Is Obama Finding His Populist Voice?

by: David Sirota

Tue Feb 17, 2009 at 08:34


Is President Obama rediscovering the economically populist voice that fueled his campaign? After spending a week traveling to locales outside the eliteosphere in Washington, D.C., it seems like he certainly might be:

The president, as reported by the Detroit Free Press, "said he believes there is no economic risk to workers organizing and making a living wage."

The Philadelphia Inquirer, meanwhile, quoted Obama as saying he didn't "buy the argument that providing workers with collective-bargaining rights somehow weakens the economy or worsens the business environment." Moreover, the paper reported that Obama "would not urge a delay in consideration of the Employee Free Choice Act."

When I read this, my reaction was a fist pump - perhaps the first full-on fist pump I've been moved to engage in since the inauguration. The battle for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and for union rights in general is going to be bruising precisely because Big Money knows it really could make the economic playing field far more fair for workers.

That Obama - the naturally cautious conciliator - is effectively saying he welcomes that bruising battle is encouraging, because the faster it happens, the sooner that playing field will be fixed. And to pass EFCA we're going to need both a huge amount of grassroots pressure AND Obama's bully pulpit, which he seems ready to use.
David Sirota :: Is Obama Finding His Populist Voice?

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Is Obama Finding His Populist Voice? | 20 comments
"Is Obama Finding His Populist Voice?" Let's hope so! (4.00 / 1)
As long as it doesn't turn out to be you, David, great!
:D
And if we can build a strong union movement (4.00 / 6)
progressive ideas won't have to live or die according to the actions of politicians...they will have an additional vehicle.
Can we delay EFCA until Franken gets his seat? (0.00 / 0)
Like, please?  
Collins (4.00 / 3)
Outside groups ran anti-card-check ads for Susan Collins comparing unions to the mafia (even using an actor from The Soparanos).  I imagine Specter is probably a yes and Snowe is incertain.

We need all the Democratic votes including Ben Nelson, the Arkansas duo, and Mary Landrieu plus Franken on this one.

[ Parent ]
Exactly (4.00 / 1)
Bringing this up before Franken gets his seat is pretty much guaranteeing that it will fail.
[ Parent ]
"Is President Obama rediscovering the economically populist voice that fueled his campaign?" (0.00 / 0)
When was this?  He was never an economic populist.

BTW - read his words carefully - what's a "living wage?

Why didn't he say "passage" instead of "consideration" of the Employee Free Choice Act?

Somewhere down the road you'll be admitting he never promised you a rose garden, depite all your help in getting him one.

When was Obama ever an economic populist? (4.00 / 4)
Oh, I remember now!  He was an economic populist when he was bashing NAFTA in Ohio (while secretly telling the Candadians he didn't mean it.)
[ Parent ]
Premature fist-pumping? (4.00 / 1)
Obama says he won't delay EFCA, and "my reaction was a fist pump," says David Sirota.

I understand that it's good strategy for the mavens of OpenLeft to be as positive about Obama as they possibly can be, but...

If we're already fist-pumping over a vague promise not to delay "consideration"...

By the time the bill actually appears in committee, we'll be doing the wave...

And if EFCA ever makes it onto the floor of the House, we'll be running around naked with our faces painted blue screaming "Hurrah for Obama!!!"

What's left, if the bill ever turns into law?  

The "happy ending?" (4.00 / 1)
That's what usually follows a bunch of fist-pumping.
[ Parent ]
Can anyone tell me what's become of (4.00 / 2)
Obama's Labor Secretary designee?

It bothers me that we are heading into all these deadly serious economic talks without a functioning Department of Labor.  But there seems to be no urgency about this nomination.

sTiVo's rule: Just because YOU "wouldn't put it past 'em" doesn't prove that THEY did it.

She has passed the committee (4.00 / 3)
All that remains are the final votes by the whole Senate.  This article states there is a Feb 24 vote to end the debate, so the confirmation vote will be soon afterwards.  (The Senate is in recess until the 23rd). She should be confirmed by the end of the month.


New Jersey politics at Blue Jersey.
[ Parent ]
We sbouldn't be surprised (4.00 / 2)
If Obama had any intent on not acting on the EFCA, he wouldn't have selected Hilda Solis as his Labor Secretary. Not only is she extremely pro-labor, but she's someone who makes noise when she isn't getting her way.
Why the great silence on her nomination, then? (0.00 / 0)
When the hell is this thing coming to a vote?

sTiVo's rule: Just because YOU "wouldn't put it past 'em" doesn't prove that THEY did it.
[ Parent ]
From what I've gathered (4.00 / 4)
over the last year or so, Obama only uses his populist voice when he feels like he's in trouble, or when he is trying to get a particular segment of the population behind him.

For instance, his nomination acceptance speech was very populist.  After the election he reverted back to his bi-partisan mumbo jumbo, backtracking on things, mentions of "entitlements" etc.

It's really hard to tell whether he genuinely has a populist streak in him.  His advisors don't.  

Obama's core is to (0.00 / 0)
the left of some of his supporters.  See, e.g., Nate silver.  Obama beleives in unions and believes that the Great Class Stratification is wrong.  he may not always be as left as we wish, and I don't like the neo-liberalism of hsi advisors and that he flirts with, but he is pro-union.  It makes up for a lot, in my view.
I hate to be the Doubting Thomas (4.00 / 1)
...but I doubt it.

What about his plan for "Reforming Social Security". Sounds like a anti-populist plan to me.

Agreed (0.00 / 0)
This seems to be moving along pretty quickly

http://firedoglake.com/2009/02...

[ Parent ]
The EFCA will be Obama's first real test (0.00 / 0)
The stimulus battle was always going to be easy.  I have to imagine though that they probably already counted the votes for this during the stimulus.

Most likely the fact that it went so well with Republicans becoming so unpopular after is the reason that he is pushing this now.  

http://transgendermom.blogspot....

Need to get Franken seated... (0.00 / 0)
We need his vote... hopefully after this trial wraps up the Senate can seat him at least on a temporary basis while Coleman appeals it up to the Supreme Court (which, frankly, I'm maybe a little paranoid about... they stole one election, why not another?)
This is not news (0.00 / 0)
Obama always supported EFCA. The question was whether he would kick it down the road. As stated above there may be reasons to kick it down the road, but what he seems to be saying is that the other elements of his agenda won't precede it.

(Contribution to stupid flame war: I think Nate realized in his addendum that he walked off the cliff.)  

Darkness has a hunger that's insatiable, and lightness has a call that's hard to hear.  

Is Obama Finding His Populist Voice? | 20 comments
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