Labor's Self-Inflicted Wounds

Friends and Colleagues:

Just as we are on the precipice of a resurgence of progressive politics in this country, and the election of liberal Democrat as president and a more liberal Congress,  the backbone of that movement -- organized labor -- is engaged in a self-destructive internal battle. This could not only undermine efforts to revive the labor movement, but also hurt chances of a regime change in Washington. And even if Democrats take back the White House and expand their power in Congress,  a strong labor movement will be needed to mobilize the grassroots political clout to pass health care reform, end the war in Iraq, address global warming, reduce poverty, and, ironically, pass labor law reform. Kelly Candaele and I wrote this piece for the Huffington Post about labor's recent successes (including the exciting 3-day, 28-mile "March from Hollywood to the Docks" in LA this week) as well as the threat of self-inflicted wounds among unions fighting with each other. Here's the piece.  We'd appreciate your comments.

On a related topic:  I've pasted below an email sent out today by MoveOn about last night's Democratic presidential debate, a travesty of journalism, and one of the worst examples of the trivialization of politics I've ever seen.  Read how MoveOn described it, look at MoveOn's video, and take action by signing the petition below:

If you missed the Democratic presidential debate on ABC last night, Editor & Publisher called it "perhaps the most embarrassing performance by the media in a major presidential debate in years."¹ (Click below to see video excerpts.)

Moderators George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson spent the first 50 minutes obsessed with distractions that only political insiders care about—verbal gaffes, polling numbers, the stale Rev. Wright story, and the old-news Bosnia story. And, channeling Karl Rove, they directed a video question to Barack Obama asking if he loves the American flag or not. Seriously.

Enough is enough. The public needs the media to stop hurting the national dialogue in this important election year. Can you sign the petition to ABC and other media outlets and pass it on to friends who are also fed up? Click here for our must-see video with excerpts from last night—and to sign the petition

The petition says: "Debate moderators abuse the public trust every time they ask trivial questions about gaffes and 'gotchas' that only political insiders care about. Enough with the distractions—ABC and other networks must focus on issues that affect people's daily lives."

We'll deliver petition signatures to ABC and the networks hosting future debates. And if we reach 100,000 signatures, we'll reprint the petition in an ad campaign targeting the networks on this issue.

ABC's natural inclination will be to ignore their critics, so we need to go above and beyond to show them that the public is truly outraged. So, please, think about some friends who may be fed up with 2008 media coverage and forward them this email. If thousands of us do that, it'll make a huge difference.

The reaction to last night's debate has been very consistent:

"A stinker, an absolute car crash—thanks to the host network ABC...[It] ran the gamut from banal to inane. At the end of the debate members of the crowd appeared to be booing moderator Charlie Gibson."—The Guardian's Richard Adams²

"Halfway through the debate, not a single question on any policy issue had been asked."—OpenLeft.com's Chris Bowers³

"For the first 52 minutes...Gibson and Stephanopoulos dwelled entirely on specious and gossipy trivia that already has been hashed and rehashed, in the hope of getting the candidates to claw at one another over disputes that are no longer news. Some were barely news to begin with."—Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales.⁴

"We've revisited bitter. We've gone back to Bosnia. We've dragged Rev. Wright back up onto the podium. We've mis-spent this debate by allowing Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos to ask questions that skirt what in my mind is what we need to know now."—Philadelphia Inquirer's Daniel Rubin⁵

Shame on ABC for letting voters down with last night's abysmal debate. Bad debates aren't just painful to watch—they actually hurt the country by distracting voters and politicians away from big issues of the day.

Please send a message to ABC and other media outlets that we need our national dialogue to focus on the real issues facing Americans. Click here to sign the petition.

Sources:
1. "Clinton-Obama Debate: ABC Decides Top Issues Facing Americans Are Gaffes, Flag Pins and '60s Radicals," Editor & Publisher, April 16, 2008

2. "Worst. Debate. Ever." The Guardian blog, April 16, 2008

3. "Philadelphia Debate Thread," Chris Bowers, OpenLeft.com, April 16, 2008

4. "In Pa. Debate, The Clear Loser Is ABC," Washington Post, April 17, 2008

5. "The Debate Debacle," The Philadelphia Inquirer blog, April 16, 2008