The DLC: Your Call is Important to Us! by Fred Stembottom

[FredStembottom]

I just want to expand a little on something I briefly mentioned in a reply posting on Wednesday.

But first, thank you to all for the sincere warm wishes I received after my posting the other day concerning the Democratic Party's disposal of the blue-collar worker. Something, I believe, actually preceded the Republican Party's discovery and exploitation of this huge group of voters. I am still working to answer the reply postings and mail I received - it was quite overwhelming. I just about fainted when my article appeared on the Front Page! That's a bit more than I had in mind............

In all that I say, please understand that I work at a non-unionized company. Those of you lucky enough to still be in a union may be confused by some of what I say unless you picture that fact as you read. But the freight industry is fast becoming completely non-union. And the Teamsters thinking that Republicans will help them out should just hasten the day that the 13% of workers in America still represented by unions reaches absolute zero!

Also, I use my own situation as an example only - if I talk about "the loading dock" be sure to think of nursing aids washing dirty linen, cashiers ringing up your purchases and copy-machine repair guys vacuuming out your copier. My suggestions are about getting everyone a better worklife.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, as I understand it, the DLC "vision" for the Democratic Party circa 1990 was something like:

Of course, we _must_ globalize..........

Alas..... In doing so, millions of traditional factory and labor jobs will be lost. But those millions of jobs will be replaced as guys with names like "Turd" and "Sniffer" leave the loading docks of the Old Economy to become Symbolic Analysts in the New Economy that is bursting forth from computer screens everywhere - even as we speak! Turd and Sniffer and millions like them will wash themselves of all that icky, greasy, ucky "manual labor" stuff and regroup in the parking lot of the New Economy - shiny, clean and with their hair combed - ready for the task of converting 19th century naturist poetry into text files - or something. And on that morning, WE, the freshly minted NEW Democratic Party will ALREADY be there to pass out caramel/mocha latte's and voter registration cards. This will be the cleverest political maneuver since JFK remembered not to sweat on national TV! Oh...and in a side note...this re-alignment will, coincidentally, position the party to scoop up the small denomination bills falling from the pockets of these New Economy workers (AND their employers) who will now find it just too tedious to bend over and pick them up.

I can only guess why such a half-baked idea enthralled the Democratic National Committee so completely that they hugged it to their bosom through 5 or 6 utterly disastrous elections (and don't give me Clinton - not when Congress was lost during this same time). But hug it they did!

Unfortunately for this clever, clever plan, by about 1996 the New Economy was turning out just to be the Old Economy with better graphics. And Turd and Sniffer and millions like them never left the loading docks. Because the loading docks didn't go away as scheduled. Which is fortunate because Turd and Sniffer were too old and untrained and plain-old tired to even TRY optimizing audio codecs for seamless Gangsta Rap web-streaming (or something) anyway.

What DID happen is something I have yet to see reported. What DID happen is that millions of high-school leavers with names like Jason and Tiffany, having seen the info-mercials for the New Economy on TV, made immediate changes to their plans and enrolled in the College of Symbology (nites and weekends!) and really DID learn to use computers to apply plagiarized art onto snowboards - or something.

But while they were at it, the Economy found a new way be New. As the dikes around the American economy were dynamited in the effort to globalize (of course!), all that spilled energy began to surge around the globe and onto the vast flood-plains of places like India and China where every drop found a corresponding seed ready to grow and combine into a First Economy. And swimming in this flood of discarded American energy were people with names like Cho and Sanjit who immediately charted it's temperature, sifted and analyzed the trash floating on it's surface and took all the right lessons from it. And with a speed no American foresaw, soon had millions like themselves in position - trained and ready - to digitize the first 3 seasons of Survivor onto DVD - or whatever! At 1/4th the cost!

Meanwhile, with Symbolic Analysis turning out to be just as ephemeral as the name sounds, Jason and Tiffany were finding that the Jobs of the Future they had trained for were already the Jobs of the Past. The New Economy had turned out to be the New Delhi economy.

But their _bodies_ were still here - stubbornly unable to fit through the modem the way their promised jobs had so easily. So they took other jobs. Temporary jobs. "You know just, like, until things pick up again - or whatever".

Well, it's looking more and more "whatever" every day since Jason and Tiffany and millions like them have been at their temporary jobs for 4, 5, 6 or more years now. Most importantly for the Democratic party still in the same DLC induced psychosis from the beginning of this story, is _where_ Jason and Tiffany are doing those temp. jobs. Why! Right down there on the loading dock with Turd and Sniffer! The very same place and people the DLC had washed right out of the DNC's hair all those years ago. The very same people and places that have received non-stop Republican attention since the very first day the DNC disappeared on it's New Economy snipe-hunt.

Turd and Sniffer have been voting Republican for decades now. Jason and Tiffany probably will, too. And why not? The Democrats are just so distracted these days as they keep trying to reach them at their New Economy address and ending up on hold at a call-center in Mumbai.

[hedda_foil]

1. Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!!!!!

This is the absolute most devastatingly accurate skewering of the DLC - or something- EVER! (or whatever) Nominated.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

2. Mr. Stembottom, may I congratulate you.

You've hit the nail squarely on the head. I will never vote for any DLC candidate again, including Hilary Clinton.

The DLC has, IMHO, destroyed what FDR, Truman, JFK and LBJ worked so hard to gain for ordinary working class Americans and for that alone I cannot forgive them.

Keep on keeping on, FredStembottom, :yourock:

[Spiffarino]

3. I'll vote for DLC candidates...last

Of course, I'd vote for a moldy ham and cheese sandwich over any Republican. However, I will work for any viable Democratic candidate who opposes a DLC candidate before a major election.

Corporatism is not the Democratic way, and the DLC's vision of the Democratic party is not mine. If that's the road the DNC takes, then I'll soon be looking for a new party.

[Raksha]

4. Fred, you can count me in your ever-growing fan club!

:yourock: :yourock: :yourock:

[JDPriestly]

5. You are absolutely right, FredStembottom

And the candidate who finally gets to the root (the bottom of the stem) of this phenomenon will be able to win the hearts and minds of the American people. If that candidate is a Republican, we will complete the journey Gingrich and Bush began toward fascism. Jason and Tiffany will pave the way. If he or she is a Democrat, we may be able to return to a democratic society with a mixed economy that balances opportunities and profits for entrepreneurs and security and fair wages for workers. That Democrat will have to be charismatic enough to excite Jason and Tiffany and honest enough to win their trust.

Thus far, not one politician is really speaking to this issue. When I heard that Edwards was starting a poverty project, I hoped he would address this issue. He was the only candidate in the last election to even approach it. But, thus far, I haven't heard a clear articulation on it from him. Yours is the clearest I have heard. What specific policies would you advocate to deal with the issues you so aptly identify?

[FredStembottom]

36. I'm writing that one now.

Hope to be done by Monday. I'll give the theme away right now because this part needs a vast DU Brainstorming session. My little article will necessarily be pretty sketchy because I will be proposing that the Democratic Party do things not now considered part of it's role - but, in a different form, used to be part of it's role about 90 years ago.

The theme is in the title "Minority, Schminority. Just start helping!" :beer:

(this may be where I go off the rails - but the point of it all won't be the specific suggestions I cobble together)

[Rainscents]

6. Wow, he nail it right on!!!

Who is this guy anyway, I don't know him... Can someone please explain to me, thanks!

[Jade Fox]

30. Go here, Rainscents....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1961237

[Rainscents]

48. Jade Fox... Thank you for the link!

[Clark2008]

7. Wow.

And I'm rarely impressed.

This is the red states in a nutshell.

Thank you!

[bvar22]

8. Nominating another!

Hey man, Love your style.
You deserve to be on the Front Page.


Anyone know how to get essays and articles on the Front Page at DU?

:patriot:
Bob
St Paul!

[loudsue]

9. You. Are. Incredible!

Wonderful piece! I'm sorry I didn't read the first one! Does anyone have a link??

:kick::kick::kick:

[babylonsister]

24. Here's the link, loudsue:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1961237

[loudsue]

10. You. Are. Incredible!

Wonderful piece! I'm sorry I didn't read the first one! Does anyone have a link??

:kick::kick::kick:

[loudsue]

11. You. Are. Incredible!

Wonderful piece! I'm sorry I didn't read the first one! Does anyone have a link??

:kick::kick::kick:

[freeplessinseattle]

12. Perfectly describes WA state, hits close to home, I know

many people like "Turd" and "Sniffer" and Jason and Tiffany. I think Murray and Cantwell have been progressively going in a more DLC direction.

[Skidmore]

13. Fred, I believe this new economy is a recipe for disaster.

I believe we are headed down the wrong road, economically and in our international policies. And I believe that following the New Democrats will be the undoing of the party.

This new economy is a national security risk of colossal proportions. Suppose we experience a some huge disruption in our infrastructure, whether by a major terror event or--more likely--self-inflicted by some idiot neocon megalomaniac in the current administration. Recall after 9/11, our airlines were grounded for days and fortunately we were able to fall back on a limited rail service. This government is currently actively seeking ways to decimate what remains of that rail service. We no longer PRODUCE anything of consequence beyond information, art, or marketing concepts. We do CONSUME everything. We are flirting with disaster because we are positioning ourselves to be far outstripped by countries which have the capacity to rapidly develop industriallyl, economically, and militarily for some time to come. We are committing suicide by greed and hubris. We refuse to fund our educational system at a meaningful level and at at time when a well educated population is needed to participate in the "new economy", we are actively seeking to dismantle education and return it to the status of teaching alchemy and catechism in the mode of the middle ages. We are also cutting whole groups of children off from higher education by making it so expensive. I believe that Turd and Sniffer, although their hands are cleaner, have elected to participate in a work environment which is less secure. Jason and Tiffany just don't know better and they are probably Turd and Sniffer's kids. Turd and Sniffer have taught Jason and Tiffany that they are so special that soiling their hands will never be necessary. Trouble is, that if we are suddenly thrust back in the last century with lightening speed (and it sure can happen), we now have four people who can't take care of themselves and their needs. Turd and Sniffer want to keep their hands clean and Jason and Tiffany haven't the faintest clue how. There is a place in this world for those who do manual labor and produce. We no longer produce steel, a major component of building. What happens if those supply lines are cut off? Will Jason and Tiffany know how to retool a deceased steel industry? I doubt it. Turd and Sniffer want to play with their Photoshop programs and Jason and Tiffany--hopes of the future--have been taught the pledge of allegiance with God in it, that school is a place you go to pray, and that science is a bogus exercise in magic and satanism. There is a place in this nation for manual labor. I respect those who work with their hands. There is a wonderful dignity in that type of creative process. It takes talent to know how to plumb properly, or to create the components for an engine, or to break the soil and grow food. We have become a nation of slackers and whiners. I have no use for the new economy--it makes us helpless and dependent on the graces of a world which is rapidly being taught to hate us. The Dems need to quit playing the globalists' game and dealing with the reality that we are no longer a superpower. We might have the biggest guns for now, but that will not last for ever. Either they start addressing the national security issues and start giving dose of reality to Turd and Sniffer and their offspring, or they start campaigning for the Rs who are traitorously selling this nation to the highest bidder. I want a part of neither party, if that is the scenario.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

14. As my beloved Daddy always said:

A man or woman who works with their hands and who has dirty fingernails deserves more respect than anyone who doesn't.

He told me this when I was 17. It took me a few years, actually 9 years, when I met my husband of soon to be 25 years.

You know what, he comes home every night smelling of oil and diesel fuel, but he can fix anything and make machines work. And you know what he still makes my heart go pitty pat, pitty pat.

He's a common ordinary mechanic, but when I need the brakes fixed on my car, or one of friends leaves the lights on in the SUV, guess who gets the first call.

Everyone in this world is not destined to be a doctor, lawyer, etc. When push comes to shove, and it will, who's going fix what's broken?

[Skidmore]

15. Those guys are keepers.

:)

I have one too.

[FredStembottom]

38. Truckdriver was MY temporary job, too.

Just like Jason and Tiffany. And one of the reasons I am still at it 21 years later is that the people are so damn enjoyable!

So many folks in the White-collar world think that if they should ever stoop to take a blue-collar job they will be hanging out with fat, hairy guys with guns and tattoos.

And they will!

But there are others. Quiet ones harboring secret loves for classical music or cooking. And some of _them_ are fat, hairy guys with guns and tattoos!

Just to be clear. I should point out that my particular corner of the freight world - air freight - is now almost completely peopled with Jasons and Tiffanys. The process I described in my article has been going on for years and years. The Turds and the Sniffers have largely retired. The process I describe in my article sometimes leaves me wondering if stratification based on years of education is being preserved even though years of education don't help you throw freight or drive trucks.:crazy:

[FredStembottom]

37. There's a book that strongly influenced me

way back in 1990.
It's called:

The Great U-Turn: Corporate Restructuring and the Polarizing of America
by Bennett Harrison, Barry Bluestone

It has a lot of what you are talking about in there. The crux of the whole thing is pretty simple, though. Countries need to manufacture their own stuff.

It's incredibly persuasive and has given me 15 years of agony as I have watched our government take each and every step that they forecast (15 yrs. ago!) is sure to tear a country in two.
:banghead:

[Skidmore]

44. Sounds like a book with some insight and thanks for passing the title on.

I'll see if it is still in print. I remember when NAFTA was first proposed wondering why we would choose to enter such a trade model. I remember hearing questions asked at the time and legislators appearing on the teevee telling us "Hush, hush, it'll be okay. We've got too many other more important jobs and our people will step up to be trained into those." Well, we soon learned that this meant either telemarketer or webmaster. In the meantime, testimony in a recent hearing on the military was talking about how some little crucial part was only produced overseas. What kind of country gives sole production of its major components of its weapons system to other nations? A greedy one--run by corrupt businessmen. The worst degree ever conceptualized and taught in our colleges was the MBA. Lessons in aggressive business practices minus the moral and ethical component. Profit for profit's sake. In the meantime, those business practices and our ever accommodating fat cat millionaire legislators have created an environment in which we now can raise whole generations of clueless, whiney, dependent people. You know them--the kind that whine because they can't find the latest gadget that takes 15 minutes to assemble but spares them the exertion of 2 minutes of elbow grease to get the job done.

BTW, I grew up in a family with 6 brothers who all worked construction. I was once married to a Jason, but am now married to a guy who can fix anything and is not afraid to get his hands dirty. He's the hardest working man I've ever met and I worry about that sometimes. He always says, "Not everybody can be a doctor." and is very proud of the work he does. I wouldn't have him to be any other way, because he's happy when he's busy.

[union_maid]

16. Are you sure you're not nationally syndicated?

If not, you should be. At the very least, please get a blog if you don't have one. There are dozens of us who'd be happy to give you any help you need to get started.

You're exactly right. I've been seeing the same thing for years. One "huh?" moment I always remember was Bill Clinton talking about the changes to our economy. The shit had not yet truly hit the fan, but he was already talking about the new way being someone having multiple careers, going back for training at times. I was sitting there, scratching my head, wondering how that fit into the only model for living, raising a family and eventually being able to retire that we knew. Turns out, so far it doesn't fit into that model at all, and for the average person no model has emerged to replace it. And politicians on both sides of the aisle simply ignore the fact or spout ignorant or irrelevant rhetoric about it.

[FredStembottom]

39. Oh boy do I remember that, too!

Clinton saying "be ready to change jobs 6 or 7 times before you're done." Or what ever it was.:wtf:

How do you get stable communities out of that?!?

[Totally Committed]

17. I must say,

you write beautifully. You are so clear and from-the-heart, a natural. To be able to think about such complex issues, and then organize those thoughts and give voice to them is a real talent. I am in awe.

I agree with what you've said, too, fwiw. The "DLC induced psychosis" that has infected the Democratic Party has got to stop. We seem to be the only ones willing to stop it. And, your post shows that we will continue to lose until we do, and it won't just be elections we are losing.

Thanks for taking the time to write! Welcome to DU.

[FredStembottom]

40. Don't be at all discouraged!

This last DLC conference was a genuine tipping point. I just heard Sam Seder (on Airamerica) call them a "cancer".

We're all camels with broken backs (so to speak) now. Today is different than yesterday on this one.:)

[rndmprsn]

18. two thumbs up

[ArchTeryx]

19. And where does the artisan fit?

I myself am torn between two forces in this nasty political situation, as a graduate student in a field called molecular virology.

On the one hand, I'm the sort of person Turd and Sniffer were brought up to hate. Some latte-sniffing intellectual smarty-pants that has the inside edge even in this awful economy. I'll never want for jobs and I'll live in some nice coastal gated enclave like all the other elite snobs. That I'd spurn those that work with their hands or their skills as beneath me.

But...

I'm a Midwest boy, born and raised in Chicago by middle class parents. I've long had the greatest of respect for folks that have skills that I lack, or the physical hardiness to do what I could not. I treat the folks around me with all the respect I can, down to the janitors that empty my lab's trash every day, greeting them with a smile, a good morning and a few words about the weather. I don't hate Turd and Sniffer. Far from it. I was raised around them. And alot of what I do as a lab rat ain't any fancier or better then what an electrician or carpenter does. Just different tools is all.

And my field isn't exactly safe, either. Science employment has been down since the Reagan years, many more PhDs then jobs. We were the FIRST to 'outsource' -- in reverse. Nearly all the grad students in my program are now Chinese or Indian. Nearly all the jobs being created in my field are in China and India now. While 'outsourcing' has yet to take hold, it's only a matter of time. Will I be on the unemployment line for the rest of my life alongside Turd and Sniffer? Quite possibly.

Just like them, I wonder if I have any future here. But with a PhD, perhaps, I have ways out they do not. Perhaps. But that doesn't make me better then they.

It just makes me luckier.

-- ArchTeryx

[FredStembottom]

41. Wel..that's what is really different this time

I am not at all sure that a PhD really does give you more job security than Turd or Sniffer. Lay a straight-edge up against the current trends then factor in the GOP "philosophy" and project out.

It seems you'll arrive at a point where no job that wasn't nailed down (like plumber or male prostitute)has been packed into those big cargo containers and sent to a 3rd world country.

I think we're all in this together in a way unique in our history.

[ArchTeryx]

43. Great way of putting it!

Absolutely!

But I'm community oriented. I firmly, absolutely believe that whatever economic policies benefit blue collar dockworkers, benefit us scientists as well. It's really the MANAGERS that are separated from the rest of us.

One of the biggest complaints of elite scientists, in fact, is that their salaries are very steeply capped compared to management. In industry, a fair number of them leave the "research bench" and become executives and managers. They go from gene jockeys to money pushers, and their salaries sometimes increase 10x as a result.

But me? I just can't fathom it. I don't have the stomach to be an executive or a manager. I'm a lab rat, through and through, and never want to be anything else. So I'll always be separate from the Republican managerial class.

And I think the others here got it straight. You're one of the best, most eloquent writers to ever come down my pike, and if ever the opportunity arose I'd be proud to have a beer with you.

Even if it's at Elevator Brewery. ;) (Local microbrew place that makes all sorts of really, really tasty stuff).

[bvar22]

45. Turd and Sniffer DON'T hate you.

In fact, they respect you.
They're only laughing at the way you dress!
:+

[ArchTeryx]

46. Heh!

They should SEE how I dress half the time at my lab. Collarless shirt, blue jeans (or work slacks) and sneakers. No dress clothes for this lab rat!

My specialty is plant viruses, so I do alot of gardening work. I get to get my hands dirty on a routine basis. :) It's actually a nice perk of the job, even if the gardening gets boring sometimes. (Same old plants all the time).

[annabanana]

20. Damn.. that is beautiful!

This needs to be seen somewhere besides screens! Have you sent it to local papers?... National papers? Get this puppy OUT THERE!

[BamaBecky]

21. Fred....you have lots of talents!

You are a great writer......I love reading your posts......you should write a book for all of labor...all of us......

Secondly you have keen insight into the powers that be.....


:applause:

Bama

[formercia]

22. You hit the nail right on the head.

I'v been saying that the DLC are a bunch of losers for a long time. We need to tell them to get out of the closet and be the yuppy republicans they always wanted to be but just couldn't wean themselves from Union money.

Yer outta here, ya bums!

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Armstead]

25. One mroe irony on top of this

Great post, but one point to add. An additional irony.

"Training" and "education" became the all purpose buzzword to avoid the real problem. Instead of talking about real economic rights, the Democrats joined the Republicans as using this elusive "training" as a smokescreen.

As you mentioned, during the 80's and 90's the mantra repeated by Democrats and Republicans alike was that "old jobs" were not worth keeping. These new high-tech, high skill jobs are what would replace them.

Then, as all the trends you mentioned started hitting home to the "new jobs" the same people who used to dismiss "old economy" jobs as obsolete are now saying the same thing about the new jobs.


Amazingly, they still talk about education instead of jobs. "Software development? Well sure, we're losiung those jobs, but that's not important. Those high-tech jobs going overseas are not really the high-skills the US can provide."

I'm still trying to figure out what the "new jobs" that people are supposed to be "educated" for.

[FredStembottom]

42. I think the next skill level

time/space traveler.

Start studying now!

[frictionlessO]

26. Fred you have an incredible way with words.

This post will probably make front page as well, and deservedly so.

I can only wish to be so elquent and full of useful thought.

Good on ya!

[Toots]

27. This should be sent to Hillary and the DLC

We know the cause but not yet the solution.

[union_maid]

28. I was thinking that

I think it and the other post should go to a lot of Democratic leaders. I'm off to errands now, but will check back to see if anyone has any ideas as to how to call attention to them.

I wrote to Hillary a couple of weeks ago - she's still my senator - about the problems that outsourcing has caused and the need for our leaders to help with real solutions before they assure foreign leaders that our jobs will still go to their countries. She never answered. Not even an auto-response or form letter.

[blondeatlast]

49. Better to spend our time finding candidates who represent these

ideas.

I just don't see any of them out there right now. Not a one.

[LincolnMcGrath]

29. Kick

B/c you kick ass!

[prairierose]

31. Thanks again Fred.....

you have a way with words & I hope that you will listen to the folks who have suggested that you should start a blog. Send this stuff to PDA and the DNC, directly to Dean & DFA.

Your grasp of issues and the ability to articulate them in such a way as to appeal to Turd And Sniffer as well as Jason & Tiffany is an invaluable asset.

I may teach English now but I spent a lot of years covered in manure farming and I'm right there with you. The importance of people who can work with their hands can not be underestimated.

Thanks again for such a wonderful post.

[loudsue]

32. He's doing pretty darned well right here at DU! Dontcha think?

I'm glad he's on DU! There are so many people who read DU, that Fred will get plenty of exposure right here...at least for a while.

Many of us aren't blog-hoppers: If it's good, it'll prolly be linked on DU, so I get it here.

Just sayin'.....

:kick::kick::kick:

[prairierose]

33. I didn't mean that he shouldn't post here....

IO meant in addition to posting here.

Sorry I wasn't clear.

[loudsue]

34. Oh...ok!

:hi: Good!

:kick:

[blondeatlast]

50. But it needs attention where it can make a difference. The DNC,

to its detriment, seems to think of DU as a red-headed stepchild.

I've seen NO evidence they pay attention to the brilliance I see everyday in LBN, GD, and GD/P.

[StefanX]

35. Absolutely brilliant!

Fred Stembottom is a sharp observer, a clear thinker and a great writer!

A lot of times I think that we should work together to publish (on paper - or on an audio CD) some of the best articles on DU, to distribute around where we live and work. Sort of a part-time "DU Activist" job anybody with a printer could participate in.

Time and time again amazing DUers are outdoing anything available in the mainstream media. In Russia, they used carbon-paper and typewriters to get the word out once they realized their media had died. With all these printers and CD burners in everyone's homes, we can do so much more here, if we just realize the power is in our hands.

An article like Fred Stembottom's would have a major impact if it were printed out or recorded so all our neighbors and friends could here it. I would love to see this "get out there".

Recommended!

[Al-CIAda]

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[Al-CIAda]

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[Al-CIAda]

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