller is a white guy so surely things look different from his perspective.)
But Unions are under attack and over the years I've watched the union pass up many calls for strikes in favor of more bargaining. And every time that bargaining leads to compromises that leave workers with less and corporations with more. There have been calls on this site for a general strike in the past, but they are always reasoned away. What do workers have left? How much worse do things have to be before that would ever be considered?
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)President Obama's demonic far-right influence is so damaging that it stretched back in time, TENFOLD!
...Are we being serious? Really?
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)The article is his typical slam the administration bit.
You are so right about unions losing for a long long time.
I'm wondering about a general strike. Do you ever see that happening? What needs to happen for unions to regain their effectiveness and power?
I think we need to organize globally.
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)Oh man... At this point, it looks like we're back to that "start from scratch" point that our ancestors faced in the 19th century. The damage is so massive that I don't think we can count on any sort of "recovery."
Unfortunately, some of the damage is due to the unions themselves; the playbook hasn't really changed since the 1920's, but the workplace and corporate structure and goals most certainly have.
I really wish I had an answer; the easy answer is "more membership," but to get members, you not only have to have informed people.. .but the union also needs to be able to meet their needs. Nobody's going to want to pay dues for a union that doesn't have their back, after all.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)concept, but a fault of the union leadership.
pennylane100
(3,425 posts)and found that he worked for Alan Grayson at one time. Hope he doesn't rehire him after the election.
Orsino
(37,428 posts)Obviously.
TheWraith
(24,331 posts)Rarely have I seen an article so full of make believe. Apparently in this author's reality, general strikes work, Obama is personally responsible for every election everywhere, and the fantasies of hyper-left bloggers about labor being all-powerful don't at all conflict with the fact that the labor-backed candidates lost twice in Wisconsin, once in the primary and once in the recall.
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)I don't like much of what Stoller writes. He complains we are divided while writing commentary to divide.
But the general strike thing serves other countries well. I was just wondering if anyone sees that as a possibility here? The cynic in me says no.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)EVERY '10 midterm race...
Liberal Veteran
(22,239 posts)If Obama would have campaigned for me, I would have won my bid to become class president in the 8th grade. I still bear the scars of his betrayal and inaction in my burgeoning attempt to become a political force.
Avalux
(35,015 posts)I wonder how much he was paid to write this piece of shit article?
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)Believe me his articles are par for the course on nakedcapitalism.com and other supposedly (once) left leaning sites. It does democrats no good to eat their own which is why I'm very unpopular on such sites.
Avalux
(35,015 posts)then step back and watch Dems eat themselves. I wish people would figure it out. There's probably Koch money behind it.
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)This guy was on Cenk's show the other day, too.
Avalux
(35,015 posts)and not being paid by the Koch brothers (I am a bit bitter today). Doesn't really matter to me though; I wish he'd change his tactic and use his writing skills to bring us together rather than divide us.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)You know, the type with a thousand reasons on why Obama shouldn't run for re-election, but you ask him who is able to actually defeat him in a primary and win a general election, there's nothing but cricket chirps...
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)Sorry I know the article is inflammatory. But I thought the mention of a general strike was interesting. The recall did seem to diffuse things and as a floundering union member I was wondering how bad things have to get before workers in the US would actually consider that as an option. But now the thread is all about how Stoller is known for anti administration rants. (I agree with that!)
Good thing I'm not in charge of democratic party messaging huh?
fascisthunter
(29,381 posts)look, the democratic party has moved to the right, and now with a right wing corporate media to constantly flood the mainstream with arguments for their interests is taking an effect on people. There is no REAL counter to the right wing. People in the US are too ignorant to know if they are being lied to. This country has been taken over by a corporate fascist 1%.... in fact, it isn't just happening here, it's happening all around the world. "Shrinking government to spur the economy".... right! Because, removing checks and balances from any system is the best idea...
longship
(40,416 posts)Thanks for post. We need to know what people are writing. But I cannot Rec this thread. Sorry, my friend.
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)ananda
(28,925 posts)Wisconsin is no longer a blue state.
The pressure for moderates, who used to sometimes swing
left, to turn rightwing is phenomenal...
and almost impossible to resist. First, there's association
with the bully winners; and secondly, there's the pressure
to appear "normal" and better than those liberal leftie socialists
and unions who are constantly attacked, ridiculed, and shamed in
the media.
Gotta get my FIL to join the rest of us in CA.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)Response to AverageJoe90 (Reply #14)
Post removed
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)So we know what the administration thinks of the left. I can understand saving his political capital for November... but if you throw people under the bus, dont expect them to later push it when the tanks.empty.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)GarroHorus
(1,055 posts)Three minutes was as long as I could stomach that garbage.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)of destroying home equity really takes the cake for over-the-top false attacks.
If Obama 'destroyed' home equity, then what did Greenspan's monetary policies do, 'create' it?
Jeesh. (Directed at a blatant lie buried in Stoller's piece, not at you
Sekhmets Daughter
(7,515 posts)monetary policy did indeed create the bubble known as "home equity" value.... Many people recognized that Greenspan was creating a dangerous bubble in credit of which the housing bubble was part and parcel. People who have owned real estate over the past 4 decades knew it was happening....many just didn't care. Whenever interest rates are low housing prices go up and when interest rates are high, housing prices tank. The Fed's current refusal to raise interest rates is to keep people in the stock market and to keep housing prices from tanking even more.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)policies enabled the bubble. But there was no 'there, there' (to quote Virginia Woolf out of context), as increases in housing prices far surpassed increases in median income (the source of real home equity as opposed to bubble-induced air).
My point was that Obama could not destroy any equity that was not real to begin with and it was unfair of the essayist Stoller to imply that Obama destroyed any equity.
Sekhmets Daughter
(7,515 posts)clarification.
FSogol
(45,599 posts)abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)I comment on his articles and others on supposedly left leaning blogs calling it right wing crap. Only to be told I'm a pawn of the elites.
But what do you think about a potential general strike? Possible? Never happen? Would it help strengthen unions or hurt them?
Sekhmets Daughter
(7,515 posts)Unions were formed when industry needed labor...today, thanks to the policies of both parties, industry does not need American labor and public sector unions are under attack because people who have had to accept lower paying "service" industry jobs with fewer benefits resent that their taxes are paying for pensions and health care for public sector workers. It's really that simple...Labor Unions raised all boats, outsourcing is lowering those boats.
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)The union is making another go of trying to unionize the VFX industry. There have been many articles about it recently, but with all the studios having several overseas offices any attempt to unionize nationally seems futile.
I think we do need to start over and organize workers globally. Until then corporations will just keep pitting workers from different countries against one another. And governments. Subsidies to encourage work mean taxpayer dollars that should be spent on infrastructure and schools go instead to bribing multi national companies into bringing work to their shores.The whole thing is a mess.
Sekhmets Daughter
(7,515 posts)mainly because they put their trust into the Democratic Party which betrayed them at every turn. Think NAFTA and the trade agreements Obama has signed. Think about the fact that Democrats controlled the congress when Japan was allowed to take over the electronics industry and then the auto industry....Meanwhile the UAW wrung outrageous contracts from the Big 3...when a plant had to shut down temporarily because of over-production and lagging sales, workers were paid throughout the shut down.
You will never get the workers of China and India to cooperate with American workers....they were dirt poor before they were given the gift of American jobs. The only way to bring those jobs back here is for the congress to tax the products as
imports.... and for Americans to stop buying things made overseas. Apple works on a 51% margin for the newest iPhone which is not cheap....Americans should buy some other phone and send the old one back to Apple with a little note....I'll buy another iPhone when it's made here. 4 years ago I, and my late honey, purchased a GE Profile refrigerator for $2,300 and a GE Profile Stove for $2,000 both made in Mexico...I was not happy about that. I've since moved into a smaller place and had to purchase a new stove...I bought one made right here in the good old USA and I love it....Oh yeah it was $400. is self-cleaning, has 2 large burners + 2 small ones and a ceramic cook top. A Frigidaire... an old reliable brand....
I'm afraid most Americans are too self-absorbed to do anything to really help the nation...nothing will be done until 70% of Americans are living at the poverty level....
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)FSogol
(45,599 posts)WilliamPitt
(58,179 posts)Sekhmets Daughter
(7,515 posts)high unemployment, makes any type of strike highly unlikely as well as counter-productive. There are too many recently unemployed teachers, for example, all around the country who would be willing to move to Wisconsin in order to have a job.
We are witnessing the last gasps of a labor movement begun in the 19th century and slowly strangled to death over the past 50 years. It began when we allowed the Japanese to take over the "portable" radio and then television manufacturing. We did that by not placing high import duties on those items and not holding them to the same laws we held American manufacturers...thus the Japanese government subsidized the electronics industry so they could undercut the pricing of American products and American companies, by law, could not sell their products below cost. Americans lost jobs and no one said anything because those radios and televisions were cheap. The first Japanese cars imported into the US were crappy pieces of junk but they were cheap and many Americans bought them because of that. Again the Japanese gov't subsidized their auto industry and before anyone knew what had happened Chrysler, Ford and GM were in financial trouble. Today the Chinese government subsidizes numerous industries, including solar panels...When Obama announced a $2 billion plan for the solar panel industry, China responded by injecting $30 billion into theirs, crushing our production and Europe's as well....The newest Apple iPhone is manufactured in China, with a 51% gross margin, the previous model had a 56% gross margin....gorilla glass is expensive...No import duties....Have you seen the price of Apple stock lately? We are so screwed it's beyond belief and both parties are to blame.
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)Pure hyperbole.
Liberal Veteran
(22,239 posts)Thanks to Obama, American Left Has Been Forcibly Sodomized and Given an Incurable STD While He Laughs Maniacally and Urinates on their Ravaged Flesh.
I'm better at hyperbole than Stoller.
But yeah, that was an over the top title.
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)Don't give Stoller any ideas!
banned from Kos
(4,017 posts)and Stoller is its clown prince.
Yves Smith is the Mad Queen.
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)really scary. I hope those happily agreeing to not vote for Obama aren't actual liberals.
brentspeak
(18,290 posts)RBInMaine
(13,570 posts)HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)Reagan presidency?
Found out our unions actually has a no strike clause. WTF? Then what recourse do workers have? I just feel sometimes like there is no way for the average workers voice to be heard anymore at all. We're expected to work and consume and stay silent.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)jtuck004
(15,882 posts)HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)relationship.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)Basically it's a story about people who have suddenly discovered that what they had is gone, and what they go through in the aftermath. Some do well, some never break free.
It's told from the perspective of mice who suddenly lose the big block of cheese they had, but the characters are universal.
I can't help thinking that some people are trying to save what they had instead of looking to the future.
What they had may well be gone, and maybe they need to figure out a new direction. That can be hard, terribly hard, and harder to think that perhaps it (job, career, whatever) wasn't as good as it seemed anyway. But maybe not as hard, or sad, as spending the rest of their life trying to reclaim what is gone.
We have lost millions of factory jobs, likely not coming back because of the world we live in. But there are a million opportunities in working toward the future (as soon as enough realizes it has ALWAYS taken the government AND the people to create real opportunity on the scale we need).
so, organizing, educating, doing...
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)jtuck004
(15,882 posts)HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)compromise as practiced for the last 40 years.
you apparently think different. go along to get along with the "reality," as advised by every corporatist self-help tome.
v. creating new realities not dictated by corporate needs and ideologies.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)there's a couple others.
You probably wouldn't think that. But then again, it's a crazy world...
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)instead of acting archly superior.
the fact is that labor activity -- slowdowns, strikes, work stoppages -- took a huge dive after the 1970s; labor basically disarmed itself and preached concession and give-back.
what it got them was shut-down plants, declining union membership, and the perception even among members that the leadership were bought leeches.
that history should be instructive.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)and here is a link which I hoped would tell someone about an effort to promote cooperatives where the employees own the assets. Have their own corporation, let the phone answering machine talk to the greedy bastards. Not easy, but might be better for the human spirit.
Glad to be able to tell someone about SMW, though. Very smart people, put it out every market day, an effort which another poster praised "Our own Economy Group has the BEST images". If the economy is circling the drain, you will hear it there, and why, first. Seriously, good news is sometimes met with skepticism, perhaps because it often remains just news.
There is a lot of instructive history out there, and it will be applied in a lot of different ways. The United Steelworkers just signed an agreement to explore employee ownership through cooperatives with Mondragon, maybe work on opening some of the factories themselves. In that scenario the union they knew is gone, (well, for them) and they become owners/workers/managers, their union is with each other and other cooperatives. The enemy becomes the competition outside the cooperative. That you own.
Maybe that's a good evolution for some part of the union.
blue neen
(12,336 posts)and all of us, please.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)a hard right agenda, in a blue state. Walker waged a direct and very public attack on the major constituencies of the Democratic Party, rolling back rights for women, the working class, and the young with measures such as ending collective bargaining for state employees, privatizing state assets, and repealing Wisconsons equal pay provisions for women. His agenda provoked a fierce reaction Wisconsin citizens occupied the Statehouse for months - and then a recall.
...
Up and down the ticket, Democrats are operating under the shadow of the President, associated with unpopular policies that make the lives of voters worse and show government to be an incompetent, corrupt handmaiden to big business. So they keep losing."
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That's what the article is about - why isn't anyone talking about that evil that is Scott Walker?
Look around - why are more people joining those in poverty, while investment bankers, venture capitalists, and junk bond traders like Mi$$ Rmoney are parading their wealth around in our faces? When I look for cause I tend to follow the money, and it's easy to see who has it.
That is happening under our current policies. One can make all the excuses they want, but where was the real fight to get something better or die trying?
Because there are people who are no longer with us today who died as a result of fraud or cuts, simply so the people with the money could profit. It has been going on for several years now, and yet we haven't stopped it? If Democrats don't, who will? And if they won't , who needs 'em?
Why must people complain about someone who just wants the Democrats to win, or at least our common enemy to lose, or, failing that, to stop acting as serfs to the monied class? Scott Walker is hurting people today. Still. And with all the work Democrats did he won bigger this time than he did last time. And people turned out, by golly.
The rich guy's money can only buy so many people, however. A persuasive message that motivates people's spirit could overcome that. I believe (sorry, into Oz mode for a moment) that if we could hold a persuasive message or real opportunity together as Democrats we could make those people so mad they would throw their 42" digital monitor at the next one of these little Republican turds that dared show their face.
Then how would the Koch's spend their kabillion dollars?
But maybe they are getting help. From us.
"...he has indeed nothing more than the power that you confer upon him to destroy you. Where has he acquired enough eyes to spy upon you, if you do not provide them yourselves? How can he have so many arms to beat you with, if he does not borrow them from you? The feet that trample down your cities, where does he get them if they are not your own?
How does he have any power over you except through you?"
de La Boetie, about 1552
Imho, Democrats, and the country and our neighbors, win when they fight for real opportunity for everyone. The Republicans have a plan, the systematic destruction of the lives that depend on programs the Democrats put in place.
Our plan? To Not Let That Happen!
uh huh.
How about a plan to employ 25 million people for two years, open multiple vo-techs for modern skills, math, metallurgy and philosophy in every state, teach business models, including cooperative business, we cover the tuition because you will likely start a business and pay taxes. At a higher rate than Mi$$ Rmoney, I bet. Maybe update some stuff, tell the congressional thugs trying to block innovation to take a hike and put their pictures on bulletin boards across the U.S. as people standing in between "you and a job"? Talk investment, not debt. Debt can be addressed with the right investment. Assuming we do that.
Anyway...
Our enemies and their destruction are my favorite topic today
Think Scott Walker is going to jail?
ananda
(28,925 posts).. with Rahmbots has cost us dearly.