Obama's Day at Labor

[illinoisprogressive]

this event was of some personal interest to me as I use to belong to AFSCME. I worked for the Rockford Housing Authority and was a member of the union. So, I was personally pleased to see how my former union reacted to my choice for president.

from the Nation:


Edwards, the candidate who most obviously identifies with the labor movement, and Clinton, the prohibitive front-runner, both held their own and entered and exited to respectable applause. But it was Obama, who at times has struggled before labor audiences like the fighfighters union, who stole the show. Even the National Review said he "blew the doors off the Marriott Wardman Park ballroom."

snip-

But Obama pitched himself as the one who could reach across the aisle and capture the independent and disaffected Republican voters needed to create majority support for lasting progressive change, through a "a new kind of politics" that is "not timid, not small, not divisive, not simply based on trying to get power, but based on how do we build the America we all dream of." And "if people disagree, and we can't persuade ‘em," Obama said, "then we just have to beat 'em, and that's what we're gonna do in this election." Moderator Chris Matthews compared him to Bobby Kennedy, saying he sounded "like the Sixties at its absolute best."

Obama also had the strongest personal connection with the hundreds of activists in the crowd, noting his work with AFSCME as a community organizer in Illinois registering new voters, raising the minimum wage as a state legislator and helping to organize workers at Chicago hospitals. He called for a "Department of Labor that actually understands it's the Department of Labor and not the Department of Management."

With a large number of African-American members and strong presence in Illinois, AFSCME should be a natural constituency for Obama. But AFSCME President Gerald McEntee is incredibly close to the Clintons and viewed as Hillary's biggest booster inside labor. Perhaps Obama's performance today was a sign that AFSCME's endorsement is still in play.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?bid=45&pid=206530

[freesqueeze]

1. What I saw showed the leaders all doing well...

It is good to see Obama warming up to this kind of event. This guy just keeps getting better. He seems more comfortable every day.

Hillary also seemed at ease, she just keeps getting slicker every day. She may be the best choice to stand up to the GOP machine.

Edwards looks more and more like a strong third every day. This is a shame because his ideas come closest to mirroring my own. I long for a politician to recognize poverty, much less work to reduce it.

[Omaha Steve]

2. I'm AFSCME too

I am glad to see other DUers posting labor-family friendly stories.

[ProgressiveAmPatriot]

3. a "Department of Labor that actually understands it's the Department of Labor and not...

the Department of management." What a line. This paragraph describes why I think he offers a strong progressive platform which can win undecideds in the general and beat any anti-labor Republican.

But Obama pitched himself as the one who could reach across the aisle and capture the independent and disaffected Republican voters needed to create majority support for lasting progressive change, through a "a new kind of politics" that is "not timid, not small, not divisive, not simply based on trying to get power, but based on how do we build the America we all dream of." And "if people disagree, and we can't persuade ‘em," Obama said, "then we just have to beat 'em, and that's what we're gonna do in this election." Moderator Chris Matthews compared him to Bobby Kennedy, saying he sounded "like the Sixties at its absolute best."

This is Obama at his best. I loved his line in his announcement speech about giving union organizers the ability to relift America's middle class.

[Stop Cornyn]

4. Thanks for posting this.

[Ethelk2044]

5. Good Post