Tag: President Obama

Elections Have Consequences

Elections Have Consequences

Walter Wise
International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers Union

Only history will reveal if this election is truly “the most important ever,” but in view of the continued assault on the working families of the middle class and the contrary visions for our nation, it is without a doubt an election that will have long-term consequences for workers, their unions and our country. Every election is of critical importance and demands our undivided attention and commitment.

Think about it. What if Hubert Humphrey had defeated Richard Nixon in 1968? No Watergate. No enemies’ list. No constitutional crisis. No presidential resignation. How much different would our country be today? What if Al Gore had not been denied the presidency in 2000? No squandering of the Social Security surplus to fund tax cuts for the rich. No wars of choice. No trillion-dollar deficits. And, certainly, no economic meltdown from which we are still attempting to recover. This fall, the choice between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney is clear as the two candidates present a stark contrast in their vision for you, your rights, your Union and your future. Continue reading “Elections Have Consequences”

Public union’s political director: Members to be ‘pivotal’ for Dems in Midwest races

By Kevin Bogardus – 09/02/12 06:00 AM ET

The political director for the nation’s largest public sector union said its members will prove “pivotal” in Midwestern swing states – including Wisconsin — for President Obama and Democrats come the November elections.

Brian Weeks, as the new political director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), told The Hill that state-level battles over public workers’ collective bargaining rights have fired up the union’s members for the fall campaign.

“It’s definitely one of the areas where we will be pivotal. We have a lot of membership in those Rust Belt states,” Weeks said. “The battles our members fought in Ohio, Wisconsin as well as Michigan have kept them engaged and ready for these coming elections.”

Weeks has been on the job for about a month after stepping into the shoes of Larry Scanlon, who retired earlier this year after spending nearly 17 years as AFSCME’s political director.  Continue reading “Public union’s political director: Members to be ‘pivotal’ for Dems in Midwest races”

Countdown to Sequestration: Four Months to Go

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The law lets the President opt to exempt military personnel from sequester’s impact. That means most other accounts will be cut by about 10% if it happens.

Gosh, we started this countdown five months ago, and darned if the nation’s “leaders” have made absolutely no progress toward dealing with the country’s fiscal mess. As you may recall, last year’s Budget Control Act set into motion this thing called sequestration.

What it means is that if the White House and Congress can’t agree by Jan. 2 (four months from today) on $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the coming decade – in the form of spending cuts, tax hikes, or some combination thereof – that much will be automatically cut from government spending. Continue reading “Countdown to Sequestration: Four Months to Go”

Who Is The Smallest Government Spender Since Eisenhower? Would You Believe It’s Barack Obama?

Who Is The Smallest Government Spender Since Eisenhower? Would You Believe It’s Barack Obama?

It’s enough to make even the most ardent Obama cynic scratch his head in confusion.

Amidst all the cries of Barack Obama being the most prolific big government spender the nation has ever suffered, Marketwatch is reporting that our president has actually been tighter with a buck than any United States president since Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Who knew?

Check out the chart –

So, how have the Republicans managed to persuade Americans to buy into the whole “Obama as big spender” narrative?

It might have something to do with the first year of the Obama presidency where the federal budget increased a whopping 17.9% —going from $2.98 trillion to $3.52 trillion. I’ll bet you think that this is the result of the Obama sponsored stimulus plan that is so frequently vilified by the conservatives…but you would be wrong. Continue reading “Who Is The Smallest Government Spender Since Eisenhower? Would You Believe It’s Barack Obama?”

Obama to try to make case for sticking with him

Obama to try to make case for sticking with him

JULIE PACE | September 1, 2012 10:20 PM EST |

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Don’t expect President Barack Obama to try to reinvent himself next week at the Democratic Party’s national convention. Instead, he and a slew of his defenders will seek to convince voters to stick with the president they know rather than gamble on someone new, a challenging task given that most Americans say the country is heading in the wrong direction.

“This Thursday, I will offer you what I believe is a better path forward, a path that grows this economy, creates more jobs and strengthens the middle class,” Obama said Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa, previewing his pitch. “And the good news is, you get to choose which path we take.”

While Democratic loyalists will fill the stadium where Obama accepts the nomination Thursday night, the president’s target audience is the small sliver of undecided voters in battleground states who will be critical to the outcome of what polls show is a tight race with two months to go. His campaign also will try to revive some of its insurgent, grassroots appeal from 2008 by using technology to let people participate in the convention. That effort also will help Obama’s team collect more data on voters. Continue reading “Obama to try to make case for sticking with him”

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