Did Huckabee commit political suicide tonight?

[Edan]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
Why wouldn't it? I think it puts him in a bad light. It doesn't matter whether you agree or disagree with the strike, you should still respect picket lines and not cross them.

If you disagree with them, why not?

Isn't that the way one would want a strike to work? The employees present their grievences. The employer explains his justifications. Customers decide who they support and market forces pressure one side or the other to give in.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Edan


If you disagree with them, why not?

Isn't that the way one would want a strike to work? The employees present their grievences to the customers. The employer explains his justifications. Customers decide who they support and market forces pressure one side or the other to give in.

Strikes are not, historically, supposed to work through consumer pressure (thats a side weapon). They work through the denial of labor. The main purpose of a picket line is to deter folks regular workers from "free riding" on the unions gains by scabbing, since the pickets will take note of who crossed, and ostracise them. The secondary purpose is to deter newly hired "scabs". All the other impacts are tertiary.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by DanS
Let me clue you in. Nobody gives a frack about breaking the picket lines.

Indeed. I think Ben is showing his Canadian roots here . Respect for the picketers, regardless of what they are picketing for is a very left-wing, pro-big-labor view in the US. Maybe not in the Canada, but in the US hardly anyone cares about breaking a picket line unless you are big time into big labor.

[Arrian]

Especially not if the strikers are perceived as "rich liberal hollywood types" (ignore for a moment whether or not they're rich, or necessarily liberal).

-Arrian

[-Jrabbit]

If you're courting the union vote, it's potentially quite significant.
That's all I was saying.

Iowa caucus voting -- about which I care very little -- will now be more interesting.

[David Floyd]

Not that this will surprise anyone, but like everyone else here, I don't give a **** about picket lines. Actually, I'd probably cross them for no reason other than to piss strikers off. These days, strikes mainly have to do with unions being greedy and using working class folks as tools.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


Indeed. I think Ben is showing his Canadian roots here . Respect for the picketers, regardless of what they are picketing for is a very left-wing, pro-big-labor view in the US. Maybe not in the Canada, but in the US hardly anyone cares about breaking a picket line unless you are big time into big labor.

Id say it matters somewhat to union members and their immediate families, and just as much to the vast majorityof union members who arent "very left wing" as to those who are. While the numbers arent huge, their level of political activism is fairly high. OTOH few are likely voting in the GOP Iowa caucus, even the working class fundies drawn to populism there are likely either not union members or are marginal about it.

OTOH if, say, one of the main Dem candidates had crossed a picket line, that would be a huge deal.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit
If you're courting the union vote, it's potentially quite significant.
That's all I was saying.

yeah, but Im guessing that anyone who takes their union membership seriously enough to care is voting on the dem side anyway, despite Hucks populism.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by lord of the mark
yeah, but Im guessing that anyone who takes their union membership seriously enough to care is voting on the dem side anyway, despite Hucks populism.

That's my point. Big labor is identified with the Dems, not the Repubs. If it was, say, Edwards, he'd be crucified, because I'm sure a lot of his support would be affiliated somewhat with big labor.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


That's my point. Big labor is identified with the Dems, not the Repubs. If it was, say, Edwards, he'd be crucified, because I'm sure a lot of his support would be affiliated somewhat with big labor.

yeah, I just had problems with your language. I have a hard time calling Edwards supporters (a fortiori the unions supporting Clinton and Obama) "very left wing" on a site where Ive got to debate all these friggin boniefied commies

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well, I was simply talking about on the US spectrum. On the US spectrum, the commies don't even come into the discussion (no, seriously!).

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Well, I was simply talking about on the US spectrum. On the US spectrum, the commies don't even come into the discussion (no, seriously!).

well not in numbers. But there are small and vocal groups that count - all the Noam Chomsky fans (even if they aint technically commies).

Edwards is left, Clinton is centrist, and Obama varies with the eyes of the beholder. None are "very left" - nor are any but a handful of trade unions of any size (though more unions are left than were a few years back)

[Ben Kenobi]

I don't see it in terms of 'class solidarity' but in terms of labour. I respect the job they do and the work they put into their job.

I see in not crossing the picket line that places an increased need to resolve the dispute, the owner is losing money and so are the workers who are out on the picket.

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by David Floyd
Not that this will surprise anyone, but like everyone else here, I don't give a **** about picket lines. Actually, I'd probably cross them for no reason other than to piss strikers off. These days, strikes mainly have to do with unions being greedy and using working class folks as tools.

You have no idea what's going on, do you?

Union leadership cannot call a strike. It must be voted for by the rank & file. And the rank & file knows that, if they go out on strike, they won't be getting any salary. Hopefully, the union will have enough money to provide some miniscule strike benefits, but even when they do, it's usually not even enough to pay the rent. So, when a union votes to strike, it's because the rank & file sees major issues which need to be resolved, and they know that the other side is being unreasonable.

Here, studios are racking up big bucks from new revenue sources, and they refuse to share it with the people who actually create that wealth. I've lost track of the staggering amounts of money which studios have lost because of the strike. Yet, the studios refuse to bargain because they know the size of the pot of money they're seeking to monopolize.

[Q Classic]

Originally posted by MarkG
what does he stand for?

Well, he stands for Evangelical Christian intolerance of homosexuals, to some extent.