Trumka Wants “Independent” Labor Movement, Divorced from Party | FDL News Desk

It’s practically a rite of passage for a labor leader to stress their independence from the Democratic Party. In the end, the alarm bells almost always go off, and labor runs back into the waiting arms of the Democrats. Not to mention that labor is intimately intertwined with the Democratic Party. They have seats on the DNC, fercryinoutloud. So will this time be any different? [cont'd.]

One change from previous years is that labor faces an existential crisis in the states. To the extent that they won’t focus their work on national Democrats, it’s because they’re trying to save themselves in Wisconsin and Ohio and Florida and New Hampshire and across the country. They don’t have much of a choice.

The second thing is that it’s been pretty plain to see that labor got almost nothing for their efforts for national Democrats over the past few years. A progressive member of Congress told me this week that he would understand labor not making the same investment in the Democratic Party, because the return on that investment has been so nonexistent. This candid recognition at the highest levels signals that labor has made their position known. In addition, nobody is better positioned than labor to make the argument that the working class has lost all its traction and faces an assault from inequality, wage stagnation and an economy that only works for the rich. Democrats have abandoned that ideological battle, so labor must pick up the slack.

Macho Man, RIP!

The Problem of Covering Colorful but Doomed Campaigns - James Fallows - Politics - The Atlantic

The Problem of Covering Colorful but Doomed Campaigns - James Fallows - Politics - The Atlantic

So the press faces a chance to learn from the lessons of the Trump bubble. Each of these men, Gingrich and Trump, is a familiar national figure; neither of them will be the Republican nominee. Because of celebrity and personal pizzazz, they naturally are more tempting to cover than other longshots who are also not going to win the nomination. But if Gingrich coverage turns into Carnival Barkers Part Deux, we'll end up giving headline attention to disputes that have more to do with reality-show celebrity than with how Republicans will choose their issues and their candidate. The trick of balance, therefore, is to be fair to Gingrich and his arguments as long as he is in the race, much as should be the case with Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, and others, while not letting what happened with Trump happen again.

Keep the focus on Mitt, cuz the rest is balderdash.

Head Slapper

Who can spot the error here?

Dave --

I’m Kurt Fritts, and as DLCC Regional Strategist, I’m responsible for tracking policy and campaign developments in Oregon and several other states.

So take it from me – the GOP proposals to reduce access to the voting booths are extreme, they’re designed solely to help elect Republicans, and they’re happening nation-wide, including in Oregon.

The Republican bills in Oregon and 34 other states are nothing more than thinly-veiled attacks on the rights of seniors, students, and minorities to cast ballots. They open the door to mass-challenges and harassment of eligible voters, with little recourse for those wrongly targeted.

Other GOP proposals in Oregon and 25 other states would severely restrict people’s options for registering to vote or voting early or absentee.

We need your help to stop this assault on democracy and overcome GOP voter-suppression tactics. Can you help Democratic legislators across the country by contributing $10 or more to the DLCC?

The audacity of this nation-wide power-grab is unprecedented.

But the bottom-line is this: When Republicans tell us they don’t want us to vote, that’s when it’s most critical that we do.

Republicans may think voter-suppression is their ticket to victory this cycle, but it won’t be if Democrats fight back with everything we have.

Thank you for your support.

-Kurt

Kurt Fritts
Regional Strategist
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee