Stop Me Before I Vote Again

Paradise Regained, eh? The progressive white middle class rolls over outdated (and out-sourced) white male workers, cloaks itself in benevolent social values like acceptance of gays and immigrants (cheaper labor), assumes its natural leadership position in the American electorate, and anoints. . . Barack Obama!

The DLC's little think pieces make more sense to me if I treat "white" as a euphemism. When they apply it to the working class, it means incorrigible, ungrateful crackers. When they apply it to the credentialed class, it transcends and assimilates ethnicity if the SAT scores are good and the social aspirations are acceptable -- HCE put it perfectly. As an aspirational fillip, properly behaved meritoids of any ethnicity can be white for most (but not all) practical purposes. Unless they vote Republican.

And, of course, the real content of this stink-piece is its revelation that the DLC not only plans on perpetuating the story that immigration matters for "our economy," but does in fact view it as exactly what it is to them -- a managed ruse they'll keep peddling so long as it sells. Obviously, they see the tide in this game shifting slightly in their favor, so more's the better, they're thinking. What a great thing: using soft racism to make people feel good about themselves and vote D! "Immigrants aren't stealing our jobs! They're only kind of stealing our jobs!" "Hillary in 2016!"

Meanwhile, silence on questions of the commanding heights and what they have to do with the lack of jobs.

Hey

The last bit is the posts red meat

The coming crash of the symbol worker class

Right, OP. How does this utopian vision of the future DP square with college-educated white males working for Toys R Us (my own son, bless him!) Any party that expects to survive the roller coast ride of the next decade had better go either clearly left or clearly right -- the sensible liberal middle just ain't going to cut it. (Actually, that's what this article IS doing, isn't it -- going right while seeming to go left!)

Here's further food for thought, from Ian Welsh(ianwelsh.net):

The total number of manufacuring jobs in America today is exactly the same as it was in 1946! He adds:

"a high level Obama administration economic adviser is quoted as saying that America’s export future resides in exporting “consulting and legal services, software, movies, and medicine.”

Whoops, he forgot military and financial services.

Md
Exactly

The macro policy deep secret;
tepid job markets and chronic idlization
Of the mid life
White wage male hammer head
Was by design

Reagan democrats were in the bipartisan cross hairs all along

But
the CH dynamic
Of the last 35 years Imports immigrants and
De industrialization
Worked too well

Now chronic short falls in wage based household
Income can't be boosted by shylock slights of hand

Are higher
chronic
rates of
Job lack ahead ?
Reaching hce's. Raw erasmusians ?

Polarization or
Pulverization ?

I concur with OP-san-sensei's foreseeing of a coming Great Lamentation over the merit system. The precursors of undeniable (deniable sort having been in situ for 20 years already) implosion are all about. It will happen, and soon.

It's all about the commanding heights.

Speaking of that, this very apt fact from hce is also entirely systematic: "The total number of manufacuring jobs in America today is exactly the same as it was in 1946!"

I life in Stumptown. The great undiscussed secret of the "spotted owl" problem was always log-mill automation.

I say it again: This, right here, is capitalist paradise, the world we get from investors first. That's why they can't fix it. It's the best of all imaginable worlds, to them.

Here's how French workers are responding to plant closures:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jul2009/fran-j20.shtml

Hce

French workers live in the theme park for class struggle
Of course they ham it up

In the end I wouldn't count on a durable differednce

Something about selling the gas canisters to blow them up with

Rings of pure
Comedie french frying

Now its trot sites hce ?

Just What muck
Won't you rake in ?

I don't know. If you can wade past the Gerry Healyism and David North prescriptions at WSWS (and it's not hard)- I would agree with hce that there are some good things to be found there. Granted, France is always noisy, as are the Healyites, but I'll take the french worker's kind of noise over the feel-goodism the labor movement is infected with over here. Obviously the 'crats in the French unions must be feeling some kind of pressure, otherwise they'd be doing everything they could to pretend anger in the workforce doesn't exist. Something's shifting over there, as it's been pretty restive in France since the mid 1990s. It certainly seems like some one ought to be eyeballing it, even if it's only WSWS.

Mh

Surely u are correct this french bravura
Is an index of class struggle rising in the north hemi

I guess I've never
Been convinced
they are the spear tip of the north hemi proles

they have
An undoubted capacity for effective dramatizations

this symbolic threat wave surely resonates nicely

So all razz aside I give em
High marks for what it is
Vivid gesturing

I Don't imagine make nice pie carding
has a big future state side either

Nor do
ass wind tornedo's like andy stern cuts

If there are things that are relevant to be learned from the French Labor Movement obviously we should look at it. Personally, I'm skeptical--the French left is comprised of posers as far as I can tell (this is definitely true of their intellectuals--I have a degree in it.) At any rate politically the population is comparably conformist where it counts in spite of libertarian pretense (my French friends defend the right of police to demand to see IDs at any time, e.g.); on the other hand they bike on sidewalks and let dogs shit on the same. And the blight of French Imperialism, such as Giana launch site or the legacies of among others Vietnam and Haiti, is totally ignored.

In my opinion, the best places to look for class-struggle inspiration are Third World countries; places like Bolivia where those struggling will stand up to police with a high expectation of getting shot--when it comes to the fight, Western leftists would barely scuff a new pair of shoes, including Comrades in France.

This is weird -- leftists putting down leftists! One little group of workers in the US (some factory around Chicago) actually gained something last year by occupying the factory when owners threatened to shut it down, or let workers go.) It actually worked, and even got into the news!

Let's not throw water on imaginary fires, or put down symbolic action. There's plenty of tinder out here to start a real fire.

plenty of tinder out here to start a real fire

couldn't agree more

that was an occupation
btw
quite another matter
from the excitement of blowing a plant up

i suggest a symbolic occ of a main frame gm plant
a massive cyber attack on jp morgan chase
or who ever is the biggest gm creditor
plus some one like gettlefinger
doing some batch of non violent
but way outlaw acts
and end up wanted a fugative
and part of a nation wide
man hunt by the fbi
and after enough spot light
then give himself up voluntarily
to arresting authorities

Well, if you like occupation, here's another one, from R Seymour:

http://leninology.blogspot.com/2009/07/vestas-workers-occupy.html

The point is, with enough of these, the virus may become a pandemic.

Owen, I like the idea. Ron Fingerpuller could reinvigorate the UAW if he adopted something like it. I've had unkind words for him in the past, all deserved and probably not nearly unkind enough, but I'd applaud and heap praise on a reformed, militant Puddlewinger. I reckon he'd become a folk hero.

When the federal authorities got ready to send him to Leavenworth, for violation of Harman-Ruppersberger-Gohmert "Freedom To Do As You're Told" labor relations act, the streets would be lined with protesters, surging against the barriers to get a last glimpse of their beloved Spittlepumper. Andy Stern would issue a stern manifesto from his exile in Venezuela, where President Chavez gave him sanctuary after the infamous "Stop Traffic" wildcat job action led by the SEIU in support of the fugitive labor leader, Poodlebiter.

ya that's it

Al's got the spirit

' fuck H-R-G...fuck lawful entry
fuck..
day light saving time
here
.... errr um Earwick ole pal
now yer up
could ya
please cut me
a slice a that there apple cobbler '