Monday, November 24, 2008

(almost) Shattering Silence

Ezra Klein gives voice to one of the many renters in my panic-ridden chest:
You have to imagine that organized labor, which spent $100 million to elect Obama, is getting worried. Secretary of Labor, which is where their ally traditionally sits, is not going to be a top economic job. The folks who have been selected for top economic jobs are associated with Robert Rubin, who unions generally considered an impediment to their priorities during the Clinton administration. And when Rahm Emanuel went before business leaders, he pointedly refused to make a case for the Employee Free Choice Act.
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4 comments:

  1. lex dexterNovember 24, 2008 at 4:31 PM

    Chris Hayes at the Nation: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/jstreet/385773/ain_t_no_love_in_the_heart_of_the_citi

    on the newest AIG-style handoff of wheelbarrows of cash to Rubin's alma mater, Citi Group:

    "You got to tip your hat to Rubin. The guy's like the Ahmed Chalabi of economic policy."

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  2. dave3544November 24, 2008 at 5:28 PM

    We do have to worry about Rubin, but Emanuel not pushing EFCA at a businessman's dinner is just common sense. You wouldn't expect him to go to the AFL-CIO convention and spend much time talking about the value of free trade.

    As we said all along, we knew we weren't supporting a radical or a leftist, but we were supporting someone who would be more likely to go that way than Hillary.

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  3. lex dexterNovember 24, 2008 at 6:26 PM

    dave,

    re: "You wouldn't expect [RAHMBO] to go to the AFL-CIO convention and spend much time talking about the value of free trade."

    actually, I kinda WOULD, but you're right, never the other way around. and of course i agree with yr larger point re: BHO not HRC

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  4. EZNovember 24, 2008 at 10:45 PM

    ok I just put up---then took down a post...that was essentialy asking the same questions...Why no Frackin progressives yet? I referenced a slightly different version of Hayes from a Nation blog post:
    http://www.thenation.com/blogs/jstreet/385427/left_out?rel=hpbox

    "Not a single, solitary, actual dyed-in-the-wool progressive has, as far as I can tell, even been mentioned for a position in the new administration. Not one."

    I only belatedly realized the duplication of topic, but luckily the erase button was working.....

    We can hope for a raging lefty for Postal commissioner or Amtrak chief engineer.....

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