This is angry. I am yelling. But I am a white, male truckdriver.......

[FredStembottom]

And I have been reading pages and pages here today about the DNC and the DLC and I want to tell you why I am so opposed to the direction the DLC has taken the Party in the last 20 years.

I have been advocating, writing letters, talking locally within the Democratic Party for 25 frickin' years now. To no avail.

My message is simple: talk about worker's rights. Unionizing, outsourcing (especially outsourcing!), management cheating (we have ALL been cheated out of portions of our wages by innumerable statistical tricks). SPEAK OF THEM and blue-collar men go absolutely NUTS with recognition of the problems! Followed 5 minutes later with the most intense hunger to do something about it all that you have ever witnessed.

I speak of them to my blue-collar friends all the time! All. By. Myself.

Millions of white, male blue-collar workers go around in right-wing talk radio induced ignorance. Each and every one of them thinks that the problems they have with their employer is unique, puzzling and sure to get better after a change of management ...or something.

What I do: I simply point up how these "puzzling anomalies" are actually well-known and ancient un-fair labor practices. With NAMES!

Speed-ups. Wage stagnation policies. two-tiered wage systems. Worker isolation. These are some of the names of the classic Unfair Labor Practices that my friends experience everyday. But they don't even know that there are such things as Unfair Labor Practices!

Watch 'em go off like rockets when you give them a NAME for what they suffer everyday - just a name for Christ's sake. They go ballistic and are ready for anything.

We are not dumb asses down here on the loading docks of America! Everyone can recognize when they are being ripped off. But what is long gone down here - LOOOOONNGGGG gone - is a Democratic Party that helps us know our rights - or even WANTS us. And what IS here is a Republican Party that DOES want us.

Can't you morons in the DLC see that blue-collar America clings to the Repubs. because the Repubs. WANT us. And they PROVE it by consistently addressing just 1 or 2 wedge issues that concern blue collar America. Nevermind that these issues don't even relate to our work life; it still trumps the absolute NOTHING that Democrats offer!

And _traditional_ Democratic values offer the blue-collar worker nothing less than actual salvation from what ails him at work. But these working-man values - even the mere NAMING of these ailments we are plagued with - have been WITHHELD for 20 years! Not a peep. Not a sound. No one comes. No one speaks. No one gives a diagnosis.

So, clearly, we have been thrown away. Disposed of. And there still are MILLIONS of us. Millions who could be voting Democratic by 2006 if the Party would actually come and talk to us, beginning with the NAMES of the Unfair Labor Practices used against us everyday. Posing for pictures with John Sweeney once every 4 years is not even in the ballpark of what is needed!

Do you want us? Really?

Then show us. Come down to the loading dock.

[bemildred]

1. Yes. Well said.

:thumbsup:

[BlueWolff]

2. Here -here!!!

Well said!

[praisethelowered]

49. right on. . .nt

[mrgorth]

3. Word.

[ooglymoogly]

129. this is just what we need...these kinds of lightning bolts

listen up dlc you are being eclipsed.

[OKNancy]

4. Bravo

Excellent post. It's not just the DLC that isn't listening, it's the DNC and the party regulars. It's also Ivory tower Dems.

[Dr.Phool]

40. You've got that right!!

And I'm forwarding this to every Democratic politician and candidate I know.

This is the prescription for winning. And winning BIG!!!

[Booster]

5. You're absolutely right, Fred. I just don't understand why everyone

in the U.S. isn't screaming about labor. You get the "Gee, I lost my job" threads ever so often, but then everybody goes right back to yelling about abortion & loss of privacy rights. Yes, these things are important, but jobs, and I mean real jobs, are even more important. If you don't have a job in America, you have no rights at all - no one cares what you think because you're a loser in their minds. Start complaining about having to talk to someone in India about your computer problems (and most every other problem including banking/credit problems. Do something about it; tell your Congress people and even your local level reps that this is important to you. Jobs are the salvation of America.

[katsy]

6. RECOMMENDED!

They disposed of blue-collar workers...
And we said nothing because we were liberals.

Then they disposed of us and there was noone to stand up for us.

Well I didn't get the prose to work. But you know it works.

Great thoughts for everyone to ponder. Thanks!



:thumbsup:

[prairierose]

7. Thank you, Fred...

that is the most lucid and practical explanation for what has been happening that I have read in a long time.

Please keep talking to your collegues and keep talking to us here. We have to work to get this message to someone in the leadership of the party. Do you ever feel like there really is no coherent leadership to the party?

Thanks again.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. Good to hear it from the horse's mouth

I may be a "pointy-headed intellectual," but for three years during the Reagan recession, I worked temporary industrial jobs, almost exclusively in non-union shops, where I saw just how bad bosses can be.

Then I'd go home and hear on the news that Reagan had fired the air traffic controllers, and the Dems weren't doing anything about it, despite having a majority in both houses.

Then I'd hear about companies hiring "permanent replacements" for strikers who had what sounded to me like totally legitimate grievances, and with a few shining exceptions, the Dems did nothing about it.

I swear, if I had a magic wand, I'd make every DLC politician and every DLC apologist be a temporary industrial worker for three years. It was an unpleasant and frustrating experience, but as educational in its own way as getting my graduate degree.

[Totally Committed]

9. ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT...

and recommended!

Thank you for the post.

[rateyes]

10. I am with you...

my father was a Teamster--worked for Mason-Dixon, before the company sold out--still says he doesn't understand why a "working man" would ever vote for a damned Republican. "Down to the Loading Dock" ought to be a rallying cry.

And, another one of the problems is those who aren't in a union (but, certainly benefit from it--and, even some who are) don't understand the history--and, where they would be today if it werent' for the union.

Any union member who would vote for a Republican is voting against him/herself---and, IMHO, the DLC needs a change of direction/leadership to reflect that.

[kath]

71. Yes, it seems totally incomprehensible that a working person would ever

vote for a Republican (it's like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders).
The Dems have dropped the ball on this BIG TIME, and of course the corporate kiss-up DLC is much worse on this than the party in general (DNC).
Time for the Dems to get their collective head out of their ass and go the the working-person vote. WTF is wrong with them??????

[rateyes]

121. "A working person voting for Republicans...

is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders."

That's a great simile--we need to make that into a campaign slogan. People can understand that. Now, if we can get the person in the chicken suit holding such a sign at Republican Rallies...

Edit for typo.

[HootieMcBoob]

11. Amen Brother!

You are so absolutely right.

It's so easy! To hell with the DLC and their DINO Corporatist agenda!
If Democrats want to win elections start talking to working Americans about how their getting screwed by corporations and Republican policies and what Democrats plan on doing to help them and there will no longer be a Republican party!

[andyhappy]

12. you are so right!

[Zorbuddha]

13. Not everyone can recognize when they are getting ripped-off.

Bush was re-elected, sort of.

That said, I'm with you.

[AmandaRuth]

14. amen brother

wages are low, costs are up, even with medical insurance, i can't afford to get sick. And a Safeco executive, here in Seattle, who makes $10,000,000 a year (yeah - thats ten million) wants to run for Senate (repuke). I wonder if the dem party will even make that an issue.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, credit card min payments are set to double, sending even more people over the edge.

[Talismom]

15. A wonderful post and just the answer to the DLC and the

garbage coming out of the likes of Hilary, Lieberman and Feinstein! Why don't you run for office Fred. Your just the kinda guy I've been looking to work for! Lots of us are!

[kansasblue]

16. Run for office! And don't care if you win. Just use it to speak out.

[union_maid]

17. Thank you!

That was so well said. Please keep saying, loud and clear.

[Gildor Inglorion]

18. Didn't Governor Dean address these very issues?

Didn't he actually try to reach out to the very workers you're talking about? And wasn't he ridiculed and villified by EVERYONE (except us few true believers) in the whole country? ("Ivory tower liberal," said the Repukes; "pandering to rednecks," said the MSM; "condescending liberal," said the good ol' boys.) I'm afraid any decent Democrat who actually came down to the loading dock would be ripped to shreds by rabid opponents of gay marriage and flag burning, which, along with displaying the "Ten Commandments," seem to be the only issues that matter any more. Heaven help us all.
:cry:

[FredStembottom]

85. No. No. Let me respectfully correct you...

You will, indeed, find the anti-gay marriage and flag-burning types here "on the dock". But that has never been everybody here. There are others with a natural bent towards tolerance. They are very quiet, yes. In fact it has been almost essential to keep to oneself if you harbor differing views what with wingnut Radio blasting all day! That is an influence that purposely sets out to inflame everyone's worse nature.

But.....engage them about their jobs. Ask them about the 1001 ways they are cheated out of little chunks of their pay. Let them tell you of the statistics run on them constantly that force them to cheat safety to keep up. Ask them which subjects are de facto forbidden in company run workgroup meetings........ and watch gays, flags, terror alerts - whatever - simply vanish. POOF! They get so upset and engaged that the straw men of Wingnut Radio fade to near non-existence.

Oh....and have they got a few things to say about out-sourcing and
other macro-economic topics! Just be sure to stand back a few feet ;-)

Finally, tomorrow or Friday, I want to flesh out what I will just mention here: something very new has happened. Something I don't see reported anywhere. That is, when you go to imagining the anti-gay and flag crowd do you picture a big, hairy fat-guy with tattoos named 'Cuder or Studs or something? Well, 'Cuder and Studs are here BUT so is Jason, Buffy and Eric.

You see, Jason, Buffy and Eric all studied to be computer and I.T. people in the late 90's. Just like they were supposed to. But just as they were leaving school, I.T. was leaving them - for India and points East. And so they have all taken "temporary" jobs down on the dock throwing freight with me. And now 'temporary" is stretching into 4 or 5 years. See the implications?

[PittLib]

116. I appreciate the OP as well as this one ...

I hope you are right. I attended the progressive Take Back America conference where labor concerns were very prominently featured. While I'd been inclined to support labor in the past, the speakers really nailed it home for me (Moyers in particular). But please understand, while this is your issue (directly anyway), I have mine as well and I don't my concerns thrown out anymore than you do. Here in PA, I imagine most unions will get behind Casey who, while being pro-labor, is otherwise a social conservative to the possible detriment of women, homosexuals, and a whole host of progressive concerns. While there are now 2 progressive candidates running in the primary (at least one of which is equally as supportive of worker's rights), Casey will get the numbers. I won't be a hypocrite and abandon you - because I believe in what you are fighting for. I will fight with you ... and hope that you'll do the same in return, as I'm feeling a little high and dry right now. I will keep repeating this until it sinks in ... this is not the time for compromise but for progressives to fight like hell.

[Idylle Moon Dancer]

125. Yes, correct.

I am "Jason, Buffy and Eric." I've been on the dock and in the aisles
for two years and counting.

[Cassandra]

130. Thanks for a great post.

I'm wondering if the presence of the IT people on the loading dock hasn't reversed a situation that might have made labor different now than in previous generations. Previously, many blue collar students couldn't rise to white collar positions because college was so out of reach. When college was made more widely available, some of the brightest students were no longer on the factory floor or on the loading dock where their natural intelligence would have had some influence. Now this is reversing and college educated and high school grads may be mingling again. This may turn out to be a good thing in terms of society. Am I making any sense?

[TwentyFive]

141. Man - you are really nailing it - and good too!

I am a 'Jason' who competes with $2/hour guys from India. I am sick of hearing the lie spread by Rightwing dunderheads who say, 'The Freemarket works EVERY time. If you can't compete in the freemarket, then too bad, you lose out"

But what about our tax dollars paying to educate all these workers from India? Like US foreign aid to build schools in India? Foreign students coming to the US for a college education? There is nothing free about this. Why do our tax dollars go to support competitors in the labor market?

Same thing with the auto industry.

US Tax dollars rebuilt Japan & Germany after WWII, then protected them with our military for 50+ years and running. The gall of people to say that GM & Ford workers "can't compete" with the more efficient Japanese in the freemarket. There is nothing free about trillions in GM & FORD worker tax dollars going to support these competing countries.

It all boils down to Wall Street & Corporations viewing labor as a resource, just like trees, land, or electricity. They want the most competition among the most workers. We've been had...and most people are too stupid to realize it.

[bobbieinok]

158. + don't forget.....Germany factories were totally rebuilt after WWII with

latest technology, etc,......this did not happen in US

[Trevelyan]

156. Can't wait for your second post/article fleshing out the Name of The Game

My father suffered terribly from the break-up of the unions in Construction work. He liked and was knowledgeable about classical music and opera and favorite writers were Huxley, Omar Kayam, Walt Whitman, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey though he had only a High School Diploma.

There is such prejudice in this country against the working class. Didn't like Jerry Springer's exploitative subjects and trying to get people to fight but the only time that you will see working class accents and expressions are on shows like these.

Very nice cab drivers even those from Iraq and Iran listen to Rush Limbaugh. Someone to express anger even if Rush has to go back to the Cuban Batista government to convince Americans that the dollar is sound.

I have read that not many people really listen to Rush but the Media powers that be float him because of the harnessing of anger in the direction they want, even if Rush's show doesn't pay for itself.

Was said in two places one in conjunction with taking Phil Donahue off the air despite his very good ratings. Don't watch TV or listen to radio, computer takes up all my time so don't really know.

KICK :kick: :dem:

[TwentyFive]

140. That's rght - Howard Dean was talking issues that mattered

What did the people do? Get back on the gay marriage bandwagon. Sheesh....makes me think people do indeed get the government they deserve....which is unfortunate for the rest of us.

[katsy]

19. A thought for blue-collar workers & progressives alike...

Just for kicks, track elections 2006 and see how dlc candidates who voted for CAFTA fare in their election bids.

I'm still numb from the senate's passing of the NAFTA outsourcing (that's what it REALLY is) bill with the help of how many dems?????

Fred, "we" want you. But the dlc may have little use for you or "us".

[ulysses]

20. excellent!

:applause:

[bloom]

21. "The Progressive Legislative Action Network"

Moveon, SEIU, Steelworkers Join PLAN in Seattle

AGENDA

Planning Progress 2005: A conference to launch the Progressive Legislative Action Network (PLAN) and to define a positive progressive agenda for the states

Tuesday, August 16
Bell Harbor Conference Center
Pier 66
Seattle, Washington


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1961285

http://www.progressivestates.blogspot.com /

http://www.progressivestates.org /

[Gemini Cat]

22. This is one of the best posts I've ever read here.

Thank-you for saying so eloquently what I have been trying to say for years!
Recommended and :kick:

[kath]

72. Absolutely one of the best posts ever!

[quisp]

23. kicked

[Armstead]

24. Kudos

If the Dems don't defend working people on the things that matter, the Republicans will win them over with lies and side issues.

[chaska]

25. HELL YES!!! Fred gets it, but....

Not really a 'but', more like an 'and'....

The reason the Dem party doesn't cater to workers now is because the campaign money comes from the corporations. The solution is simple.

WE MUST GET CORPORATE MONEY OUT OF OUR ELECTIONS. Maine and Oregon have done this. California is looking into it. We have to do this in all the states. ONLY THEN WILL THINGS CHANGE.

THIS IS JOB ONE.

...Oh yeah, eff the DLC.

[rman]

26. and nominated

[Rainscents]

27. Thanks for great post!!! Kick!

I am with you all the way and very well said! :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :patriot:

[formernaderite]

28. Yes, yes, yes

I hear you....It's time, but will they listen?

[senseandsensibility]

29. Woohoo!

Kicked and nominated. The most inspirational speech I ever heard was from an old union guy who addressed a crowd at an anti-ahnold rally in California. He screamed "it's your DUTY to vote against this!" and had everyone in tears with his passion and his truth. So keep talking, and keep yelling, and keep writing. And most of all, keep posting here at DU. We really, really, need you.:-) Good job, brother.

[Dora]

30. THANKS for the post

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[GreenPartyVoter]

31. Great post!

[aspberger]

32. Well said

but do you think you have some buddies, who want no more children, who might donate their balls to the Democratic Party?

[OneBlueSky]

33. excellent rant! . . . nominated . . . n/t

.

[donheld]

34. FredStembottom

:yourock:

[axe2grind]

35. Great post

Maybe, just maybe somebody at the DNC will read this and finally get the message.

[Rainscents]

55. Welcome to DU!!!

:hi:

[JDPriestly]

36. You speak for the vast majority of Americans

not just blue collar but white collar too. Office workers, nurses, teachers, even doctors need a Democratic Party that speaks and works for them. Let's hold employers accountable to their employees. Responsibility is a two-way street.

Let's abolish employment at will. So what if it means employees have to give two weeks notice before they can quit a job. That's a small price to pay to have the right to know why you are fired.

Let's give employees the right to sue and collect damages from employers who verbally or psychologically abuse them. Employees who suffer emotional distress at work should at least be entitled to Workers' Compensation.

Let's strengthen and enforce wage and hour laws as well as protections for unions.

Let's get real pensions and real protection for existing pension plans.

Do you realize that most baby boomers and war babies have no expectation of fixed retirement income? For most of us our only pension fund is the money we saved. Do you realize how much money you have to save to retire today? More than any normal person could possibly save on an average salary I assure you. Do you realize how little Social Security pays out? And do you realize that most of us haven't made any real money (accounting for inflation) on our retirement savings since Bush took power in 2001? Do you realize that, in today's economy, 65-year-olds have an almost impossible time getting a decent job due to age discrimination and health problems?

Wake up, America. The corporations have taken America's money and transferred it to third world countries where the people don't realize what moving to the city and leaving the rural life behind will mean when they get old. The truth about urbanization and industrialization is just about to hit here folks. In the next 15 to twenty years, the big cities are going to be full of impoverished, elderly ex-wage slaves overrunning the limited resources available. I hate to be such a pessimist, but do the math. Where is the Democratic Party on these issues. We need to propose a labor platform that will help blue and white collar, even professional workers alike. We don't have much time. This is urgent.

[Broken_Hero]

150. Yeah, to damn true brother...

Its sad,it truly is. And i bet most of the people who are stuck in that kind of rut vote republican, rather than dem, but why should they vote dem in the first place, if they dont' do, or support any legislation that protects the workers, or their pensions? I can see why the RW blue collar workers vote repub, because our dem leaders do jack crap to protect them. In this world today, i bet, that most people are about twoo to three weeks away from going into huge amounts of debt. My wife and I have our own house, two vans, and its hard as hell to pay all the bills, to save money, its almost damn impossible....life makes sure you can't save money. Oh yeah, save a few hudnred, car breaks down, or save a thousand, gas goes up in price, your property taxes go up, and your fridge breaks down. The things in life, suck up a lot of the money that you can save. I have been caught in this cycle of save, and then crap breaks down, or the high price of gas guts us. If my wife, or myself got sick, and had to quit our job for a month, we would sink in bills..and i'm not talking, my car payment for my jag type of bills, i'm talking food, gas, electric, phone..etc. I don't got cable, thats how broke i am...:)

But in order to save money, or plan on retiring, i think some peopel make it on luck, or good planning, right now i can't imagine how they did it, cause i'm thinking of it right now at a young age, and all i see is a damn moutain of lava that i have to climb with my bare feet. With the high prices of gas, and the cost of living, i dont' know how people make it, my wife and i literally make it paycheck to paycheck barely...

[Trevelyan]

155. Very powerful WAKE-UP CALL, I can't remember the site but

Americans forced one country's village inhabitants into a urban situation and it was disastrous. Wonder if you read the same article because of some of the things you wrote.


A site with political and spiritual information with a large photo of Bush burning a large Social Security Card on the top of the home page, scroll down to see three columns of very interesting articles.

http://www.hermes-press.com/

http://www.thehungersite.com (click every day for free food for the hungry, please.)

http://www.conyersblog.us/ New article on the disastrous vote to cap suing medical malpractice by Rep. Conyers and many posts on CAFTA and the turncoats.

:kick: :donut:

[MissMarple]

37. This needs to be on the front page.

Jobs, fair wages and pension plans, health care, good public schools, the whole ball of wax, these are issues that the DLC seems oblivious to or unable to address.

[King Coal]

38. What Fred is saying is that we need to

stand up for Labor. I have a friend, I should say, I had a friend who was pissed off one day (during the Clinton times) because he had to mow his own lawn. He couldn't find anyone to do it for what he was willing to pay. He figured that if there were enough people hungry, he should be able to find someone to do it for peanuts. That is the mentality. That is what they want. It all comes down to the labor, and they want it cheap.

[MissMarple]

39. With no French benefits.

:rofl:

I don't mean to sound impertinent, but is, all too sadly, true. Americans don't want to pay for anything, but they want it all.

[bob-calhoun]

41. My letter to the DLC

I got so mad reading the AP article about the DLC meeting that I sent them the following email...

Dear DLC,

I am sorry but you will never steer our party back
into the White House or into control of congress by
crying about letting military recruiters onto school grounds
or by alienating the youth vote with your calls for
censorship of videogames. The youth vote is currently
the largest democratic voting block and your
organization seems to want to scare it away from the
party by telling it that it shouldn't play video games
but should go fight and die in a war that was founded
on a mountain of lies. You should stop protecting our
young people from digitized pixels of violence and
maybe start protecting them from car bombs in the
streets of Baghdad instead. If you cannot figure out
how to make our party look strong against terror with
respect to the GOP's tremendous gaffes in this area,
than you are ridiculous. The GOP outs covert agents
and gives away the identity of Al Quaeda informers
just to manipulate the cable news cycle. I personally
think that John Kerry or Howard Dean could handle the
war on terror a whole lot better than that. Calling
for a borderline draft will not win democrats
elections. It is not 1992 anymore. We have bigger
things to worry about than media ratings and video
games.

Respectfully,

Bob Calhoun
California

[FredStembottom]

89. That was great, Bob!

The DLC is years past it's freshness date!:spray:

[Desertrose]

42. damn straight, Fred... and welcome to DU...you are needed here!

Thank you. Straight talk at last.

"Millions of white, male blue-collar workers go around in right-wing talk radio induced ignorance."

That sentence rings frighteningly true, only because the Dems offer no other options.


One of the reaons I like Kucinich...the man has a major clue.

[FredStembottom]

90. Oh gosh. Count me in.

Kucinich really spoke to me!

[juajen]

106. Kucinich is great!

I wanted him elected; but, there were not enough like me.

Thanks for your post and this thread.

[eridani]

108. All the folks who think that Kucinich is great--

--should send him some money.

www.kucinich.us

[Desertrose]

111. I agree..we'll need him more than ever...

The man has some good plans & ideas.
He also has a clue what its like to have to struggle to make a living....

... and here's his stand on CAFTA....
http://www.kucinich.us/floor_speeches/work_cafta_bad26jul.php

"CAFTA will result in lower wages for the people in this country. It will result in the loss of jobs in this country, and it should be defeated."


WHY DIDN'T THEY LISTEN ????



damn....can't believe they passed it....

[Historic NY]

43. I agree 100% with you I spent 30yrs in public service union.....

as a police officer and we too were constantly beaten down at contract time. We got roped into an organized union that only wanted to suck on the dues tit, they offered an open end contract with no getting out of it. The majority of the benefits we had under contract came from a Democratic elected local government. As the years passed little by little it was chipped away. We would get screwed over and end up bogged down in hearings, more hearing and then get forced to accept binding arbitration. Our local government has been all Repuke for the past 10 yrs and the only thing we ended up with was full medical on retirement (one of the last large depts not to have it)but it cost dearly. We ended up with raises of 0% 2% 2% 0% for yrs 2003-2006. Thats not even close to cost of living an extra bone was $1.05 per hr if you worked the graveyard shift. They tried two tier wages here too but it was rejected. Our local government is now having one hell of a time trying to find new quailified recruits because they can go elsewhere and make more money. We never hear a peep from local Democrats any more, perhaps this year since they are finally after 10 yrs filling all government positions except for a town justice. Ten years of one party rule, w/o opposition amazing isn't it. I've seen lots of members in my union vote for these contracts thinking the Republican Party was representing them. The truth be told they caved in rather than fight for their own best interests. So my friends its time for strong Democrats to come out for the union guys and not just play lip service. A lot of unions are leaving the fold thinking the grass is greener on the other side, even if its not in their best interest. Republicans will shout with glee if they can turn the major unions, all while making seem they want to help. We are actually being screwed both both sides, but the Repukes seem to be handing out some useless bones these days.

[flpoljunkie]

44. Agreed! If Dems do not stand for economic justice, what good are they?

And frankly, way too many Democrats have sold out to the same special interests that run our lives--big banks and credit card companies, big pharma, big energy, big HMO.

We need real Democrats and we need them fast, if we are to regain the Congress and the White House.

My support now goes exclusively to real Democrats. Faux dems don't waste your postage or your time sending emails.

[FredStembottom]

91. Tell every Democratic operative you meet

Not even a million dollars can actually vote. But a million angry workers CAN.


edited for snappiness;)

[Jacobin]

45. Thank you for saying that.

It is so clear that the DLC is nothing more than a rotting corpse that needs to be buried, that it boggles the mind that some don't see it.

[bostonbabs]

46. Thank you, thank you, thank you

....I am so glad that your post was recommended .So many things that you talk about are true.

[Nikki Stone 1]

47. YES

:kick:

[Eloriel]

48. Amen, Brother! Well said. And btw, the morans in the DLC are

AGAINST you. They consider you -- and all your rowdy labor friends -- part of the "special interests" that they no longer want associated with the Democratic Party:

quote: Simon Rosenberg, the former field director for the DLC who directs the New Democrat Network, a spin-off political action committee, says, "We're trying to raise money to help them lessen their reliance on traditional interest groups in the Democratic Party. In that way," he adds, "they are ideologically freed, frankly, from taking positions that make it difficult for Democrats to win."

from: How the DLC Does It by Robert Dreyfuss
http://www.prospect.org/print-friendly/print/V12/7/dreyfuss-r.html


Labor, minorities, women and esp. pro-choice women are among the special interests" that the DLC wants not to have to bother with.

SO glad you're with us. Let's hear lots more from you.

[guerillikins]

51. An historical perspective

This thread is right on! We need leaders of a true labor movement now.

Thomas Jefferson and others worried that corporations may one day rise to seize control of the government and enslave the people. James Madison wrote, "The growing wealth acquired by corporations never fails to be a source of abuses." Jefferson proposed an additional amendment to the Bill of Rights to restrain corporations, calling for a Constitutional Amendment to "ban monopolies in commerce."

http://www.thomhartmann.com/dismantling.shtml
http://www.liberalslant.com/mpb052403.htm

[Frederik]

50. Amen and Halleluja

The Democratic party stopped winning elections when it stopped being the American labor party. The DLC wants us to believe that Michael Moore is the problem, go figure.

[bobbieinok]

159. 3 core dem voters--labor, minorities (esp blacks), women ...so hey let's

stop supporting their 'special interest' issues b/c it loses votes

WHAT A STUPID RECIPE FOR DISASTER

[Orion The Hunter]

52. RE:

GREAT letter, Fred! The DLC needs some serious shaking up!

[slybacon9]

53. BRAVO!

[Rainscents]

54. Excellent Post!!! Recommended.

:toast:

[Nigel_Tufnel]

56. masterfully written, sir

what a well written and moving post!

thank you!

[BelgianMadCow]

57. Yep. Right on the mark. You need true opposition to corporatism

and that, by definition, comes from the workers.
It's high time Labor gets organised, VERY organised.

Always remeber whose numbers are the biggest.


Keep spreading the word!

:yourock:

[Bluzmann57]

58. What a great post!

Thank you sir, for saying what needs to be said. You see, I too am a bluecollar working stiff who is trying to make it in this tough ol' world. I agree with some things the ultra liberals say, I disagree with some. But that is our right as Americans. If the Democratic candidates would actually come on out to the factories, loading docks, mines, construction sites and other places that keep America running, they would certainly be more able to connect with us. I have never voted republican and sure as hell won't now either, but you have some valid points. We are more concerned with day to day issues, such as making house payments, car payments, putting food on our tables, and making sure our children are educated and have a better life than we do. And speaking of our children, we are also damn sure trying to instill real values in them, such as no murder, no stealing, no lying, no cheating, well you get it. Bravo!

[trekbiker]

59. I've been on both sides of this...

I got out of college with an engineering degree in 1985 and there was no way in hell you could get me into a union. I had no respect the "lowest common denominator" aspect of unions. I did not want to be "equal" with the rest of the workforce, I wanted to kick ass and excel... take no prisoners... climb the ladder..

well, after 15 years and an incredible series of eye opening management blunders, myself and the other 100 engineers in my job classification in my corp managed to unionize to the great shock of company management. That was 5 years ago. And we're all solid union people now. We've seen the excesses, the sheer arrogance of corporate management first hand. I thank god for the protection my union provides against the random incompetence of corporate management.

I blame De-reg and Reagan for starting this march to the bottom back in the 1980's. De-reg led to globalization and outsourcing and decimated the union's in America. Only 13% of us have union representation now.

[FredStembottom]

92. Always remember that "union" is no more specific than "business".

Somewhere in the past I was watching some union-bashing creep on TV as he plodded through the usual snide union stereotypes. "1 digging and 3 watching", "organized crime" etc. And presenting this as his argument for why there should be no unions.
And it suddenly dawned on me that none of those things are an argument against unionization itself!

I imagined myself saying to this gas-bag: "Gosh, it sure is a good thing that there are no businesses that ever get involved with crime or have inefficient workers or mess up their pension plans or you would have to come out here and state "there should be no businesses"!

[FredStembottom]

93. And congrats. on birthing a brand new union!

I can't tell you how happy this makes me! I haven't heard such a story in years!:applause:

[trekbiker]

147. we were absorbed into an existing union of technical employees

the ESC (engineers and scientists of California). It wasnt easy to break away from management and it took nearly two years of negotiations. Management severely underestimated our resolve. They didn't believe that degree'd management engineers would ever do such a thing. After we successfully unionized a couple of senior VP's left the company to "pursue other interests"

[brentspeak]

60. Great post

There was almost nothing I read on the DLC website which would move me as a voter. Of course I'm going to vote for DLC candidates, if that's my only option. But that's just because I'm a staunch Democrat. The only pulse the people running the show over at DLC HQ have a handle on is a large piece of milquetoast.

[greendog]

61. There's no better education than driving OTR

Paid by the mile....half your work is uncompensated.

But it's not real miles, it's "book miles".....subtract ten percent.

When they don't have to pay you for your time, they won't think twice about wasting it.

If you want to see where the DLC/Repub program is taking us, live the life of a truck driver for a while.

It's a good education in economics as well. Haul a load of paper towel or bottled water across the country and try to convince yourself that capitalism is efficient.

[FredStembottom]

94. Just to be clear, I am in the LTL world

But we have are own set of "paycheck cheaters" to make sure we are always "contributing" to the welfare of the company!

[CANDO]

119. Which LTL? Yellow, Roadway, ABF, Holland?

I'm a 16 year LTL Teamster here in PA. Been driving for the "Green Machine", New Penn Motor Express for the last 12 of those sixteen years. You would not believe the number of my fellow drivers who are caught up in right-wing world. People, believe us when we tell you, the numbers of union people voting Republican are simply shocking! I can't seem to crack their wall of ignorance. I mean we have guys ask for reduced dues because they don't want their dues money going to Democrats. It's the wedge issues... god, guns and gays. Stupidity, willful stupidity!

[PittLib]

133. Belated welcome, CANDO ...

I'm sorry to hear about your fellow drivers ... but from a fellow Pennsylvanian, I am glad your here. :hi:

[CANDO]

142. Thank you Pittlib!

I've actually been on this site since around '99 or 2000. As you can tell, I don't usually have much to say, but I am addicted to seeing what everyone has to say on these forums.

[PittLib]

153. understood. I talk too much ...

but I'm realizing that I don't need to comment on everything. I joined in support of local SEIU tonight, who were in turn supporting Houston janitors on strike. It was eye-opening. Honestly, I've never been to anything like it. The company that induced the strike (ABM - I believe) apparently agreed to talk it over, so it ended on a positive note. I actually got teary ... kind of embarassing, so I choked back. I'm proud to stand behind (or, more to the point, for) organized labor.

[Greylyn58]

62. Best post I've read in some time

and thanks for telling it like it is.

[dave29]

63. 10-4

:)

[wicket]

64. Best thing I've read in a long time

Thank-you!!!!

:kick:

[Jade Fox]

65. Excellent rant, FredS! Nominated

Welcome to DU. We need guys like you!

[blondeatlast]

66. I read this brilliant piece at work.

You said things I've been trying to express for eons.

We will win the country back if we remember the working man and woman.

Let me just add to the piling on of kudos. Bravo, bravo, bravo.

:patriot:

[Robeysays]

67. FredStembottom read this.

DO. SOMETHING. ABOUT. IT. its time you hung the trucker hat at the door for the last time, call the city or county clerk. Register to run for a city , county or state office. Hell, with a speech like that you could probably make it to a national level first time. You don't even need to run for a public office, run for a democratic party seat. you have the power and if i were in that crowd you're screaming at the top of your lungs at. I would donate as much money as i could afford. The reason, i would because you told it exactly like it is, and you want to change it.

go, do it, now, i'm waiting.

robeysays.

[grannylib]

68. I want to thank you for this...plain, well-stated, honest-to-God TRUTH

and it's high time the Democratic party leadership and the DLC addressed just this. We need to be a party of and for the PEOPLE not the corporations, and it seems to me (biased Minnesotan that I am) that since Paul Wellstone died, there just is NOBODY willing to speak out for working Americans!!
WTF???
:wtf:
I mean, I KNOW why, it's because the DLC and most of the Democratic party leadership are little more than Repuke Lite, which means corrupt lying sacks of shit whoring themselves for their corporate masters, and I doubt that corporations would look kindly on the kind of talk that is needed here, and that you advocate.
But honest to God, WTF??? Have we really come to the point in this country that we have nobody left to speak for the people? Are we truly lost? As a post last night discussed, is America over?

[bobbieinok]

160. Harkin of IA: when he was in the 92 pres primary, he was always introduced

as the 'labor candidate' on TV shows...... the clear implication was that he therefore was totally irrelevant

[OhioBlue]

69. Great post

your voice is what is needed. The Democratic Party needs to make the message absolutely clear that they stand up for the working class!!!! A lot of Republicans actually despise us working class Americans and despise Union members even more. This needs to be articulated and made very, very clear to Americans. I've been in many a meeting with Chamber of Commerce high ups and the likes and they just make the most disgusting face when "Labor" comes up. The Chamber is nothing but a Republican / Corporate tool anymore it seems.

[Ikonoklast]

70. I, too, am a white, male truck driver

and was a union member for twenty-four years. We were assured of a visit to our local every four years to be used like whores by all the local Democratic office holder/seekers only to be forgotten just as soon as the votes were tallied.

The Democratic Party has lost Labor for at least this generation because of their cavalier attitude towards our support. There has been a disconnect between Labor and the party for some time now as they just will not/do not care about issues that are important to us. They still love the money and seek labor endorsements, though.


The DLC has no use for us except at voting time. Why should I have a use for them?

[DemocracyInaction]

73. The teamsters just broke with the AFL-CIO and don't want to support

Democrats. It's a two way street. There are Dems who talk to them but as long as they wish to flip their radios to the inundation of right wing talk radio we can't combat that. I'm 60. My generation and my father's generation didn't need a Ph.D to understand basic politics and economics. As long as these people CHOOSE (no one's forcing them) to listen to these slime, no DNC or DLC or XYZ can help them. They first need a 12 step program to stop automatically dialing in to Rush and the boys.

[FredStembottom]

96. This is very true. I don't have an immediate remedy for this BUT...

at 6:00 pm every day you can hear Majority Report w/ Sam Seder and Janeane Garafolo flowing from MY truck!

Small steps.

[inthebrain]

101. Teamsters split the ALF-CIO

Because they are tired of the rhetoric.

Thirty percent of Union members vote against their interests by voting Republican. It's not just about the media although they are a huge factor.

The DLC does nothing but spread apathy throughout the land. Unfortunatly they have a stranglehold on this party right now.

Dems havent effectlivly fought one peice of legislation that hurts workers in a very long time. It's also been a long time since they proposed legislation that helps workers.

Being the minority party they should be forcing the hand of the GOP right now.

[Strawman]

135. delete

wrong spot

[pnwbi]

74. Bravo :-D n/t

[BamaBecky]

75. All. By. Myself.

I agree. Seems the party has left us. Sounds like you live in a red state too..... All. By. Myself.

Bama

[FredStembottom]

98. No. It's soundly back to blue - Minnesota - but it's all red at work!

n/t

[Rude Horner]

76. Wow. Just Wow.

Hate to sound like a broken record, but your post was truly inspirational. I agree that this post needs to be forwarded to our Dem leaders to give them a true idea of what the people want out of our leadership.

[LiberalCompassionate]

77. BRAVO well said!

Thank you for an excellent post. I support the upthreader who suggested you run for office. WE need a fighter - a person grounded in reality and KNOWS intuitively how to expose the bullshit that is being spewed by the corporate controlled DLC and right wing media propagandists. If we don't want to revert back to a "sharecropper society" we need organized labor on our side. The only way we will get that if someone tells the millions of laborers the TRUTH. (Laborers, by the way, includes Most all of us who don't own/run a corporation or is an elite "elected official", let's not get caught in the trap of "labeling" blue collar v white collar jobs, you are a laborer if you depend on your job to survive, period).


FredStembottom, would you be ok with my forwarding your statement to my elected officials, Senators Corzine and Lautenberg? I think they are two of the "good guys" and would appreciate your thoughts. They have always responded to my letters, and there have been many!
:patriot:

[FredStembottom]

99. I'm a little intimidated - but yes. Go ahead.

n/t

[sadiesworld]

78. Thank-you for your eloquence and passion.

:applause:

[ClayZ]

79. Kicking!

Thank you for this post! Well said!


:kick:

[faithnotgreed]

80. kick for truth and justice and the ameri... never mind

but a definite kick nonetheless for an important post

thank you fred
were with you

[niallmac]

81. Thank you. That was strong and sound. The soul of the party lives n/t

[MaraJade]

82. I couldn't agree more. . .

This is a problem that doesn't only affect white, male working-class persons. It affects all working-class persons. Everyone who must do
actual physical labor for a living is affected.

And it does seem that the DLC has forgotten the working-class.

I don't think that they should abandon any of the other issues, but
they need to remember and embrace the roots of the Democratic Party.
Only when they get back to relating to working people will the Party
turn things around.

[Kalish]

83. Perfectly

well said....

[don954]

84. anyone here got the ear of a DNC rep?

foward this to them.

[Spiffarino]

86. You said it yourself...the DLC DOESN'T WANT US

They represent Corporate America. They want to drive the Democratic Party into the ground. It's in their economic interest to do so.

The DLC have been engaged in a sham operation for the Republican party. They are not and have never been true Democrats. They are merely a sub-group of Republicans.

Thankfully, their days of making patsies out of working Americans appear to be numbered. We are finally on to them.

Excellent rant, Fred. You are the backbone of America and the future of the Democratic party.

[Nimble_Idea]

87. Alot of Hot Air Mad Man

so give us the NAMES already and quit your crying.

If you had all the answers, why aren't you president?

:eyes:

Goes back to drinking his latte.

[In Truth We Trust]

88. Damn Strait Brother! Kick for truth!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

95. Their are many skids at the loading dock.

Piled with job after job after job...

[Selteri]

97. Very well said

Very well described and very true, we need to take America back from the corproations, not bring American citizens who are blue collar workers to the corporations as sacrificial lambs!

[FredStembottom]

100. I have to go to bed - but thanks folks. You are kind beyond words.

The REAL Democratic party is needed as much now as the 1930's and for a lot of the same reasons. Start telling them what you need from them today.

Good night. I'm overwhelmed by your kind wishes.

[Desertrose]

112. get some rest friend and come back tomorrow.....

and thanks for posting this.

People really needed to hear your words!!!

[brainshrub]

102. Amen brother.

[Robert Oak]

103. The engineers are joining you!

And soon the Doctors, the lawyers, the nurses...the difficult career professions are being offshore outsourced and people are catching on that the great lie of "the new jobs of the future" was just a red herring to separate blue from white collars.

[unlawflcombatnt]

162. Everyone's Joining

You're speaking for all of us that aren't CEOs. That includes M.D.'s, nurses, engineers, teachers, architects, pilots, ironworkers, shipfitters, and anyone else working for someone else.

The Democrats understood this at one time. Let's make them understand this again. Let's get them off their high horses and their elitist concerns and get down in the trenches with the rest of us.

Worker wages are the single biggest factor in determining our economic wellbeing. Without consumer spending, from America's labor wages, our economy would collapse. Did the Democratic Party forget this? If so, let's remind them again.

unlawflcombatnt

[Pilotguy]

104. And...

...a Cannonball Adderley fan too. Well said!

[LincolnMcGrath]

105. Right On Brother

[Broken_Hero]

107. Yeah, no doubt.

Both sides, Dem and Rep pander to their base only when its election time, and when they do its empty meaningless crap. When its election time, the Rep ring the bell of the church going, christian conservatives, and the penny pinching millionaires. The Dems ring the bell of the union workers, and civil rights advocates. But both parties tell empty bs lies. And some people believe it, and some don't. But from what i have seen, neither party really gives a damn. The RW when in power, don't really cede any control, or push anythin gthat the christian conservatives want, but in GWB case, he is pushing the gay marriage amendment, but most of the time, the party in control doens't give a hoot about its base, once the election is won/lost.

Its sad that both sides do that. I really see the Dem party as the lesser of two evils, that is why i'm a dem. The dem party line is closer to my own beliefs, but what i see our dem leaders doing, well, most anyways, is meaningless. Hillary fighting bad video games, bah, what a waste...sorry for ranting, good post by the way, keep the faith brother.

[Kerrytravelers]

109. My blue collar family is giving you a standing ovation right now!

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

:yourock: :grouphug:

[Raksha]

110. A superior rant, Fred. One of the best posts I've read on DU.

I'll be spreading this one to my own little circle, hoping they will spread it to their circles. I'm from a blue-collar family myself, a third-generation Democrat. I KNOW what the party used to be, and I know what it is now.

[carnie_sf]

113. That's what I've been saying

[bvar22]

114. Hey Homeboy!!!

Clicked on your profile. I was delighted to discover you are in the Twin Cities...Home of the late Paul Wellstone, true friend of the Working Man!

Come meet us in the Minnesota State Forum. We have an active group. You'll fit right in.

Loved your rant. I'm sending it to some friends.

Wlecome to DU!!!

[bvar22]

115. 7 MORE recommendations?

This thread has a well deserved 93 recommendations.
7 more to a hundred!

Is this a record?

[snot]

117. Thank you and no sh*t.

Today I saw part of a speech by some Repub. "reaching out" to blacks--sorry I don't recall who, or where--but it was so CONVINCING. He said, we were WRONG. Doesn't take much, when Dems aren't standing up for blacks, either.

Personally, it seems obvious that unions f'd up badly. I think something needs to change re- the way they're governed.

I also think globalization is inevitable and necessary in order to help the vast majority of humanity who are worse off even than the unemployed in the U.S.--and I realize that's saying a lot, since even the minimum-wage employed in the U.S. make out no better than slaves.

But I completely agree that we now have a gross imbalance of power, which must be corrected, both in the U.S. and in those poorer nations we now see as competitors for our jobs.

[Skidmore]

118. Fred, send this rant to the DNC and Howard Dean,

and send it to Sweeney and his crew, who obviously don't get it either. The DNC needs to quit playing footsy with the DLC. Most people, I believe, think that the DLC is some sort of functioning administrative group within the DNC. IT IS NOT. It is a group of corporate shills who formed something like a think tank and gave themselves a name that implies a structural leadership function. This is blatantly deceptive on the face. These folks are going to be stunned by the backlash when it comes, as much as the Rs will be. You certainly do get it.

[Le Taz Hot]

120. Wow!

Just . . . WOW!:patriot:

[bklyncowgirl]

122. Great Post

Ignoring--and sometimes activly working against--the working class has killed the Democrats.

Building coalitions means that everyone gets a little something that they want. Republicans win by getting working Americans to vote for them over social issues.

Democrats--who have been afraid to offend the Corporatists--may offer half hearted programs to ease the hurt--but have not, at the leadership level--been willing to go at the heart of the pain--that is unbridled corporate greed.

[moondust]

123. Nice work, Fred.

They only want your money. It's all about a few people getting filthy rich now. The Republican game. Totally corrupt.

Thanks for the post!

[NuttyFluffers]

124. I hear a rousing round of Hosannas coming on...

O8) O8) O8) O8) O8) O8) O8) O8) O8) O8) O8) O8)

[CanOfWhoopAss]

126. Is this a re-post?

I've read this same thing before but a little more detailed. I'm glad you posted this but if you posted it previously can you link that original post?

[Raksha]

139. I think an earlier version may have been posted as a reply

on another thread. But obviously it more than deserved a thread of its own. It deserves all the recommendations it got too. I try to imagine my uncle and cousin--both members of the IBEW--not knowing what a "work speedup" is, and I just can't imagine it in my worst nightmares. The idea that these guys don't even realize there are NAMES for all these dirty tricks is beyond pathetic. It's outrageous!

[Lost4words]

127. white male over 50 with you all the way, no DLC for me, ever!

:puke: DLC is the slime that this little yellow guy pukes! IMHO!

I want the opposite of this junta, I want a United States thats for the people, true to the principles of the founding fathers!

[jackster]

128. AMEN!!!!!!!!

Let's give the Democratic Part BACK to the people!

[dalloway]

131. bravo! an intelligent, passionate challenge to our party's failings

[qanda]

132. This should be mailed out to every member of the Democratic Party

:kick:

[lumberjack_jeff]

134. Fuckin' A. n/t

[Strawman]

136. this party and the DLC elitists are too afraid to bitch about the bosses

becuase the bosses write them the big checks. Working people are anxious and frustrated and angry and that anger gets misplaced and manipulated by social conservatives because we don't give working people an outlet to effectively direct it where it belongs: at the selfish rich cocksuckers who are running the standard of living for the other 90% of us right into the shitter.

[Triana]

137. SEND THIS LETTER...

...to the DNC, the DLC, via email and snailmail and fax. And SEND it to your local paper, and the news media, too.

I'd LOVE to hear this read on national television TO the DNC...the Democratic party leaders have abandoned their base - someone needs to tell them to snap out of it and that is what this letter just might help them do.

[ibegurpard]

138. Kick

Don't know why I didn't read this one sooner.

[rumpel]

143. The CEO-Worker Wage Gap Is Still a Chasm

Some ammo

2. Book Cookers Burn Shareholders
Collectively, the CEOs at firms under investigation pocketed $1.4 billion in the past three years. While these
executives are cushioned by the vast wealth they have accumulated, their shareholders are dealing with
massive losses. Between January 1, 2001 and July 31, 2002, the value of shares at these firms plunged by
$530 billion, about 73 percent of their total value.
3. Book Cookers Lay Off Thousands of Workers
The highly paid CEOs at the firms under investigation sacrificed their workers while rewarding themselves.
Since January 2001, these executives have laid off a total of 162,000 workers.
4. “Creative Accounting” Burdens Taxpayers
A recent IRS study found that the income corporations report to shareholders was 24 percent higher than the
income reported to the government for tax purposes. This gap between book and tax income grew by more
than 70 percent in the late 1990s. Profits reported to the government fell from $660 billion in 1996 to $658
billion in 1998, while profits reported to shareholders rose from $753 billion to $817 billion. This creative
accounting is one of the causes for the declining share of the overall federal tax burden paid by corporations
relative to individuals.

5. The CEO-Worker Wage Gap Is Still a Chasm
CEO pay remains stubbornly high. Despite a slight drop in CEO pay from 2000 to 2001, the CEO-worker
pay gap of 411-to-1 is nearly ten times as high as the 1982 ratio of 42-to-1. Worker pay is again stagnating:
the Commerce Department reports lower wages and salaries in August 2002 than in December 2000. If the
average annual pay for production workers had grown at the same rate since 1990 as it has for CEOs, their
2001 annual earnings would have been $101,156 instead of $25,467. If the minimum wage, which stood at
$3.80 an hour in 1990, had grown at the same rate as CEO pay, it would have been $21.41 an hour in 2001,
rather than the current $5.15 an hour.

the whole report in pdf at:

http://www.faireconomy.org/press/2002/EE2002.pdf

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

144. Oh please, you're just a far left commie freedom fry hating bolshevik. n/t

[AX10]

145. You're one "white, angry, truck driver" who I can respect.

The DLC/Blue Dog Mob needs to go the way of the Edsel.

[leftofthedial]

146. IMHO this is THE preeminent issue in the world today

thanks.

[RevCheesehead]

148. Amen. Amen. AMEN!!!

Listen up, Dems. The truth will set us free.

[Kalish]

149. Your post was referenced Thomas Franks at TPM

check it:

http://bookclub.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/7/27/16172/0168

[bread_and_roses]

151. Another AMEN, well said, HURRAY

If we had candidates talking these issues, there would be too many voters to steal the elections.

Workers are hurting - Union, non-Union, the unemployed, the never employed because there are no jobs.

And the silence from the Dem leadership has left the workers, as you so cogently point out, without even the words to describe what is happening to them. They are left to the rantings of Right Wing radio, with its poor bashing and Racism for an explanation of their disenfranchisement and the death of their dreams.

The poster who demands that the Working Class turn off Rush and his ilk has it back-wards. Humans always seek to make sense of events, to find an explanation. The silence of the Dems on Labor issues has left a void, a vacuum, that the RW pundits fill.

Amen, amen, and thanks.

[faithnotgreed]

152. kick it

[Silver Gaia]

154. Another KICK!

Thanks for speaking out, Fred. I've not posted here in many months... have just been reading (and reading a lot of good stuff, BTW), but not posting. Your post drew me out to post a big ol' hearty THANK YOU. This is the best statement I've seen in a loooong time on what the Democratic Party needs to be doing to reenergize itself. Keep on talking, brother. Keep your anger focused and YELL like hell! There are many of us standing right behind you.

[DemsUnite]

157. One more kick

[Don1]

161. I would recommend this, but

I missed the 24 hour deadline.

This is just awesome stuff. Yes, strong on labor. We need someone with a powerful worker-rights message with new worker rights on the table. Something like the New Deal of worker rights.