[lbo-talk] Obama defends Republic workers

[randy geurts]

Nick Robinson wrote:
> http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/1318766,barack-obama-republic-window-doors-120708.article
> Obama defends Republic Windows and Doors workers
Would I be taken as some sort of pie-eyed, proletariat-romanticizing 
crypto-Spart, if I ask that we "reboot" this thread and bring the focus 
back to its root concern, namely labor militancy? Isn't anyone else 
surprised Obama responded to the Republic action as quickly as he did? 
Isn't anyone else surprised that his comments--vague to be sure, and 
perhaps empty in the long-run--were as sympathetic as they were? This 
incident is taking place on Obama's "home turf"; I have no doubt that if 
he wanted, Obama could have quickly, quietly asked City Hall and the 
Chicago PD to shut the "occupation" down, with little more said about it 
than some lip service about "upholding rule of law" and "working through 
the established process", etc. .

This says to me that whatever the ideology of the future Obama 
administration aka The Clinton Undead, they are fearful of being 
outflanked by left/labor forces--at least where there could be a 
populist resonance. Obama's comment about mortgage relief was a tangent 
as far as I am concerned--it sounded like a sidestep to me--but even on 
that point, just 6 months ago Obama was on record opposing relief for 
negative-equity mortgage-holders on the grounds of "moral hazard'. Yes, 
that was before $8 trillion in commitments to Wall Street. But did 
Paulson/Bernanke--or anyone else, for that matter--seem concerned about 
the appearance of fairness before now?

At the risk of sounding sentimental--or just simple-minded--don't we owe 
it to the Republic workers, ourselves as "leftists", and "working-class 
people" (however conceived) to ask what tactical insight we can glean 
from this incident? (It doesn't have to be a particularly keen insight. 
How about this for starters: even though its 2008, 1930's-style labor 
tactics still get noticed.....)

Rg