>>> randy geurts 12/08/2008 9:02 PM >>>
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? ^^^ CB: No , I am not surprised. Why are you surprised ? No reason to think the words are empty in the long run either.
^^^
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. .
^^^ CB: Exactly. So, you should draw some conclusions from that.
^^^
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
^^^ CB: Yeah, leftists without quotes ___________________________________ http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
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