Sunday, March 29, 2009
Snatching a Bloodbath from the Jaws of Victory
You see, with a cynical sigh from the White House and more than a little help from the media, Congress has decided to throw the Employee Free Choice Act under the bus. "[T]he prospects for a landmark pro-union proposal looking increasingly shaky in Congress," writes The Washington Post.
"This is not the time or the place" for card check, said Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who backed the bill in 2007. "To continue to attempt to bring up something that has already worked its way into being so divisive and distracting is unproductive."Unproductive indeed; especially when your main focus is saving your job by throwing those who brought you to the dance under the bus.
Los Angeles Times is also reporting the latest Dem travesty. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is asserting that she'll "seek alternative legislation that [is] less divisive." Because you see, there's nothing more devisive than fair pay for fair labor during a "flailing economy." Folks keep in mind that when Bush was in power, Feinstein safely sponsored this piece of legislation. But it's the economy, stupid; otherwise she'd vote for the bill for sure.
"This is an extraordinarily difficult economy, and feelings are very strong on both sides of the issue," Feinstein said in a statement. "I would hope there is some way to find common ground that would be agreeable to both business and
labor."
Guess we need to remind the gentle ladies from Arkansas and California how well the strategy of appeasement worked out for former Sens. Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania and Jim Sasser of Tennessee in '94. Funny how without the restrain of sure-to-come presidential vetoes, Dems will sacrifice an inconvenient stance and toss it aside as if it were a three-headed monster trying to hop on the cash bus and destroy their noble paths to public service. Besides, one can't take any chances with the corporate spigot.
Well, opportunities to enact the progressive agenda which Dems ran on and won back the House, Senate and presidency in '06 and '08 must not be squandered or There Will Be Blood. Card check legislation and health insurance reform top the progressive list of must-haves; they are nonnegotiable.
After all, centrist Dems, please do tell all those activists who busted their butts to elect you into a majority why they should patiently sit by the sidelines while you c
ut, slash and burn their progressive plans. Congress and Obama need to stop pussy-footing around and honor the rallying pledges of last summer and autumn. If not, expect a bloodbath in '10 -- as is right and just.
And blogger boyz, forget about Arlen Specter; he's a kamikaze pilot flying high above the bus. But maybe you could entice Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina to join your caravan; we hear he's in a little bit of a pickle, to mix-up metaphors.
Anyone remember '94 when Dems stupidly blocked health care reform because of egos and bullshit?? Perhaps we should disregard that crap about always looking forward. To borrow the pecuniary sentiment from DiFi, during these hard economic times, a little trip down memory lane, circa 1992, might actually be useful.
I remember when my best friend worked for an insurance company who shall remain nameless (i.e., GEICO) and employees were trying to unionize, the company went batshit and threatened them with loss of jobs. Of course they couched it language of the cost of doing business, and how it would be oh, so untenable. In other words, lying and bullying. Of course employees voted against their interest and against the union.
The reason the middle class has sunk to such despair is because the union movement lost its mojo during the Republican takeover. Just recently there was an article about how union service jobs pay $2 more on average and include health benefits.
Now why would workers vote against the union if it weren't because they were scared out of their gore of losing their jobs?
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