Abortion Litmus Test

[Katha Pollitt]

Gar lipow points out that I strongly criticized the organized women's
movement -- NOW, for example -- for its wimpiness on welfare reform.
This is true.  HOWEVER, it does not follow that those with a "class"
line did better.  The labor unions were just as wimpy on welfare, with a
lot more power.  Where was John Sweeney? Where IS John Sweeney? In new
York City, the Labor Council, led by Brian McLaughlin (sp?), who is
Sweeney's right hand man, and who spoke at the Columbia labor teach-in,
endorsed Giuliani in the last election -- as did Stanley Hill, head of
the municipal workers local, District 37. The head of the transit
worker's union said it was fine for the transit authority to use
workfare workers, as long as no current union members were fired (he was
later forced to reverse himself). And the big race organizations were
also absent -- NAACP? NOI? forget it!

  the truth is, the people who cared most about welfare reform were
precisely the middle-class intellectuals and social work professionals,
feminists, left-liberal clergy and other liberal wimps that get abused
on this list. Class was no better an organizing or theorizing tool to
fight welfare reform than gender or race. Maybe worse!

best, katha