Jesse Jackson speaks in Lansing, MI at anti-RTW Union Rally

[Cal Carpenter]

Jesse Jackson today at the rally at the capitol in Michigan - 10,000+ union workers and other supporters protesting the right-to-work legislation being passed by state govt.

[MichiganVote]

1. 10,000+ union employees who will pay for the freeloaders who don't

[freshwest]

2. Love you, Jesse! We will remember:

[Cal Carpenter]

3. Wow, I didn't know 'right-to-work' went back so far

Thanks for posting that.

It never ceases to amaze me how obvious it is, when we dig into history, that we are fighting one battle in a long, long fight. These are battles in a war that connects events like today's here in Michigan to labor rights actions going back generations, across nations.. This is part of something so much bigger than today.

Workers of the world, unite!

[freshwest]

4. Timelessly seeking balance.

[midnight]

6. Nicely said... Right to work is fraud- take this to the courts...

[midnight]

5. Michigan joins Mississipi and China right to work laws.... Aren't this right to work laws

against the constitution, or Osha standards?

[freshwest]

7. No. They are symbolic of the will of the voters. Unfortunately, MI elected the GOP.

This is the result of that action.

[midnight]

8. Time to improve those election results... I wonder if Michigan had voter I.D. issues, redistricting

or computer glitches?

[freshwest]

9. I'm sure they did... Also had some trouble with media and the ground game.

One of our MI union members said he begged some of his co-workers to not vote for Sydner. It was likely a minority, but could have swayed the voter. They believed him when he said he would not do what he just did, during the campaign.

But history shows the GOP attacked labor for many years. Even if they had had the record of not attacking specfic unions, their political philosophy is against the social safety and upward mobility that unions work to create. Their allegiance to big business and profit, is incompatible with the interest of labor in principle.

Especially when taken to its extreme, as the GOP has. They have fought all regulations, including those that held employers in check. The media and churches unfortunately have literally made capitalism a religion whose tenets may not be questioned.

When it gets out of hand, and factories are closed for the profit of the shareholders and CEOs, the workers are shamed and pushed aside. The economic situation in Michigan is not the result of unions, but corporate greed. As Springsteen said in his song'Youngstown':

'Now sir you tell me the world's changed
Once I made you rich enough
Rich enough to forget my name'

The workers made these owners extremely wealthy. So rich they now think of themselves as kings, and should own everything. Michigan is in big trouble and they are working to extend this nationally. WI has won some victories in this, but we hear little from them now, although they are still working through the system to change things. The big money is up against us in a way that they haven't been able in over a hundred years and this is a very dangerous time for us.

[midnight]

10. Terribly sad for those union workers to awake to this fraud..

[freshwest]

12. Possibly bought the both parties are the same meme. And I'm sure it hurts deeply.

But they have promised a war for this... we need to support them in regaining their rights of freedom of association and banding together to protect their own economic interests. After all, this is what the corporations did.

[Lefty48197]

11. The GOP gerry mandered the Fuck out of Michigan

They did an excellent job of insuring that they would get more representation even when the Democrats get more votes! The GOP has a majority in the House (it will shrink after 1/1), a supermajority in the Senate and they own the Supreme Court and many of the lower courts too. I hate to say it, but our Democratic party leadership has let us down in Michigan. We should have taken back many more seats in 2008 and 2012, but we didn't. That's why this happened.

[freshwest]

13. Why blame the party, when it was the voters? The party is composed of those who are active.

Those who don't vote or are swayed by emotional appeals or lack of them, which is what many seem to be calling for at DU, didn't confront this on a daily basis and walked away. Because it wasn't exciting enough at the time.

The Tea Party was very excited, but about all the wrong things. I think many Democrats thought things would never change and didn't take time to learn just what was coming. I could have told them the GOP was going to betray them, because it's logical.

It doesn't make a difference if the Democratic party candidate isn't a great motivational speaker or a 'tough as nails' guy which some seem to want us to run for office. Motivational speakers are usually hucksters and tough guys follow the mentality of Eastwood and Romney, overbearing, hostile and to some that means strength.

The quiet thinking man like Obama does not appeal to such people, they call him weak. But a guy that talks tough, blows the right whistles or is media favorite gets their vote, even thought all their ideas stink in regard to working people.

I don't believe a Democrat would have signed this bill and they opposed it in a legislature in which they were not the majority. It is not their fault they were gerrymandered out of office.

The Democratic party is as strong as the people involved, and most aren't photogenic or great speakers, but have a track record. I'm sad to hear so many people think we should run elections like popularity contests or American Idol. All I hear is that 'they let us down.' They can't do this alone, they need a well informed and involved electorate.

[Lefty48197]

14. Here's what I MEANT to say....

We need a NEW party Chair because the current one sucks. If you tried to start your car every day for eight years and it never started, then it's time to get a new car.

[freshwest]

15. One person. one chair is not the party. It's us, going to community meetings, persuading.

If we can't talk our neighbors into what we believe, and god know the media is filling half the voters heads with crap -- no, I take that back -- all the voters heads with crap -- then the chair can't do it either. Please don't blame one person, this wasn't done by one person.

MI has a hard slog ahead, there will be no relief from gerrymandering there or in any state in this country until 2020. That's 8 years away and was the reason the Koches invented the Tea brand for the GOP in 2010, among others.

After media consolidation gave the networks to all conservative owners in the Bush years, they filled the media with crap and got Democrats demoralized, didn't show what Obama was doing or what the GOP was doing to screw things up, then they got their CT and other media to drive the baggers into office.

2010 was a pivotal election, to keep the Bush tax cuts from expiring, that Obama and others had run the numbers on to get the country over the Bush budget disaster. And they knew the census would hit so that gave them the ability to do these things and get away with it. The Koches are long-term planners. Most Americans seem to run from one soundbite to another, but forget about government between elections. It's what goes on between that makes the elections.

[PETRUS]

16. You'll be interested in this:

[freshwest]

17. Thanks, it disproves the mantra, 'Both parties are the same, voting doesn't matter.'

This is the part shot of the Tea Party voted in by demoralized Democrats fooled by media. What the voters do, for any reason, no matter the media spin on the candidates, makes a huge difference in the lives of millions.