The opinions, views, thoughts, and ramblings of editors of PoliticalAffairs.net – and other stuff worth reading or viewing.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Rhode Island's Role
By Sue Webb
Residents here in the tiny state of Rhode Island are somewhat surprised that they could help determine the Democratic presidential nominee, with 21 delegates at stake here on Tuesday. Turnout is expected to be extremely heavy. It's been considered a Clinton stronghold as she has long-standing political connections here and has the backing of most, though not all, of the state's Democratic officialdom in this very Democratic, heavily blue collar, somewhat insular state - seems like lots of people you meet have lived here all their life, and not ventured too far away. She is still ahead in the polls by 8-10 points, but the race has been tightening. One Latino leader said last week the state's Latino communities (about 6 percent of eligible voters) are divided. Clinton and her family have campaigned heavily here, which indicates she is concerned about the race. Hillary was here last week, drawing a crowd of about 2,000, substantial for this little state, similar to the numbers drawn by Michelle Obama a couple weeks ago. This week Bill was here, and then Chelsea. But today Obama drew at least 10,000 to a rally organized in just a couple of days, with at least 5,000 jammed inside and another 5,000 outside under umbrellas in the rain. One blog commenter said it tied for the largest rally ever in RI (don't know what the largest was...). On the evening news, a local NBC reporter said he'd "never seen anything like it before.
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Residents here in the tiny state of Rhode Island are somewhat surprised that they could help determine the Democratic presidential nominee, with 21 delegates at stake here on Tuesday. Turnout is expected to be extremely heavy. It's been considered a Clinton stronghold as she has long-standing political connections here and has the backing of most, though not all, of the state's Democratic officialdom in this very Democratic, heavily blue collar, somewhat insular state - seems like lots of people you meet have lived here all their life, and not ventured too far away. She is still ahead in the polls by 8-10 points, but the race has been tightening. One Latino leader said last week the state's Latino communities (about 6 percent of eligible voters) are divided. Clinton and her family have campaigned heavily here, which indicates she is concerned about the race. Hillary was here last week, drawing a crowd of about 2,000, substantial for this little state, similar to the numbers drawn by Michelle Obama a couple weeks ago. This week Bill was here, and then Chelsea. But today Obama drew at least 10,000 to a rally organized in just a couple of days, with at least 5,000 jammed inside and another 5,000 outside under umbrellas in the rain. One blog commenter said it tied for the largest rally ever in RI (don't know what the largest was...). On the evening news, a local NBC reporter said he'd "never seen anything like it before.
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Texas Democrats Are Setting Records
By Jim Lane
DALLAS – On March 1, the biggest news in Texas was the record-breaking turnout in early voting, which closed the day before. Republicans were setting new records, but Democrats were tripling the GOP in all the population centers.
Republican strongholds are releasing numbers that show a new Democratic majority in early voting for the March 4 primary election. Denton County, which has zero Democrats in office, reported 16,000 Republican votes and 28,000 Democrats! The Dallas paper says that only 8,000 early votes were cast in 2004, which yields a 550% increase in voter turnout. One reason for the giant turnaround might be that there are two state universities in Denton, and students are on the move!
Hillary Clinton remained strong in some rural areas and in the Rio Grande Valley, but Barack Obama had the cities. Polls showed Obama clearly leading statewide and continuing his growing momentum. Obama has taken a clear lead in Texas fund raising, although McCain continues to rake in the dollars. Obama has also grabbed up the endorsements, like that of the Grande Dame of Texas politics, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. She had stayed with candidate John Edwards as long as he was in the race. Like other Texans, when she switched, she switched to Obama.
Texas voters have become more sophisticated than at any time in recent history. Many of them have found out that the popular vote in the primary election only decides about 60% of the 228 delegates and 32 alternates that will eventually go to the Democratic Party nominating convention in Denver. To influence the other 40%, Democrats are packing the training sessions that teach the ins and outs of precinct, county, senatorial, and state convention delegations. In North Texas, training session turnouts normally quadruple the 2004 events.
The Texas Senate race, which hasn’t gone for the Democrats since Phil Gramm switched parties in the 1980s, is suddenly “in play.” Houston-based Rick Noriega is condemning Republican incumbent John Cornyn on the issues, but carefully staying out of the primary election in-fighting. Noriega predicted that he would be forced into a runoff for the Democratic nomination, but his solid support among the state’s working people insures that he’ll be the candidate.
Republicans are especially hopeful of recovering some of the congressional seats that Democrats took in 2006 in spite of the redistricting that was illegally engineered by former GOP strongman Tom DeLay. Nick Lampson in Houston, Cyril Rodriguez in San Antonio and points south, and Chet Edwards of Waco and Central Texas, all hold seats in districts that were maneuvered to be Republican strongholds. There will be big fights in those areas in November, and Texas unions will continue to focus on them, but early voting turnout statistics indicate that the Democrats will hold on.
In the Dallas County, which contains the most proven Democratic votes in the state, the primary elections are probably decisive. One of the most interesting races pits the incumbent sheriff, internationally famous Lupe Valdez, against three Democratic hopefuls, four Republicans waiting in the wings, and the entire capitalist establishment. The Dallas newspaper, spokesperson for the shadowy Citizens Alliance, which controls almost all politics in the area, has blasted Valdez at every opportunity for the past year. She is campaigning hard to remain the only woman and Latina in that critical county job. Labor, African American leaders, and the entire progressive wing of the electorate firmly support her.
Watch Texas with us through Tuesday!
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A few quick points on election propaganda
by Norman Markowitz
As we head to the Texas and Ohio primaries, the Clinton campaign is trying to portray itself as "populist" (the only word the press can think of when it wants to characterize policies that appeal to low income people).One human interest story in today's New York Times has Hillary Clinton renewing old acquaintances with Latino Texas Democrats who led the McGovern campaign in Texas and are now supporting Clinton who was also active in the campaign. The article even refers to McGovern as someone who had become "the Godfather, at least to some, of the Democratic party."
As we head to the Texas and Ohio primaries, the Clinton campaign is trying to portray itself as "populist" (the only word the press can think of when it wants to characterize policies that appeal to low income people).One human interest story in today's New York Times has Hillary Clinton renewing old acquaintances with Latino Texas Democrats who led the McGovern campaign in Texas and are now supporting Clinton who was also active in the campaign. The article even refers to McGovern as someone who had become "the Godfather, at least to some, of the Democratic party."
These comments got me very angry. I supported and campaigned for George McGovern in 1972 (he was the only Democrat that I ever gave a few bucks to) and I saw in Illinois where I was in that Summer and in New Jersey and New York, kids in their early twenties running the McGovern campaign as the party organizations abandoned him. I saw McGovern, who ran on a peace in Vietnam program, along with extensive cuts in the military budget and programs benefit labor and fight racism and sexism attacked by the same kinds of politicians who today are attacking Barack Obama. I also know that the social forces who supported George McGovern then are largely supporting Barack Obama today, except that they have been joined by large sectors of the labor movement and and the Democratic party leadership As one working class Democrat who didn't like McGovern then told me recently, Obama reminds him of Bobbie Kennedy, who he liked a lot and who some hoped before his assassination,could lead the Democrats out of the Vietnam War and back to the War on poverty and social justice policies.
Other stories today deal with the support that Hillary has received from Latino and Latina voters whom the U.S. government calls "Hispanic" (which most of my Latino and Latina friends don't like). My suspicion is that they are trying to create a bandwagon effect among voters in the Texas primary.Here the propaganda thrust of the stories are to play ethnic politics, to disparage the idea that there is anything like "persons of color" and to pick out of context a number of examples from New York to Los Angeles to say that "Hispanic" voters don't support African American candidates and vice versa.
Having grown up in the South Bronx where the Democratic political machine was quite skilled at playing African American voters against Puerto Rican voters when it suited them, I think I understand the way this politics works. I also know, as African Americans, "Hispanic" Americans, Asian Americans and others know well, that a history of "white" racist, has created "persons of color," people who are not considered "white" and don't consider themselves white in the society. American racism historically portrayed Irish and Eastern and Southern European immigrants as either not really "white" or inferior versions of "whites," who could, unlike African-Americans, become "white" as they both became affluent and acted like conservative "white Anglo Saxon protestants." I personally remember an incident in the Bronx in the 1960s when I argued to no avail with people who were calling a dark-skinned Puerto Rican candidate in a Democratic primary the "white candidate" and a light-skinned African American candidate "the Black candidate" even though they could see with their own eyes that the skin color of the former was much darker than the skin color of the latter.
The press is saying that Obama and Clinton have similar stands (which is true) on immigration and other issues to highlight the" conflict" between African American and Hispanic American voters in the campaign. I would look at it differently. My perception is that many Hispanic voters think that Clinton's position on immigration is really significantly better than Obama's (it isn't) and that her political campaign has been successful in this regard. Polls that I have seen also show Obama gaining support among Hispanic voters, who stand to gain much more in substance from his presidency, in my opinion, than Clinton's, if only because his victory would constitute a major defeat for color racism, which has harmed both African-Americans and Hispanic American deeply, however pundits may sneer that "there is no such thing
as a person of color."
Texas voter history shows Southern shift
By Jim Lane
DALLAS -- From 1872, when Texans began voting for Democrats and Republicans in national elections, the state went with the "Solid South" and racist Democratic Party. Even the nationally popular general Ulysses Grant couldn't win in Texas, despite the fact that federal troops occupied the state under Republican Reconstruction Laws.
By 1952, though, change was evident in Texas presidential races. Even though virtually every office holder in the state claimed to be a Democrat, they began voted Republican in the presidential races. Republican presidential candidates continued strong showings even through the period dominated by Texan Lyndon Johnson. In 1972, Nixon overwhelmingly won Texas. Texans barely gave Jimmy Carter the edge over Gerald Ford in 1976, but the Republican trend dominated from then to now.
The most racist and reactionary section of Texas voters, previously strong for the Democratic Party of civil-war days, had shifted to the new coalition of transnational corporations, racists, and right-wing crazies gathered in the Republican party. Democratic progressives, who were evident as a force since the days of the "Dirty Thirty" in the Texas Legislature during the early 1970s, saw their party lose the national elections, then the state and most of the local elections. Office holders who had been lifelong Democrats, like the right-wing Senator Phil Gramm, switched parties brazenly, and continued to win as Republicans.
During the 1980s, it was evident that the progressives had taken control of the Democratic Party that the reactionaries had abandoned. But what they took over was largely a hollow shell. They could pass resolutions, but they couldn't win elections. In 2004, Republican George W. Bush buried John F Kerry 4.5 million to 2.8 million in Texas.
By 2006, Texans in some areas showed that they had enough, and elections began to swing back to the now-progressive Democratic candidates. Dallas County, the second most populous in the state, went almost completely Democratic. Houston union leaders began to point to dramatic election victories, such as putting Democrat Nick Lampson into the seat formerly held by one of the worst of the Republican reactionaries, Tom DeLay. In Fort Worth and Austin, Democrats won surprise upset victories in legislative races. Republicans like State Legislator Kirk England of Dallas began switching parties in anticipation of a Democratic rout in 2008.
In March of 2008, the "eyes of Texas," and many others, are upon us!
DALLAS -- From 1872, when Texans began voting for Democrats and Republicans in national elections, the state went with the "Solid South" and racist Democratic Party. Even the nationally popular general Ulysses Grant couldn't win in Texas, despite the fact that federal troops occupied the state under Republican Reconstruction Laws.
By 1952, though, change was evident in Texas presidential races. Even though virtually every office holder in the state claimed to be a Democrat, they began voted Republican in the presidential races. Republican presidential candidates continued strong showings even through the period dominated by Texan Lyndon Johnson. In 1972, Nixon overwhelmingly won Texas. Texans barely gave Jimmy Carter the edge over Gerald Ford in 1976, but the Republican trend dominated from then to now.
The most racist and reactionary section of Texas voters, previously strong for the Democratic Party of civil-war days, had shifted to the new coalition of transnational corporations, racists, and right-wing crazies gathered in the Republican party. Democratic progressives, who were evident as a force since the days of the "Dirty Thirty" in the Texas Legislature during the early 1970s, saw their party lose the national elections, then the state and most of the local elections. Office holders who had been lifelong Democrats, like the right-wing Senator Phil Gramm, switched parties brazenly, and continued to win as Republicans.
During the 1980s, it was evident that the progressives had taken control of the Democratic Party that the reactionaries had abandoned. But what they took over was largely a hollow shell. They could pass resolutions, but they couldn't win elections. In 2004, Republican George W. Bush buried John F Kerry 4.5 million to 2.8 million in Texas.
By 2006, Texans in some areas showed that they had enough, and elections began to swing back to the now-progressive Democratic candidates. Dallas County, the second most populous in the state, went almost completely Democratic. Houston union leaders began to point to dramatic election victories, such as putting Democrat Nick Lampson into the seat formerly held by one of the worst of the Republican reactionaries, Tom DeLay. In Fort Worth and Austin, Democrats won surprise upset victories in legislative races. Republicans like State Legislator Kirk England of Dallas began switching parties in anticipation of a Democratic rout in 2008.
In March of 2008, the "eyes of Texas," and many others, are upon us!
Statistics from the Texas Secretary of State,
http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/historical/presidential.shtml
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Film Review: The Band's Visit
Eric Green
When US moviegoers familiar with Jim Jarmusch�s films such as "Mystery Train" and "Strangers Than Paradise" and, also, Percy Adlon's, "Bagdad Cafe" see "The Band's Visit," they will feel very much at home.
Making his directorial debut, Israeli director, Eran Kolirin created a truly remarkable film. The film is a barely 89 minutes long, but in that short period of time, a full story of very human characters and often universal situations takes place.
The film has a simple story line. An Alexandria, Egyptian police orchestra band is invited to a middle of nowhere, desert Israeli town to perform. They are opening an Arabic Cultural Center. Along the way, they get lost and end up spending a night in an even smaller Israeli desert down.
The lead actors are Sasson Gabai, identified in some on line searches as a Middle Eastern actor. He plays the band's director and singer, Tawfig. He received Actor of the Year Award from the European Film Academy for his performance.
The co-lead of the film is Ronit Elkabetz playing Dina, the proprietor of the local caf�. She is an actor, director and writer in Israeli cinema. She has a host of film credits. The scenes between Gabai and Elkabetz have an electric dramatic energy.
The other leader on band is member, Haled, played by Saleh Bakri. He is particularly interested in Chet Baker and asks the Israelis he comes into contact with if they know him. There is a little surprise in the film just who does knows Chet Baker and has every one of his records.
Rotten Tomatoes, the on line movie review site, gave the film an amazing 99% rating.
The film opens with a little statement that the events in this film took place a little while before the current period. The film like this is probably not possible given the current situation in the Middle East.
Awards
The film was rejected by the Oscars systems because it had too many English lines. It won the best film of the year by the Israeli Film Academy; and, it won three different Cannes Awards.
Don�t miss it.
Labor and the primaries in Pennsylvania
by Ben Sears
Pennsylvania does not vote until April 22 of course. We are not used to having a primary that will mean very much, given that it is usually one of the last, but this year could be different. Right now, the state and public school worker retirees are working to overcome our hopefully temporary electoral division. Let me explain.
Thousands of PA state workers belong to their pension fund; thousands of school retirees (teachers, secretaries, maintenance workers) belong the public school employees retirement fund. Right now we are in coalition fighting--I would say "tooth and nail"--to get the state legislature to pass a COLA for all of us, since we do not get one automatically, (as we just did get on our Social Security checks, for instance), and we have not had one since 2002. But the COLA requires legislative action for both of the funds. We are persistently working out the details of this coalition effort even though our national unions have endorsed different candidates in the Dem primaries. AFT, which represents school workers in parts of the state, endorsed Clinton; SEIU, which represents school workers also and some state workers just endorsed Obama; AFSCME also represents some state workers. PSEA represents also many PA school workers; I don't know if they have endorsed anyone yet. So we are emphasizing our areas of agreement to try to get a COLA this year. Some of our long term retirees are, as you can well believe, really hurting and need it badly.
Pennsylvania does not vote until April 22 of course. We are not used to having a primary that will mean very much, given that it is usually one of the last, but this year could be different. Right now, the state and public school worker retirees are working to overcome our hopefully temporary electoral division. Let me explain.
Thousands of PA state workers belong to their pension fund; thousands of school retirees (teachers, secretaries, maintenance workers) belong the public school employees retirement fund. Right now we are in coalition fighting--I would say "tooth and nail"--to get the state legislature to pass a COLA for all of us, since we do not get one automatically, (as we just did get on our Social Security checks, for instance), and we have not had one since 2002. But the COLA requires legislative action for both of the funds. We are persistently working out the details of this coalition effort even though our national unions have endorsed different candidates in the Dem primaries. AFT, which represents school workers in parts of the state, endorsed Clinton; SEIU, which represents school workers also and some state workers just endorsed Obama; AFSCME also represents some state workers. PSEA represents also many PA school workers; I don't know if they have endorsed anyone yet. So we are emphasizing our areas of agreement to try to get a COLA this year. Some of our long term retirees are, as you can well believe, really hurting and need it badly.
Definitive Blog on Primary Election
by John Wojcik
This post considers only the narrow issue of who is going to get the Democratic nomination. It does not pretend to be balanced. It is, however, absolutely certain, scientific, factual and free of any wishful or subjective thinking whatsoever!
Wisconsin was Hillary Clinton’s Waterloo, no ifs ands or buts about it.
Barack Obama is the frontrunner, unequivocally.
He is only ONE MORE VICTORY AWAY from clinching the deal.
A victory in EITHER Ohio or Texas will more likely than not force Clinton out of the race.
A victory in both will absolutely force her out.
These conclusions are supported by the following facts:
Obama is on an incredible winning streak, as we know – ten to nothing since Super Tuesday. All of the victories were huge blow outs.
The Wisconsin victory by 17 points was actually his poorest showing since Super Tuesday. With poor showings like that, who needs strong ones?
He’s gone from a narrow pledged delegate lead and overall delegate deficit on Feb. 6 to what is unarguably an insurmountable 150 plus pledged delegate lead.
If you factor in the superdelegates, he’s still ahead by 80.
All signs point to the superdelegate gap closing perhaps as early as the end of next week. By March 4 he is likely to gain 25 or more superdelegates. (This is a reasonable, conservative estimate.)
We can expect that Clinton will pick up almost no super delegates between now and March 4 and that some of the ones she now has may also switch to Obama.
The only thing that could propel Clinton to the nomination is if Obama makes a bunch of mistakes or some huge mistake that makes him unelectable. While this is theoretically possible it is scientifically unlikely.
A sustained negative campaign by Clinton is a possibility but will not amount to a winning strategy for Clinton. Clinton cannot damage Obama to the extent that she would have to without damaging herself politically, in the Senate and for the future. She is not suicidal.
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This post considers only the narrow issue of who is going to get the Democratic nomination. It does not pretend to be balanced. It is, however, absolutely certain, scientific, factual and free of any wishful or subjective thinking whatsoever!
Wisconsin was Hillary Clinton’s Waterloo, no ifs ands or buts about it.
Barack Obama is the frontrunner, unequivocally.
He is only ONE MORE VICTORY AWAY from clinching the deal.
A victory in EITHER Ohio or Texas will more likely than not force Clinton out of the race.
A victory in both will absolutely force her out.
These conclusions are supported by the following facts:
Obama is on an incredible winning streak, as we know – ten to nothing since Super Tuesday. All of the victories were huge blow outs.
The Wisconsin victory by 17 points was actually his poorest showing since Super Tuesday. With poor showings like that, who needs strong ones?
He’s gone from a narrow pledged delegate lead and overall delegate deficit on Feb. 6 to what is unarguably an insurmountable 150 plus pledged delegate lead.
If you factor in the superdelegates, he’s still ahead by 80.
All signs point to the superdelegate gap closing perhaps as early as the end of next week. By March 4 he is likely to gain 25 or more superdelegates. (This is a reasonable, conservative estimate.)
We can expect that Clinton will pick up almost no super delegates between now and March 4 and that some of the ones she now has may also switch to Obama.
The only thing that could propel Clinton to the nomination is if Obama makes a bunch of mistakes or some huge mistake that makes him unelectable. While this is theoretically possible it is scientifically unlikely.
A sustained negative campaign by Clinton is a possibility but will not amount to a winning strategy for Clinton. Clinton cannot damage Obama to the extent that she would have to without damaging herself politically, in the Senate and for the future. She is not suicidal.
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Texans do ‘two-step’ on March 4
HOUSTON — Early voting started in Texas last week for the March 4 primary, and votes in the Democratic primaries here in Harris County have already surpassed the total during the early voting period in 2004, according to Beverly Kaufman, Harris County clerk.
Harris County is the third largest county in the country. Houston is the adopted home of former President George H.W. Bush and has been considered a Republican stronghold.
Yet, by Feb. 23, some 38,200 people had voted in the Democratic primary, topping the total 35,381 who voted early in 2004, including Democrats and Republicans. Meanwhile, fewer than 13,000 Republicans have voted early so far this year.
Texas two-step
Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are pushing early voting. Texas has both a primary and a caucus. In the primary, voters elect two-thirds of the state’s 228 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. The caucus, held after the primary polls close, selects the remaining one-third. It’s called the Texas Two-Step. Campaigns are hoping voters will go to the primary polls early, cast their ballots — and then focus on going to the caucus.
Obama has closed Clinton’s lead in the polls here. All polls now show them virtually tied. Despite Clinton’s relationships with the Latino communities in Texas, Obama has made significant inroads among Mexican American and Latino voters, who make up close to 40 percent of the state’s population.
In addition, Obama’s campaign has proved skilled at turning out its voters for caucuses, something the Clinton camp reportedly worries about.
Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont all go to the polls on March 4. Clinton has to win both Texas and Ohio to remain viable, commentators say.
But that may prove to be too great a feat. Obama came into Texas from a huge victory in Wisconsin, part of a streak of 11 primary/caucus wins in a row. (Americans abroad gave him his eleventh victory.)
Workers issues
Economic issues, immigration, health care and foreign policy, including the Iraq war, are dominating the debate in Texas.
Voters here may have corporate greed on their minds as they consider their primary choices. Last week the Houston Chronicle ran a story on the British Petroleum refinery in Texas City, which has killed more workers than any other in the nation.
Following the catastrophic disaster that killed 15 workers in March 2005 at the Texas City refinery, five more have been killed in BP refineries around the country. Three of those were at the Texas City facility.
Brent Coon, a Beaumont attorney who has represented dozens of families of killed and injured refinery workers, told the Chronicle, “None of these plants are re-investing like they should — production is at an all-time high. They’re pushing the operating envelope at all of these plants, and that makes all of them to some degree time bombs.”
While oil companies put profits before people’s lives, working people and their families are outraged by these unnecessary deaths. That feeling may be spurring the huge voter turnout, analysts say.
Struggle continues on voting rights
Also last week some 2,000 people marched more than seven miles from historically Black Prairie View A&M University to the Waller County Courthouse to demand the right to vote.
Members of the university community were outraged that officials planned for only one polling place in Waller County for early voting. Originally the county planned to have six polling places. Protesters saw it as a blatant attempt to suppress the vote of students who make up a significant portion of the eligible voters in the county. They complained that students at Prairie View A&M have had their voting rights suppressed for decades by Waller County.
Waller County officials were forced under pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice to add three polling places.
Prairie View Mayor Frank Johnson said, “These are wonderful kids. They are making a statement. Until they spoke up there was only one early voting place in the entire county. They spoke up but everyone is benefiting from what they are doing.”
The county has been notorious for African American voter suppression and has faced numerous lawsuits over the past decades.
A Supreme Court decision as a result of a Prairie View protest more than 30 years ago allows college students to register and vote in communities where they attend school.
November
Texans are looking forward to the November battle as well, where the country will have a chance to deliver a final blow to the far-right Bush administration and clones.
At a recent Obama speech, Texans in the crowd erupted with cheers and laughter when he said, “No matter what, the name George W. Bush will not be on the ballot. I love Texas, but I want y’all to take him back.”
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Harris County is the third largest county in the country. Houston is the adopted home of former President George H.W. Bush and has been considered a Republican stronghold.
Yet, by Feb. 23, some 38,200 people had voted in the Democratic primary, topping the total 35,381 who voted early in 2004, including Democrats and Republicans. Meanwhile, fewer than 13,000 Republicans have voted early so far this year.
Texas two-step
Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are pushing early voting. Texas has both a primary and a caucus. In the primary, voters elect two-thirds of the state’s 228 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. The caucus, held after the primary polls close, selects the remaining one-third. It’s called the Texas Two-Step. Campaigns are hoping voters will go to the primary polls early, cast their ballots — and then focus on going to the caucus.
Obama has closed Clinton’s lead in the polls here. All polls now show them virtually tied. Despite Clinton’s relationships with the Latino communities in Texas, Obama has made significant inroads among Mexican American and Latino voters, who make up close to 40 percent of the state’s population.
In addition, Obama’s campaign has proved skilled at turning out its voters for caucuses, something the Clinton camp reportedly worries about.
Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont all go to the polls on March 4. Clinton has to win both Texas and Ohio to remain viable, commentators say.
But that may prove to be too great a feat. Obama came into Texas from a huge victory in Wisconsin, part of a streak of 11 primary/caucus wins in a row. (Americans abroad gave him his eleventh victory.)
Workers issues
Economic issues, immigration, health care and foreign policy, including the Iraq war, are dominating the debate in Texas.
Voters here may have corporate greed on their minds as they consider their primary choices. Last week the Houston Chronicle ran a story on the British Petroleum refinery in Texas City, which has killed more workers than any other in the nation.
Following the catastrophic disaster that killed 15 workers in March 2005 at the Texas City refinery, five more have been killed in BP refineries around the country. Three of those were at the Texas City facility.
Brent Coon, a Beaumont attorney who has represented dozens of families of killed and injured refinery workers, told the Chronicle, “None of these plants are re-investing like they should — production is at an all-time high. They’re pushing the operating envelope at all of these plants, and that makes all of them to some degree time bombs.”
While oil companies put profits before people’s lives, working people and their families are outraged by these unnecessary deaths. That feeling may be spurring the huge voter turnout, analysts say.
Struggle continues on voting rights
Also last week some 2,000 people marched more than seven miles from historically Black Prairie View A&M University to the Waller County Courthouse to demand the right to vote.
Members of the university community were outraged that officials planned for only one polling place in Waller County for early voting. Originally the county planned to have six polling places. Protesters saw it as a blatant attempt to suppress the vote of students who make up a significant portion of the eligible voters in the county. They complained that students at Prairie View A&M have had their voting rights suppressed for decades by Waller County.
Waller County officials were forced under pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice to add three polling places.
Prairie View Mayor Frank Johnson said, “These are wonderful kids. They are making a statement. Until they spoke up there was only one early voting place in the entire county. They spoke up but everyone is benefiting from what they are doing.”
The county has been notorious for African American voter suppression and has faced numerous lawsuits over the past decades.
A Supreme Court decision as a result of a Prairie View protest more than 30 years ago allows college students to register and vote in communities where they attend school.
November
Texans are looking forward to the November battle as well, where the country will have a chance to deliver a final blow to the far-right Bush administration and clones.
At a recent Obama speech, Texans in the crowd erupted with cheers and laughter when he said, “No matter what, the name George W. Bush will not be on the ballot. I love Texas, but I want y’all to take him back.”
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Ohio union members say it's about jobs
By John Wojcik
In Toledo, Ohio, a 100-year-old plant that makes plumbing fixtures is closing. Two hundred men and women who make $19 an hour at the American Standard plant will be out on the streets.
In the same city, Johnson Controls, which made seats for the vehicles at the Jeep plant, lost its contract to a company in India.
The Ford stamping plant in Toledo’s suburbs, where workers make fenders and dash panels, will close soon.
It is much the same throughout Ohio, which has lost over 200,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000. “Manufacturing is getting its head handed to us around here,” said Thomas Joseph, business manger of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 50, which represents workers all over northwest Ohio.
The two Democratic presidential candidates, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, have promised a fight to change this and organized labor in unionized Ohio has jumped into the 2008 elections to push for that change.
Some unions support Obama and others back Clinton. Signs are, however, that labor’s unity on issues will pull all unions together behind the eventual Democratic nominee and that many outside of organized labor will join in.
Infrastructure investment supported by the AFL-CIO could create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Many in Ohio see their state, with a huge reserve of skilled workers, as the perfect place to build an economy based on renewable energy technology.
Toledo itself is a historic center for the glass industry, which could benefit from government-backed efforts to increase the use of solar energy.
The 6-million-member Change to Win federation has endorsed Obama because he says he would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Unions see NAFTA, with its lack of decent labor and environmental standards, as responsible for the loss of millions of U.S.
jobs.
The 10-million-member AFL-CIO has not made an endorsement. Some AFL-CIO unions, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the American Federation of Teachers and the Machinists, are backing Clinton.
Unions have jumped into the Obama and Clinton campaigns because each has called for significant infrastructure investment, development of alternative energy and other green collar jobs and strengthening labor standards for both existing and any future trade agreements.
The AFL-CIO has called for repeal of Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy, extension of tax cuts to working people and tax credits to help working families pay for college.
Obama and Clinton both support these positions and say government has a responsibility to protect workers who are struggling.
All the unions in Ohio are concerned about the mortgage crisis. In the Toledo area home prices average $100,000, yet the city is in the top 20 in the nation in number of foreclosures.
Obama calls for $10 billion in bonds to help workers avoid foreclosure. He would also give a tax credit to struggling homeowners to cover 10 percent of the interest on their mortgages each year. Clinton would temporarily freeze foreclosures and interest rates on adjustable rate mortgages
John Anklam, 39, is a recently laid off autoworker enrolled in a Teamster-endorsed truck driver training program in Toledo.
“His stand against NAFTA and his inspiring style is why I’m for Obama,” he said. “We need a fair shake and we can’t get it if they can dump us for cheaper labor somewhere else.”
Asked what he would do if Clinton becomes the nominee, Anklam said, “McCain would be a disaster. I’ll support her if that happens. She may not be as exciting but she’s got brains and she’d fight for the jobs.”
Karen Ackerman, AFL-CIO political department director, said, “Labor will be united for the election of a pro-worker president in November. The unions will be mobilized on the issues that unite most Americans: an economy that works for all, universal health care, support for the Employee Free Choice Act so that everyone can exercise their right to form a union, and an end to the war in Iraq so that money will be available to rebuild our country.”
At its executive council meeting in San Diego, March 4–6, the federation’s leaders are expected to authorize $54 million for grassroots organizing around the elections. Total spending on 528 races, including presidential, senatorial, congressional and state legislative races and ballot initiatives, is expected to reach $200 million, according to Ackerman.
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In Toledo, Ohio, a 100-year-old plant that makes plumbing fixtures is closing. Two hundred men and women who make $19 an hour at the American Standard plant will be out on the streets.
In the same city, Johnson Controls, which made seats for the vehicles at the Jeep plant, lost its contract to a company in India.
The Ford stamping plant in Toledo’s suburbs, where workers make fenders and dash panels, will close soon.
It is much the same throughout Ohio, which has lost over 200,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000. “Manufacturing is getting its head handed to us around here,” said Thomas Joseph, business manger of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 50, which represents workers all over northwest Ohio.
The two Democratic presidential candidates, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, have promised a fight to change this and organized labor in unionized Ohio has jumped into the 2008 elections to push for that change.
Some unions support Obama and others back Clinton. Signs are, however, that labor’s unity on issues will pull all unions together behind the eventual Democratic nominee and that many outside of organized labor will join in.
Infrastructure investment supported by the AFL-CIO could create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Many in Ohio see their state, with a huge reserve of skilled workers, as the perfect place to build an economy based on renewable energy technology.
Toledo itself is a historic center for the glass industry, which could benefit from government-backed efforts to increase the use of solar energy.
The 6-million-member Change to Win federation has endorsed Obama because he says he would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Unions see NAFTA, with its lack of decent labor and environmental standards, as responsible for the loss of millions of U.S.
jobs.
The 10-million-member AFL-CIO has not made an endorsement. Some AFL-CIO unions, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the American Federation of Teachers and the Machinists, are backing Clinton.
Unions have jumped into the Obama and Clinton campaigns because each has called for significant infrastructure investment, development of alternative energy and other green collar jobs and strengthening labor standards for both existing and any future trade agreements.
The AFL-CIO has called for repeal of Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy, extension of tax cuts to working people and tax credits to help working families pay for college.
Obama and Clinton both support these positions and say government has a responsibility to protect workers who are struggling.
All the unions in Ohio are concerned about the mortgage crisis. In the Toledo area home prices average $100,000, yet the city is in the top 20 in the nation in number of foreclosures.
Obama calls for $10 billion in bonds to help workers avoid foreclosure. He would also give a tax credit to struggling homeowners to cover 10 percent of the interest on their mortgages each year. Clinton would temporarily freeze foreclosures and interest rates on adjustable rate mortgages
John Anklam, 39, is a recently laid off autoworker enrolled in a Teamster-endorsed truck driver training program in Toledo.
“His stand against NAFTA and his inspiring style is why I’m for Obama,” he said. “We need a fair shake and we can’t get it if they can dump us for cheaper labor somewhere else.”
Asked what he would do if Clinton becomes the nominee, Anklam said, “McCain would be a disaster. I’ll support her if that happens. She may not be as exciting but she’s got brains and she’d fight for the jobs.”
Karen Ackerman, AFL-CIO political department director, said, “Labor will be united for the election of a pro-worker president in November. The unions will be mobilized on the issues that unite most Americans: an economy that works for all, universal health care, support for the Employee Free Choice Act so that everyone can exercise their right to form a union, and an end to the war in Iraq so that money will be available to rebuild our country.”
At its executive council meeting in San Diego, March 4–6, the federation’s leaders are expected to authorize $54 million for grassroots organizing around the elections. Total spending on 528 races, including presidential, senatorial, congressional and state legislative races and ballot initiatives, is expected to reach $200 million, according to Ackerman.
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