Those are well asked questions. And the history of efforts to organize copper workers in a place like Butte, Montana is a good example.
I think it’s important to remember the gains from organizing despite the racial divisions in the unions.
There’s the familiar litany including, child labor laws, rights to collective bargaining, improved safety, disability insurance, limited work days, women’s rights and so on. And there was the New Deal Coalition eventually which owed so much to organized labor.
To this day, “Butte, America” is a Democratic stronghold no matter how wrong the rest of the state gets about Rep. Rehberg, Sen. Burns or other wrong numbers. Gov. Schweitzer and Sen. Tester were (and are) solid. Even Sen. Baucus, who almost singlehandedly screwed up the public option, was still a Dem who helped bring home the ACA.
So … outrage? I dunno. For Montana, grieve Frank Little. Organize. Don’t be racist. …
There’s been progress despite racism. Think what else can be done now that racism is growing less effective as a wedge issue against Democrats.
Think what can happen if GOP working voters continue to disaffiliate from the idle, rich, entitled boys served by the GOP leadership.
Me too, though my grandmother shut me down — as they do — when I tried to argue there’s not enough difference between the GOP and the Dems. She said, “Honey … Roe v. Wade.”
Now that I think about it, shouldn’t it be the time to ditch the Republican party altogether, move the Democratic Party to the Right, and give the left slot to the lesser known Socialist Party?
In fact, shouldn’t the Socialist Party be popular now? I mean, with all the strife going on with Class warfare, along with racial and sexual discrimination, they could’ve leap at the opportunity to get themselves known now that both parties skewed to the capitalist right.
The Democratic Socialists of America is organizing support for Sen. Sanders’s campaign. And I’m guessing @Cowicide or @Kimmo may have organizing ideas. It’s all about the organizing — esp. local issue-based organizing that also links to regional and national voter registration and GOTV campaigns.
No, Democratic Socialism with a mix of capitalism (and a splash of establishment nostalgia) is all most moderate and left-leaning Americans will endorse or tolerate at this point.
If Bernie Sanders was part of the Socialist Party, his campaign would’ve been dead in the water from the very start.
