Looks like the working people of America mean business when they say they want to take their country back from the Tea Party zealots.
Quoting an article that appeared on the Associated Press wire : “In addressing the crowd before Obama’s appearance, Hoffa said there has been a war on workers. “And you see it everywhere, it is the tea party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They’ve got a war, they got a war with us and there’s only going to be one winner. It’s going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We’re going to win that war.” Hoffa added: “President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let’s take these son of a bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong.” Tea party calls on Obama to rebuke union chief; http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2011/09/05/7620500-tea-party-calls-on-obama-to-rebuke-union-chief
Well it didn’t take long for the Tea Party to try and frame Hoffa’s words as a pretext to violence. Needless to say that’s a bit more than comical, coming from the same far right zealots who use terms like “don’t retreat, reload, or that use rifle crosshairs on political literature aimed at liberal opponents or who show up to political rallies wearing side arms and carrying posters advocating watering the tree of liberty with the blood of whomever. Oh the pathos of hypocrisy!
sjg
9/5/11
The Republicans overdid it. Anybody who’s been around a union knows that the last thing these loudmouths do is fight.
sea,
I come out of a family that was one half union and one half white collar professionals and my father, a teamster, could at times legitimately been classified as a union thug. That said as an ironworker in NYC who has spent plenty of time on picket lines, rallies and leafleting the public I can tell you that one of the main reasons unions are remiss at instigating violence is that the laws have changed to the point that if a given union or it’s members engage in violence and vandalism the financial penalties can run into the millions of dollars. That is enough to wipe out a New York local union so you can imagine what it would do to a local in Maine or Wyoming.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating or condoning violence and vandalism, I’m against it. The only weapon that unions really have today is massive political action or widespread consumer boycotts.
TEA party attendees ARE working people. They likely aren’t union members, as once you get outside government workers and into the private sector the percentage of union membership drops to less than 10 percent, but they are workers. And they are interested to learn that they are despised by SEIU/TEAMSTERS/AFL/CIO and others that pretend to speak for them.
I’m not a big Michael Graham fan, but the title of his book was exactly right – “That’s no angry mob, that’s my MOM!” Working class people who had been politically dormant for decades went to local TEA Party rallies and found themselves smeared and belittled by those who were ‘looking out for the little guy’. Now, organized labor (as opposed to working people) is saying that they need to go.
How to win friends and influence people, indeed.
(BTW – I have actually attended TEA Party rallies and talked to the people there – have you?)