"What does that have to do with this?"

Your shifting standards is my guess, as you rationalize that all things being equal, six of one is unimportant, but half a dozen of the other is ground-breaking.





(I get it... the narrative depends on shifting one's standards yet pretending the exact opposite-- to better maintain a pretense of critical thought and substantive additions)

Why on earth would that need to be "rationalized"??

You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em.

When one has nothing in one's hand, one folds. There is nothing to be gained by continuing other than embarassment.

But some never learn.

Wouldn't an endorsement by UMW or OCAW be problematic for someone who is an environmental candidate? That would indicate that a blanket statement that all union endorsements mean something positive isn't really accurate. Wouldn't you agree?

And I REALLY hope that some union educates Senator Sanders on the rights of organized labor to speak to the press concerning labor negotiations with management...and how exercising those rights is not "unacceptable" or "improper."

The point is (go back and read it) that Sanders campaigns saying "I don't take money from Super PACs like the other candidates do*", all while he does accept support from a number of Super PACs! That's nothing different than any other candidate.

*for the record, NO candidates take money from Super PACs, it's illegal. I don't understand why he keeps going down that road.

FYI, over the years I belonged to three unions, my brother belonged to a union that saved his life because they negotiated great healthcare insurance, and my father was one of the first non-African American members of the historic Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters ("the Pullman Porters" ) when he worked for Pennsylvania Rail Road in the 1930s.

I mean, who do you think is contributing to a union-affiliated PAC? This is supposed to evidence of Bernie's impurity? That a union endorsed him?

....financial information.

From the FEC:

Do you really think that anyone is possibly going to think that a worker's advocacy group that the NYT calls "a union in spirit" backing Bernie is going to be a corrupting influence? Outside of Bernie-haters, I mean. You don't think people will be able to tell the difference between the massive billionaire-funded Super PACs that act as basically a "second campaign" for a individual candidates, and this?

This is why attacks on Bernie make him stronger.

...connection to any unions.

Their funding is unknown because they're not required to report contributions. We know nothing about them. In fact, on their own website they say nothing about who is involved, Board of Directors, staff, or anything else.

It's the epitome of "dark money". If a candidate rails almost daily about "dark money" being bad, why does that candidate accept the endorsement (and implied financial support) of such a group.

>Hey, you know, Bernie has a Super Pac!
>>Really, like one of those billionaire and corporate funded groups?
>Well, no, it's labor activists.
>>Huh.
>Yeah, they organize and advocate for unpaid construction workers in Texas.
>>That really doesn't sound bad at all.
>But! They have the same legal structure as the corporate billionaire things.
>>OK. I guess that's how they fight back and protect workers.
>No! You don't get it. They're a SUPER PAC.
>>That fights for workers rights, right?
>Who cares what they fight for, they filled out the same form as the billionaires and corporations!
>>Alrighty then.

I'm just saying, good luck convincing anyone who doesn't already hate Bernie of that.

....list any of their founders/directors/managers/personnel on their website. No mailing address, no telephone number. No contact page!

But there is a page soliciting contributions!

https://wdactionfund.org/

and the massive Super PACs funded by billionaires and corporations that act as shadow campaigns, fine.

But I assure you, again, that outside of Bernie haters, the distinction is perfectly clear.

See post #21 for more details.

However, this isn't a significant organization in regards to size or the occupational diversity of workers. More than likely, a couple dozen people met and decided to endorse Bernie.

There is a "Donate" link on their Website if you want to provide them some support.

They did receive some attention in Austin media with their campaign to help construction workers and the national media saw something to report about. However, since there are no follow-up stories or any indication that they broadened their occupational outreach from 2013 it seems like a signal that the group has had only a modest impact since then.

I wonder how many of the people they represented are aware of the endorsement and how many of them are even registered to vote. Also, construction workers tend to have a negative correlation voting for Democratic candidates (results are about one-third of the way down the page):

https://www.citylab.com/life/2018/11/state-voting-patterns-occupational-class-data-politics/575047/

"After a 6-month process, our members across Texas decided Sen. Sanders is the best candidate..."

...I can't argue with that...

...President Sanders...

...it's getting closer...

...if you're correct, we have plenty of time to work on that...

...as we kick trump's ass at the same time...

...Bernie can do it...

The last primary/caucus Sanders is projected to win is on March 10, when he'll win Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, and Democrats Abroad.

From that point on Biden is projected to win the remaining 30 states/territories.

That's Joementum.

The organization is based in Austin and doesn't have any significant statewide presence. They haven't even updated their Website in more than six months.

Thanks for the thread Hassin Bin Sober.

Chin up!!!

Last edited Wed Jan 29, 2020, 06:02 PM - Edit history (1)

to advocate for unpaid construction workers in the area. They did get 600 people to march with them in Austin back in 2013. That's a relatively low number by Austin standards--I attended state employee rallies at the Capitol that had more people attending.

The endorsement won't have any significant impact. The group didn't even update their Website with this endorsement. The last update to their site appears to be in June 2019 with links to the local CBS affiliate in Austin and the alternative weekly Austin Chronicle.

it’s meaningless. After all who cares if a labor organization in Texas endorses Bernie. It’s only working people in a red state and if they think Sanders is their choice — let’s dismiss them as unimportant. I mean it’s not like they are David Frum or two writers from Third Way.

FYI - this is who this meaningless unimportant group actually is.
The Workers Defense Project is a left-of-center advocacy group that aids and provides representation for workers in the Texas construction industry, including illegal immigrants. It works alongside several prominent labor unions, with leaders from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and AFL-CIO represented in its Leadership Council. [1] Its lobbying arm is the Workers Defense Action Fund, which helps it to advocate for left-wing labor-union-aligned economic policies and against enforcing existing immigration laws.