Sanders warns Biden: address working-class fears or risk losing to demogogue
Sanders warns Biden: address working-class fears or risk losing to demogogue
Sanders warns Biden: address working-class anxieties or risk losing election to demagogue
In an interview with the Guardian from his home base in Burlington, Vermont, Sanders urged the Democratic president to inject more urgency into his bid for re-election. He said that unless the president was more direct in recognising the many crises faced by working-class families his Republican rival would win.
“We’ve got to see the White House move more aggressively on healthcare, on housing, on tax reform, on the high cost of prescription drugs,” Sanders said. “If we can get the president to move in that direction, he will win; if not, he’s going to lose.”
The US senator from Vermont added that he was in contact with the White House pressing that point. “We hope to make clear to the president and his team that they are not going to win this election unless they come up with a progressive agenda that speaks to the needs of the working class of this country.”
Sanders’ warning comes at a critical time in American politics. On Monday, Republicans in Iowa will gather for caucuses that mark the official start of the 2024 presidential election.
Biden faces no serious challenger in the Democratic primaries. But concern is mounting over how he would fare against Trump given a likely rematch between them in November.
Every once in awhile I catch myself thinking about how different the world would have been if Bernie was president and it's just so fucking sad.
I get that all the other problems would still exist, but there would be a glimmer of hope to cling on to.
I voted for Bernie and he would have been great, I always find myself thinking about Gore winning more often. I have more respect for Bernie for sure but we’d have been in such a better place by 2016. Jesus, there’s a non-zero chance that the 9/11 warnings don’t get ignored and the US definitely doesn’t invade Iraq or Afghanistan. The housing bubble would probably still have burst in a bad way but I doubt it goes down the same way. Supreme Court wouldn’t be as full of neocons and zealots.
Not just that if Gore had won and 9-11 would have still happened we would have likely seen a push away from oil starting in the early 2000s. I think Gore could've turned that into an opportunity to say "to hell with these middle east authoritarians and their oil, we can do better for ourselves and better for the planet."
Unfortunately I was 6 when 9-11 happened so I didn't have much say in these matters.
Yeah, this was always my big one too. I'm a green at heart, but I learned a brutal lesson then, that I'll carry inside of me forever. A lesson that has only gotten reinforced by the slow march of modern fascism.
Democracy requires dialogue, patience, empathy and compromise. The alternative is authoritarianism, and the unavoidable power struggles that come from too much centralized power in a world with ambitious humans. We need to remember that, and dialogue and compromise with our, in many ways younger-self progressives, instead of trying to corral them. We can do this. We are not too afraid.
Give em hell Bernie.
Ugh...you're 1000% right. That timeline sounds wonderful.
Yeah I think with gore we’d’ve had a good chance of being the world leader in switching to green energy right around when hummers got popular instead.
His EO's alone would have accomplished more in one term than any Dem since LBJ.
Fix the whole last century and just assassinate Wilson in 1911-1912 before the damn election.
It's possible we'd be in a better situation now. Lots of obvious things like not tossing out known facts about terrorism efforts and having a climate change awareness leadership. There's much that would still be the same, like the system of consumerism that is the core of much of our problems. One person in a limited power seat can't fix that, I'm not sure anything can outside of failure of the system itself. But I do think we would have at least avoided that one historic turning point that revved back up the military drive of the US. Even GWB's administration was looking into ways of reducing the military into smaller, more mobile parts until suddenly we went into revenge mode. Or useful crisis mode.
I always find myself thinking about Gore winning more often.
We might be thinking about Biden winning his second term as Nazis take over the US in the future - Get your friends to vote
I do wish he had been president, but I also wonder how much of his agenda he could have gotten past congress, even if Democrats were in charge. Most Democrats are, at best, about preserving the status quo and I hate having to vote for them just to stop the people who will make things even worse.
I voted for Bernie every chance I've had, but I genuinely doubt he could have achieved the current level of success much less something better.
Without a Congress full of like-minded people, it would have been a struggle. I think we can have someone like Bernie for president one day, but it's people being passionate and engaging with every vote and every election.
Undoubtedly they would've sabotaged Bernie every chance they got, just like the labour party sabotaged Corbyn in the UK. Both of those parties are glad they only had to sabotage during the elections.
Remember when debbie Wasserman shutlz stole the dnc nomination from bernie to give it to Hillary?
That one rug pull gave donnie the win.
Remember when this was challenged and the court ruled the Parties have no obligation to play fair
But, But Bernie would've turned us into the USSR! /s
It wasn't just Bernie who got the screws from Democrats. Henry Wallace got the same shaft from Democrats. On the other hand, Republicans don't have populist fliers, they have fascists fliers who are promoted to the top.
A significant portion of the US population think Biden is a communist, how would Sanders have a chance of winning enough votes?
There’s a reason Trump fought so hard to have Bernie as the democratic nominee in 2020.
Have you seen this video yet?
Bernie's Legacy w/ Killer Mike https://youtu.be/ZlZaVtCT5HI
Never forget the movement... Not me. Us.
He said that unless the president was more direct in recognising the many crises faced by working-class families his Republican rival would win.
No, The Guardian, you missed the whole fucking point.
The important thing Sanders said is that unless the president was more direct in recognizing the many crises faced by working-class families then our entire democracy would be destroyed.
This is an existential threat, not a goddamned motherfucking horse race, and I am sick and tired of the media supporting fascism by treating it like the latter!
The Media is owned by the fascists. Of course they support their agenda.
Or, they are aware of the media and they are creating talking points for people to discuss.
I feel isolated thinking this.
Do you not know what the word demagogue means?
Unless the Trump is held accountable, He will most likely win. People's material needs are important and Dem messaging has basically been hey we showed this graph so you're not struggling and anything popular you want won't happen. But everything bad will happen with the other guy. Being not Trump once again is a dangerous way to win the election. Trump's cultist ass should be getting crushed.
Trump's cultist ass should be getting crushed.
Makes me wonder what might have happened if the DNC hadn't f**ked Bernie over, twice.
Rich people would be getting richer slower and the world would be a better place.
It still blows my mind he wasn't taken into custody for sedition ON Jan 6th.
I think future historians will point to that as a major turning point in our nation's decline.
Biden really needs to understand how unpopular he is. Not that he will, but I can dream.
Sure he's unpopular with progressives and the youth.
Most blue voters are older people more interested in the status quo and in any other country with a sane Overton window would be called conservatives.
And the idealism of youth can easily convince them that a 3rd party vote is a meaningful protest against the DNC's lack of progressive action.
I have been pre-emptively severely depressed for this.
It's kinda crazy since, what will the other wlsode do to help? There is a strong history of actively harming everyone but the ultra rich.
It's like being mad at my boss because he isn't telling me how he's going to help me on my career progression, and deciding I'll switch bosses to a corrupt prison guard instead.
Unfortunately the way I see it is Biden will lose for two reasons:
- Hes old af
- Inflation
Regardless of policies or how terrible the alternative is. I dont think most people are going to think much past "Things are expensive now, and oh great a super old white dude".
If biden loses, a big part of why will be the single issue “genocide Joe” kids who, like their predecessors, The Bernie Bros, took their vote and went home over something that was much smaller than the potential loss of democracy.
Downvote all wish, the fact remains: had the Bernie bros not thrown a temper tantrum, there’s a good chance 2016 could have turned out differently.
Disagreeing does not make this untrue.
Upvote to get you to 69.
He's right. Biden is coasting into this election. Reminds me of Hillary in 2016.
So odd how dems always fumble it away.
That's because the corporatists that control the messaging want some periodic austerity to keep the working class in line. "You should be happy with what we give you" or something like that.
Centrist Democrats would rather lose and have a hereditary dictatorship run by the Trump family than treat workers with respect.
Bernie is in Biden's back pocket, he's incredibly influential to the presidency right now. Bernie has helped Biden come up with nearly every progressive policy he's rolled out. This statement actually will mean something.
Because they're just rich people. When are people going to realize they're all just rich people. None of them will ever do anything for you. We can either eat them or die.
What do you think? Are they bitter from a life of uselessness and moral squalor or tender from never working on anything of value, soft like a baby lamb kept out of the light? I think about it sometimes at night when my tum-tum rumbles
Your comment seems detached from reality, Biden appointed people to the national labor board and they changed the rules so that when companies try to do their anti-union fuckery, unions get automatically implemented:
https://prospect.org/labor/2023-08-28-bidens-nlrb-brings-workers-rights-back/
This is why we've been seeing so many successful unionizations and strikes lately.
I think the operative word in his post was "centrist." By that, I'm sure he means center to right Dems like Pelosi and Manchin.
The corporatist profit loving ones who would rather climb a ladder to tell a lie than stand on solid ground and speak truth.
https://fortune.com/2024/01/03/members-of-congress-profit-from-stocks-2023/
Neither of these people, nor the dozens of lawmakers like them, support unions in a real way. They care about money first and appearance of support to their constituents second. Pelosi keeps getting reelected because she's the biggest money maker for the DNC.
I'm sure Biden and "his team" want to win, but not at any cost. Certainly not at the cost of taxing his donors and using the money to help the working class.
How would that policy be enacted even if they did? Congress certainly will not pass it.
Of course congress wouldn't pass anything like that. Ultimately they all play for the same team-- Capital. The "bully pulpit" and executive orders are largely reserved for things like supporting genocide, and antagonizing our geopolitical rivals.
Even a clearly over reaching executive order that immediately gets smacked down by the courts would relieve the pressure.
Ahh yes, the classic "there's no reason to support good policies because other people do not."
What a bunch of losers.
Lemmy is largely populated by children who lack the intellectual maturity to appreciate that democracy is about compromise and that winning elections doesn't mean that you get to do everything you want.
There's this myth that somehow Biden can just wave a magic wand and get everything he wants, but he's not doing it because in spite of being arguably the most powerful man on the planet, he's secretly in the pocket of corporate America. It's a very childish view of the world and is entirely disconnected from reality.
Who knows what's happening in their heads... but my guess is they think that once the '3rd party people' fall back in line they will regain the lead so they don't have to worry. And the rest is Biden being as establishment as you can get so obviously he's not interested in any radical policy changes.
Rock on, Bernie
Just a quick fyi here:
Kudos to the Guardian for calling Trump a demogogue. At least they say the truth when no North American news source will.
That's just bullshit. Many North American publications have called him far worse than a demagogue. You're saying something that "feels" right but that isn't actually true. It's part and parcel with how disconnected from reality so many of us have become.
Communist Trolls: The left doesn't say enough bad shit about Trump!
Left and center news calling him a white supremacist, neo-nazi courting, racist, rapist, cheating, fat fuck, and now smelly fascist for 8 years now.
Suckers for propaganda: Uhhh... Biden supports Jews exterminating Muslims! I'm helping!!! Why didn't all of America vote for Bernie! It was the evil Democrats! It couldn't be that he was more popular and appealed to the sensitivities of anyone over the age of 40! Nor could Bernie court enough young voters to care to vote.
This coming from someone that has voted for him every chance I got. Which was exactly once lol. Bernie hasn't challenged him for the nomination at all. There's a reason why, and it isn't because he's cowtowed.
calling Trump a demogogue.
So this is not a "stranger things" insult
With an election coming up, the Schrodingers Leftist dilemma is in full force, even on Lemmy -
Where we're simultaneously both powerful enough to be personally behind every Republican win of the past 20 years, and also so insignificant that we must be ridiculed and bullied at every turn to remind us that we have NO PLACE in their party they blame us for not backing.
The best part is that most of the time people hit both sides of the coin in the same comment.
You can look at my post history and see I'm pretty far left, but I'll be pinching my nose and voting for Joe Brandon, the reason the GOP has built so much power over the years is because their base always pinches their nose and toe the party line. Voting for the lesser evil is still keeping less evil out of the world.
Voting for less evil is still addition of evil. Everyone parrots this "blue no matter who" shit but dems have done nothing to stop fascism or serve the needs of citizens, because they benefit from those systems and citizens going without. Voting mid right instead of far right is still voting for the right, voting Democrat doesn't stop the march to fascism, it just delays the official kick off date by 4 years as Republicans continue to seize power unchecked from the bottom up.
I've always voted third party and will continue to do so cause I'm over this vote between fascism and fascism but with a rainbow pin on its cap. If Democrats wanted the votes to beat Trump, they should have run Bernie who won the primary in 2016 instead of running status quo Hillary then having a court decree that their voters are, legally, not shit to them.
I've said it before and I'll keep shouting it from the rooftops - if leftists are so fucking important to Democrats maybe they should stop dedicating their lives to insulting and belittling us. 🤷
It's not the leftists. Oh the Democrats blame it on them. But we saw this in 2016 with Hillary. It's a hurt working class that feels like they're being ignored.
If Biden doesn't at least say he wants to do something about housing affordability then I won't be voting. I've voted blue my entire life.
Sad to think that we coulda had Bernie as Prez.
To be fair, attention span is short. Anything the administration does too early before the election will be completely forgotten by November.
True!
Can't pass up an opportunity to blame progressives and leftists can you? It's not that Joe Biden is a procorporate piece of shit. No no, it's those young 40 year old kids with their tiktoks that are the problem.
Get real Boomer. Biden was a terrible candidate and anyone who voted for him in the 2020 primaries is a selfish piece of shit.
Didn't single out anyone. Attention spans are low across the spectrum.
I didn't vote for him in the 2020 primary. I'm all for election reform to move away from FPTP and the lesser-evil voting strategy it necessitates. But as it stands, voting is FPTP in this election, so I'm definitely going to vote for the proto-corporatist over the fascist, and I'm going to encourage actions that make the fascist staying out of power more likely.
This is the problem, Biden is a historically pro-union president and people don't seem to recognize it. His appointments to the national labor board are responsible for the resurgence of unions were seeing.
Call for a ceasefire Bernie.
“I strongly support and wish and hope that the United States will support the United Nations resolution that was vetoed, that we vetoed the other day,” Sanders said. “That was a humanitarian pause, humanitarian cease-fire, that would have by the way called for the release of all of the hostages held by Hamas, and would have allowed the U.N. and other agencies to begin to supply the enormous amount of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.”
However, he added, “in terms of a permanent cease-fire, I don’t know how you can have a permanent cease-fire when Hamas, who has said before October 7th and after October 7th that they want to destroy Israel ― they want a permanent war. I don’t know how you have a permanent cease-fire with an attitude like that.”
Weak shit tbh
Better than nothing, but it was a pause regardless of him trying to spin it as a ceasefire.
It's the same with the AFD in Germany. People were so busy insulting those who vote AFD and telling them how stupid they are that now even more people vote AFD. I wonder how anyone thought this was going to make them vote for a different party?
Centerists literally screaming at people they have to vote Democrat because a vote for a third party will destroy democracy.
These are the same people who voted for Biden in the primaries intentionally to block progressive and leftist candidates from getting elected and now they want to act like we're responsible for propping up their garbage candidate.
Dems are just mid rights who don't care if you'd rather slave away and not afford healthcare or housing with a masculine pronoun instead of feminine (or vice versa)
Yeah Biden lost me when he outlawed the rail strike (please dont link me to electrical union statement). Frankly its just been downhill from there anyway.
Don't link you evidence that the unions themselves thanked Biden for his help and they got what they wanted without striking?
he outlawed a rail strike and you want to link me a statement from an electrical union that opposed the strike from the beginning and always had sick days. And then I point out how not everyone got any sick days from this, the ones who did didnt get what they would have gotten from a strike, and outlawing strikes poisons any future union bargaining. Im tired of fuckin democrats coming in here to tell me how it was a good thing that the unions didnt get to collective bargain, they dont need any influence on labor because employers and the government have their best interests in mind.
One rich IBEW pencil pusher doesn't represent every rail worker. You know how we determine the will of that many people? Through voting and they voted against the contract Biden shoved down their throats.
Call me stupid, cuz I don't know. But why isn't anyone challenging Biden in the media? Or even talking about Marianne Williamson's (who I thought was a challenger) bid for the Democrat ticket?
How do we not have people lining up to replace Biden on the left?
Because it would be a good way to ensure a Trump victory. I hate that it's come to this, but unfortunately it's the reality.
Marianne is the one who had letter drafted from her staff to take her race more serious & focus on getting on more ballots than Iowa & New Hampshire. Huh, I wonder why nobody is taking her serious.
if Trump wins the corps also win and the people lose
if Biden wins the corps also win and the people lose
did either of these two put up a fight for worker's rights and higher wages?
did either stand up for women's rights or bodily autonomy?
did either stand up and defend journalist being silenced?
did either do anything to quell the militarized police force?
did either help Captain Planet at all with restoring Mother Earth?
did either candidate do anything to protest against the size of the military budget?
what did either candidate do that directly makes the citizens better off?
where is the difference?
If Americans can’t realize for themselves that Biden is the most progressive president we’ve had since Jimmy Carter then we deserve Trumps dictatorship. I’m not saying Biden is adequately progressive (he’s not), but can anyone name a more progressive president in the last 50 years?
No I can't name a more progressive president in the last 50 years. That's the problem.
So because he’s not “progressive enough” he should be thrown under the bus and we get Trump?
Ever wonder if this attitude is a self fulfilling prophecy? Biden is not the enemy here and should be celebrated. Corporatism is the problem and uses MSM to gaslight the working class into believing things that are not good for them. Stop tilting against the windmill.
bringing up the idea of voting third party is not a good choice here, huh? If i did that, i would get a lot of copypasta 'but trump' if i did so I'll just say this instead:
Since we all know we need a third party eventually, what do we think we could do to make that happen in the future? (After this election i mean, and trump disappears forever, melted by our vote power.)
How long would we need to wait? (Don't want to steal votes from Democrats mind you) would they're ever be a time where that wouldn't happen? If we asked the DNC about timing, do you think they would help us get one started? If we tried and somehow succeeded in getting something off the ground, how might both parties feel about that attempt? Would they be for or against? If they were against, would they try to crush it? If they tried to crush it, what would they do to crush it? They probably wouldn't use force first, so maybe they'd use words. What might they say about it?
Sadly for more than a two party race you really need a hardier representative voting system like ranked choice voting so that as parties are knocked out of the running people's actual choices are not entirely relegated to the garbage pile.
We're still trying to get that off the ground here in Canada where we have established parties outside of two but everyone keeps voting back and forth between liberal and conservative because of the spoiler effect.
Trudeau originally ran on a promise to bring in ranked choice voting but that was an outright lie I have been salty about for years. Not that I particularly believed him because really why would he? His party benefits from a lack of representive representation by historic bias. Still its very frustrating to actually have good parties that have been well established for decades and know that if I vote for them I might increase the risk of LGBTQIAphobia and Neoliberal economic policy running the gorram country.
I'm the Democrat you probably are referring to. Quite frankly nothing is wrong with your interest in a third party or even having an interest in alternative voting method (Ranked Choice or Star voting) to get a more preferable candidate.
My only thing to bring up is to understand the objective as well as its difficulties. On a federal aspect 'but Trump' is a very real issue. Nobody should be ignorant to harm that having Republicans in the White house & 1 and/or 2 branches of congress is very dangerous & detrimental.
The enthusiasm that people have for wanting to have something better is commendable & shouldn't be discounted. The task to win an executive office is based on electoral college not a popular vote. President Obama & Biden has soon how even that large of an office can be well checked & handcuff to a unaccommodating congress so you need to have more one office to present an alternative. That is fifty sates & with several states having various methods of how they allocate those votes. A third party & Independent candidate run that hasn't spent at least multiple years & decades should really owe potential voters a serious analysis than supposed moral platitudes(There are real harms for Republicans winning). They need concrete real & achievable measurable goals & strategies so their voters can gauge their success a long the way so voters could make rational choices come time for the general election. Democrats & Republicans benefit from a long history of being established players(or the only ones), it can seem unfair but don't be discouraged.
First, read up on your state statues & laws on what it takes to form or be a recognized political party. Then check out some of those recognized especially ones you believe align closest to you. Make sure you aren't reinventing the wheel. You might find out the those parties have platforms you for the most part agree with. Check out those parties state rules & bylaws on how they are governed or operate. If their is possibility to get involved that might be an easier option. There is something meritorious in a state having their own voice or say in a different candidate even if they aren't the presidential pick. Just see how Bernie Sanders's status is viewed as a Independent who caucuses with Democrats. Even as Democrats we got to keep an almost free pickup with Joe Manchin in MAGA country West Virginia & also John Tester in Montana. Distinctions can be made while existing under the umbrella.
There are lots of other avenues to explore that doesn't have to be a national campaign or even a state-wide one. Apathetic voters that don't or rarely do as well as plenty of disgruntled two party members exist to provide a strong base for third parties. Nobody would be upset with third parties increasing the voter pool & providing them with a voice better aligned to their views or interest.
Don't discount the importance of city, county, and state legislators importance in everyone's life. Some states don't prevent minimum wage increases passed at the city level & one insane aspect of RW SCOTUS is municipalities can enact environmental laws they are trying to strip from the federal government. Cities give "incentive" deals to businesses and I've seen them get involved in housing schemes. There are possibilities for improvement. Just Imagine taking that kind of victory separate from Dems or Repubs to the national stage. Also, how much better an individual would feel being involved in that kind of improvement.
(The only challenge would be that both parties at state & federal election filing may challenge petitions to be recognized and later to field candidates with challenges. Easily addressed by CHECKING your state laws. Some states like Florida & Tennessee the party can field their own candidates so check the laws. Be prepared and really try to work on a process to get candidates to support the issues & actions condoned by the group recruiting them. After building a good strong base its really just working on the party's appeal & protect their image from attacks by the Big Two. Establish an ethics committee or other aspect to help guard against accusations. Be accountability & trust in the party but not naive. Not being so paralyzed you have to be afraid but vigilant enough to challenge entryist that are only there to sabotage.)
It would require massive reform to our current laws in order for there to be a viable 3rd party option. That's what you should be working for, not throwing away your vote.
Good questions. As with most things in society, true change has to start small. So you have to start by changing the messaging. With greater organization and messaging you start local and build a foundation. It drives me nuts that we have these conversations every 4 years about the presidency and then everybody goes back to their lives for another 4 years. Meanwhile the corporate machine is continuing their messaging that "government bad, worker's rights/unions bad, minimum wage bad, welfare bad, education bad, stock market good". What do you expect?
🎯
Feelings about Trump aside: Biden? Progressive? What are you smoking?
Having zero policy changes during your time in the office is progressive now, huh? I'm pretty sure many would consider Obama more progressive due to the fact that he campaigned for like universal healthcare at some point when president. Hell even trump gave us multiple stimulus checks lol /s
lol. Did I say Biden was a progressive OR did I say he was MORE progressive than any president in the last 50 years?
I’m smoking rational thought, shared by others. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/13/why-progressives-winning-inside-democratic-party/
Because, despite 5 decades of progress in information availability and democratization of knowledge, working class people still have to be spoon fed every bit of news as they are emotionally incapable of learning anything other than what gets fed to them on the TV.
Biden is the most pro-union president we've had in years and he's responsible for the resurgence of unions. Bernie and all the commenters here seem totally detached from reality.
He then went on to apply pressure to the railroads in order to get them everything they wanted without striking.
The IBEW sums up his many accomplishments for unions:
Throughout his first term, President Biden has been a steadfast ally of unions and American workers. I am confident that support will continue in his second term. The Biden-Harris administration has consistently advanced policies that empower workers, created opportunities for everyday people, and promoted the well-being of working families. As a direct result of these efforts, the Biden-Harris administration has overseen robust economic growth, increased worker wages and the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years.
President Biden's dedication to unionism has spurred tangible wins for IBEW that will lead to good union jobs and stronger communities for decades. Without President Biden and Vice President Harris, we simply would not have the pro-union, pro-worker policies included in the American Recovery Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the CHIPS and Science Act. Significantly, President Biden’s strong leadership saved IBEW pensions – a benefit every worker should enjoy – through the enactment of the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Relief Act.
Within the first week of taking office, President Biden and Vice President Harris began appointing into the administration union officials who have dedicated their lives to advancing the labor movement's core principles and worker’s rights, including a card-carrying union member for Secretary of Labor and a chief counsel for the NLRB who supports collective bargaining.
President Biden has issued executive orders to reverse policies that have eroded unionists' strength for decades, including industry-recognized apprenticeship programs (IRAPs) and rules that gutted federal employees’ collective bargaining rights. And then the Biden-Harris Administration went on the offense: mandating project labor agreements (PLAs) on federal construction projects, establishing the first-ever White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, and ensuring that skilled American workers benefit from historic federal investments.
President Biden has a proven record of fighting to strengthen labor laws and protecting workers' rights to organize and collectively bargain, which has led to a resurgence in union membership and power of the labor movement.
https://www.ibew.org/media-center/Articles/23Daily/2304/230425_IBEWEndorses
We aren't detached. It's not good enough. You may be happy with these tiny improvements to a bunch of issues, but we aren't. Nazis are back. Racism is in resurgence. The "economy" is strong for the most wealthy while more people are homeless, food insecure and unable to afford staples. Women have been forced backward about 40 years. Trans people are at a higher risk of violence. Corruption is out of control... But yeah... We're the ones that are detached.
You're getting downvoted by Lemmy's far left extremists, but most of us rank and file union members know that Biden did what he had to do in a bad situation with no good options. Had he not stepped in and ended the strike, inflation would have continued to rise, the predicted "red wave" election would have happened, the country would have tipped into recession and Trump would be guaranteed a win in '24, all of which would be far more dire for working people.
Furthermore, it's simply an objective fact that Biden is by far the most pro-union president in modern times. Again, the consensus in organized labor leadership is that he did what he had to do.
These purists are acting like children who don't understand that democracy is about compromise, not getting everything you want.
Local 10 till I die!