Is Wisconsin Labor's Waterloo?

I think Kevin Drum is right on the money here:

I won't pretend to be the world's most full-throated defender of public sector unions. If I could trade ten points of union density in the private sector for ten points in the public sector, I'd take the trade in a heartbeat. But that is, obviously, not the trade on offer. Nor is what's happening in Wisconsin merely hard bargaining during tough economic times. That would be understandable. Rather, it's an effort to destroy one of the few institutions left that fights relentlessly for the economic interests of the middle class. That's why conservatives oppose unions of all kinds, both public and private, and regardless of their faults, that's why they deserve our support.

Drum is echoing the ideas of Larry Bartels, recently expressed in his book Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age. The basic idea is that organized labor was for a few decades after 1940 able to counter the influence of the wealthy and big business in Washington DC. With the decline of labor since the 1970s, the working class (read: the middle class) has been steadily losing ground in political debates. A pro-business, pro-wealthy political environment, where both parties try to curry favor with the rich and big business, is the result. The American middle class have very few politically influential organizations in their corner these days. The American poor have none.

This is not to say that there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats. Democrats, as a whole, have been much more attentive to the interests of the non-wealthy and non-incorporated. But still, their support has eroded significantly since the 1970s.

All this is to say that what's happening in Wisconsin right now is REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT! This is the opening gambit in a coordinated Republican attack on public sector unions--the only unions that really have any political influence these days. The WI governor and his wealthy backers have ginned up a phony crisis that they are trying to exploit to cripple public sector unions. (Well, except those unions that occasionally support Republicans, like policemen and firemen.) It's pure power politics--it has nothing to do with the budget.

What can you do? I haven't the foggiest idea about what to do about Wisconsin. But watch for similar moves in your state, and fight them like hell.

Good Grief...

Please. A spending freeze (not including military spending, of course)? I really thought the Obama administration had more political skill than this. It won't be at all effective in dealing with the deficit, won't mollify Republicans or impress independent voters, and will just piss off progressives still more. If this is the best the administration can do, the Democrats are in real trouble.

Mass Senate: Democrats, you suck. My God, how you suck.

Polls close in MA in a few minutes, and Coakley may yet pull out a win, though the odds are against it. But jeez, even if she does win--why was she running in the first place? Why isn't there a more credible Dem candidate for Senate here in North Carolina? Why is the media landscape dominated by Republican spin, even as the Dems enjoy historic majorities in both houses of Congress?

In part, there are structural reasons for this. The Dems don't control a major cable network, for example. But in their complete incapacity to seize a golden opportunity for good legislation and continued political dominance, the Democratic party is demonstrating once again that it completely sucks at being a political party. I mean--c'mon! Doesn't thirty years of being kicked around by some of the dumbest politicians ever to take the national stage teach you anything!? Holy flirking schnitt, people.

Hey--a good idea from Washington

Representative David Obey (D-WI) is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. On 19 November he released a letter calling for a graduated surtax to pay for the war in Afghanistan:

“For the last year, as we’ve struggled to pass healthcare reform, we’ve been told that we have to pay for the bill – and the cost over the next decade will be about a trillion dollars. Now the President is being asked to consider an enlarged counterinsurgency effort in Afghanistan, which proponents tell us will take at least a decade and would also cost about a trillion dollars. But unlike the healthcare bill, that would not be paid for. We believe that’s wrong,” said Obey. “Regardless of whether one favors the war or not, if it is to be fought, it ought to be paid for.”

This sounds like a great idea to me. I don't think this legislation has a snowball's chance in hell of becoming law--hell, I'd be surprised if it even comes up for a vote, let alone passes, in the House. But it's nice to know that some of the Democratic leadership is willing to consider measures like this.

Torturing Democracy

Based on the strong recommendation from Bill Moyers, I watched "Torturing Democracy" over the weekend. It is a very meticulous and well-made documentary available free on-line that chronicles the path from 9/11 to the use of "enhanced interrogation" (i.e. torture) techniques by agents of the United States, as well as the role of high-level officials in the Bush Administration in authorizing them. While this is a story that many of us have been hearing about in bits and pieces over the last several years, it is really helpful to have it all in one place. I think it would be a good documentary for a wider audience too, including those who are not already human rights activitists. It includes interviews with former detainees, highly shocking but not gratuitiously graphic visual images, documentary evidence, and earnest testimonials from U.S. officials within the system who opposed what they saw happening. By the end of it, the case for high-level complicity in international human rights crimes seemed well established. I think every U.S. citizen--especially those who are tempted by the idea that we should put all of this behind us and move on--ought to see this film.