Sunday, November 12, 2006

Unions and Others Demanding Large Piece of Pie

In the now banished Republican Reich, special interest lobbyist and the K-Street gang seemed to be running the nation, doling out dollars to own votes, Congressman and, I am sure, a few Senators not yet named in various ongoing investigations. On November 7th voters spoke up very loud and clear...we are tired of special interest, lobbyist and BIG MONEY owning the electorial process, and we want meaningful change in Washington politics. No more shrinking middleclass, no Amnesty, no foreigners stealing our jobs and lowering our wages. We want an increase in minimum wage, we want our troops home from Iraq, and a way to clear off the federal deficit. So, have they listened to us, are the individual Americans who cast their votes going to have the voice they deserve?

Probably not...if you go visit "The Hill" blog, you'll find that the AFL/CIO is claiming to have WON the election for the Democrats, and in short demanding they be granted a LARGE VOICE in the 110th Congress. Now, I'd be the first to admit that the AFL/CIO helped in delivering the Democratic majority in both the House and the Senate, but was their help any more important than mine, or yours? I can count over 30,000 views of my blogs and video's railing against Sue Kelly here in New York's 19th district...a small number till you realize that John Hall won the election by well under 5,000 votes!

Sure, I'd love to have a voice, want the grassroots to have a seat at the negotiation table in Washington, but do not see this happening...there is already movement afoot to downplay the importance played by grassroots, bloggers and You Tuber folks. It's business as usual, and the big players are pushing and shoving us out of the way, pushing us back into the shadows. Sure, we'll see some sway given to Move On.Org and be told they are our voice, but they are not. Perhaps it is time to change the game, eliminate the majority party by creating a third, and even a fourth party, so there has to be negotiation and compromise to find consensus. Let the Independent Party grow and prosper, maybe give space to the Green's Party as well. Could a four party system, even a five party system be any worse than what we have right now? Would such a scenerio eliminate a lot of the lobbying and special interest money owning Washington? It's a thought worth thinking on as we look to the 2008 Presidential Election.


Union Voters Deliver on Election Day
November 12th, 2006

You know the “thumping” President Bush acknowledged Wednesday? Union voters delivered it.

A close look at exit polling shows the rest of the country split evenly, 49-49 percent, between votes for Democrats and Republicans. But Democrats won the union vote by huge margins–by 30 percentage points among union household voters and by 50 percentage points among AFL-CIO union members.

Our election-night survey by Peter D. Hart Research Associates shows members of AFL-CIO unions supported Democratic candidates by a 74-percent to 26-percent margin in House races and by 73 percent to 27 percent in battleground Senate races.

Unions are not an arm of the Democratic Party, and we base our endorsements not on party affiliation but on individual candidates’ records on working family issues. This year’s election, however, pitted Democratic candidates against a congressional majority that has a record of downright hostility to regular working people, rubber-stamping the anti-worker policies of the Bush administration.

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