[lbo-talk] Darren Hutchinson rawxz: How and Why Progressives Constructed ...

[RCu8598882 at aol.com]

This piece strikes me as well informed so far as how Obama was viewed by  
many progressives. They saw what they wanted from him, and he filled a need  for 
them. But it was evident at various points that Obama was not a radical so  
far as the use of force in the Middle East was concerned--he said that he saw a  
need for the US military to employ force when needed. There was little doubt  
about that. But as a trade union liberal I found his articulate voice so  
compelling and his formation of a political coalition so powerful (the Harold  
Washington approach amplified at various points) that I both voted for him in  
the New York primary and did telephone work for him on three occasions. Whether 

 he delivers for labor (the employee free choice act) is the big issue for 
me. He  has said that he will sign the bill if it is presented to him, but the 
New York  City Central Labor council thinks that the Congress is the real 
problem on that  front. And that trade unionists have their work cut out for them 
with that  body on card check. Jimmy Carter made much the same promise in the 
late 1970's  on labor law reform and did nothing to promote it. In fact, its 
likely that  Carter's failure to do so and his plans to fire PATCO (enacted by 
Reagan)  contributed mightily to the sharp decline of labor, now in a 
considerably  reduced state. This list is no stranger to this history, but perhaps it 
bears  noting. Without employee free choice labor will further decline, quite a 
loss  for the American worker.

 
Richard Currie
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