McCAIN PLAYS RACE CARD / AFL-CIO LEADER RESPONDS

http://www.opednews.com/articles/McCAIN-PLAYS-RACE-CARD---A-by-Allen-L-Roland-080802-393.html

by Allen L Roland

www.opednews.com

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka spoke recently on the labor movement's responsibility to fight racism and work to elect Barack Obama. (Photo: Jason Pelszynski / Left Turn Photo)



A desperate John McCain has blatantly played the race card with Barack Obama, much like Bill Clinton did during the Democratic primaries, and its intended audience of blue collar white labor members and their leadership has responded, along with most intelligent Americans, with indignation and disgust : Allen L Roland

In Today's New York Times Bob Herbert writes; " Spare me any more drivel about the high-mindedness of John McCain. You knew something was up back in March when, in his first ad of the general campaign, Mr. McCain had himself touted as " the American president Americans have been waiting for." ~ There was nothing subtle about that attempt to position Senator Obama as the Other, a candidate who might technically be American but who remained in some sense foreign, not sufficiently patriotic and certainly not one of us - the "us" being the genuine red-white-and-blue Americans who the ad was aimed at." http://www.truthout.org/article/running-while-black

This stinging rebuke of McCain's racist tactics was dramatically witnessed in a speech by one of the top three AFL-CIO leaders, Richard Trumka, in early July. He was giving a speech at the United Steelworkers union in Pennsylvania when he directly confronted racism aimed at Barack Obama ~ and it was met with a prolonged standing ovation !

This seven minute video should be seen by all Americans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QIGJTHdH50

Remarks by AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard L. Trumka at the USW Convention
July 01, 2008
http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/sp07012008.cfm

Excerpts:

" I want to take a little opinion poll.

If you think America ought to keep going in the same direction George Bush and Dick Cheney have been taking us in stand up.

Now, stand up if you think it’s time we had a president who’s going to fight for national health care, sign the Employee Free Choice Act, strengthen OSHA, defend Social Security, end the war, and protect American jobs?

FULL story at link.

Alot of former Clinton voters are going to be offended by that and that won't help.

I was never a H. Clinton supporter, but that attack on B. Clinton was pathetic and unnecessary. It does nothing to illuminate the discussion. It only serves to dredge up the hostilities of the primary season.

I live in a heavily Republican district in Virginia and I have made up my mind that I am not going to allow deep-seated prejudices keep me from expressing my support for Obama. I have even decided to take walks through Wal-Mart with my Obama shirt to let their employees know that they need to stand up too.

they had to change the laws to allow him to even run, because he was born in Panama on a Military installation.