I posted this on Doug's facebook page, and I thought it might be useful here as well:
"Corey Robin and some of us have been going round and round on this on his blog (coreyrobin.com). I was going to quit the discussion but I got a facebook message that said, "quickly wanted to mention that you're dishing wisdom packed radical instruction on corey robin's page. keep it coming. i'm disappointed in him for all the outburst & vilification." So I kept going. According to Corey, his critics are "lonely prophets of wisdom." Is that worse than being an "airy-fairy type"? I suggested that Corey show a bit more patience since understanding often comes in fits and starts. Sounds like Brother Morey might agree."
Joshua, You are on the money here. A devasting labor loss like the Walker recall requires us to debate, to ask hard questions. Gordon Lafer chose to write that piece in the Nation. He could have written it in a comradely way, trying to find common ground to lay the bases for future solidarity. But he chose otherwise. Some say we are engaging in a left pissing match. I don't see it that way. Sam Gindin has been vilified by former CAW president Robert White (later head of the Canadian equivalent of the AFL-CIO) in pretty much the same way Doug and others were vilified by Lafer (and Corey Robin too) for suggesting that new strategies and organizing models had to be tried because the strategy of concessions was the road to ruin. White was ten times more vicious than Lafer. But Sam was right then and he, Doug, and others are right now. No one knows exactly what to do, but we know that what the unions are doing now isn't building a labor movement.