Teamsters, Boilermakers Endorsing Obama
Barack Obama is set to pick up the endorsement of another big union — none other than the Teamsters. Additionally, the Obama campaign announced in a press release that they've been endorsed by the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, who could further help provide some blue-collar credibility in Ohio.
Obama is continuing to make inroads with working-class voters — the exit polls from Wisconsin showed him winning union households 53%-44%, and winning 54%-44% among voters making under $50,000. More unions jumping on board certainly couldn't hurt his momentum in that department.
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Comments (17)
Oh, they'll totally revoke this when they learn Obama is a thespian.
February 20, 2008 1:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe I got confused, but I swear to God that I heard a bunch of Republicans joking around, saying that Hillary Clinton was a thespian.
Are all Democrats thespians? How do I know if *I* am a thespian or not?!
February 20, 2008 2:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think it's pretty obvious that the latte-drinking, Prius-driving, Birkenstock-wearing, trust fund babies like the Teamsters and the Boilermakers are ruining the Democratic Party!
February 20, 2008 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
And for any wondering about the accomplishments flap that critics will likely be grasping at, some items worthy of note:
-- Graduated first black president of Harvard Law Review having won trust and support of conservative members.
-- Passed over 600 high-money law firm offers to work for civil rights practice at fractional pay.
-- Added health insurance for 20,000 children, welfare reforms, earned-income tax credits, and increased minimum wage in Illinois.
-- Reformed death-penalty cases, requiring that interrogations be video-recorded. Passed Illinois Senate 58-0. Signed into law by Illinois governor who first opposed Obama’s bill. Obama succeeded by building consensus with conservative opposition.
-- Opposed Iraq war publicly, long before invasion. Accurately depicted it as of undetermined length, undetermined cost, undetermined objective, with a great likelihood of civil war breaking out.
-- Expanded program to locate and dismantle stray Russian WMD with Republican Senator Lugar.
-- Passed major ethics and lobbying reform bill with Russ Feingold, insisting upon tougher restrictions around gifts, meals, etc. And extended the interval preventing exiting congress members from moving directly into lobbyist positions.
-- Toured Kuwait, Jordan, Israel, and Palestinian territories, telling Palestinian Authority Abbas that US would never recognize Hamas leaders until they renounced mission to attack Israel.
-- Cosponsored Secure Orderly Immigration Act by John McCain. Passes Senate 62-36. Makes undocumented persons who have been here 5+ years only allowed to stay and apply for citizenship if they pay back-taxes, learn English, and have no criminal record.
-- Communicated frankly to Michigan automaker executives of need to increase fuel-efficiency standards by at least 3% per year.
-- Many aisle-crossing bi-partisan solutions throughout 10 years of senate experience (8 state, 2 federal).
-- 100% approval rating from the League of Conservation Voters, Planned Parenthood. National Education Association gives him an “A” on their most recent scorecard.
-- In Illinois State Senate sponsored 780 bills, 280 were signed into law.
-- In first year as US Senator, held 39 town-hall meetings throughout his state, sponsored 152 bills and resolutions, and cosponsored 427 more.
-- Designated US Senate point person on ethics by Speaker Harry Reid.
February 20, 2008 1:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nice! I'm so going to use that. Yes, I'm a plagiarist.
February 20, 2008 1:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Who knew that Teamsters and Boilermakers were latte drinkers, Prius drivers and wearers of Birkenstocks. Small world after all.
February 20, 2008 1:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
And you know what the Clinton camp heard from them just before the endorsement? "Sorry, Hillary, but we just don't think you can win." Her campaign is going to be hearing that more and more now, and that will lead to the decision to quit before TX and OH.
February 20, 2008 1:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost
A new page is opening for America, and it's exciting to see. The youth understand, the rest of us are beginning to.
February 20, 2008 1:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here's some more on Obama's "thin" record. Pass it on before Clinton/McCain define him inaccurately.
HILLARY VS. OBAMA LEGISLATIVE RECORDS:
During Obama's first (8) eight years of elected service (in Illinois) he sponsored over 820 bills - 233 regarding healthcare reform, 125 on poverty and public assistance, 112 crime fighting bills, 97 economic bills, 60 human rights and anti-discrimination bills, 21 ethics reform bills, 15 gun control, 6 veterans affairs and many others. IN ADDITION, DURING HIS FIRST YEAR IN THE U.S. SENATE, HE AUTHORED 152 BILLS AND CO-SPONSORED ANOTHER 427. THESE INCLUDED:
*The Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006 (became law)
*The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act, (became law)
*The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, (passed by the Senate)
*The 2007 Government Ethics Bill, (became law)
*The Protection Against Excessive Executive Compensation Bill, (In committee)
In all, since he entered the US Senate, Obama has written 890 bills and co-sponsored another 1,096. AN IMPRESSIVE RECORD, FOR SOMEONE WHO SUPPOSEDLY "HAS NO RECORD"
HILLARY CLINTON, WHO HAS SERVED FOR 6 YEARS IN THE U.S. SENATE, AND CLAIMS TO KNOW HOW TO "GET THINGS DONE" HAS MANAGED TO AUTHOR AND PASS NTO LAW ONLY TWENTY (20) PIECES OF LEGISLATION, ONLY FIVE (5) OF WHICH HAVE ANY REAL SUBSTANCE:
1. Extend period of unemployment assistance to victims of 9/11.
2. Pay for city projects in response to 9/11
3. Assist landmine victims in other countries.
4. Assist family caregivers in accessing affordable respite care.
5. Designate part of the National Forest System in Puerto Rico as protected in the wilderness preservation system.
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/obama_surrogates_flub_no_refle.html
February 20, 2008 1:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
SpaceCat, you forgot to note that HRC also gave W the authority to go to war, and named Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization. She also claims, in her "35 years of experience" to have passed NAFTA and GATT, abolished welfare and bungled up health care.
February 20, 2008 1:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Senator Clinton is running as the Commander in Chief.
Let's review her campaign:
She underestimated her opponent
She mismanaged funding
She put too few "boots on the ground", by my count, 4 different times, in 4 different states, even when faced with consecutive losses.
She failed to study or understand the situation prior to "going in" to each of these primary contests.
She neglected to put in place a coherent, winning strategy, and so is reduced to shifting tactics.
This is not a good harbinger for her fitness as Commander in Chief
February 20, 2008 1:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Has anyone noticed that the poll numbers on the side of the page actually show Obama doing better in Michigan against McCain than Hillary? Does that fact in some way diminish her claim that she should get the lion's share of MI's delegates if they were to be seated?
Seems to me that if MI were HRC country they would support her more than BO in a contest against the R nomination.
Hmmmmm.
February 20, 2008 2:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
I make no claims about how many MI delegates should be seated and for whom. I will say, however, as a man who lived for some extended period of time in Ann Arbor, that I am not at all surprised that Obama would be doing better than Clinton against McCain.
1) There are a lot of unemployed auto-workers in MI whose jobs went down to Mexico after NAFTA, and they think rather little of Bill Clinton for championing that trade deal.
2) More than a few of these same laid-off auto workers are former Vietnam Vets and these guys love John McCain.
3) For all the talk of Michigan voters angered about not being seated at the convention, one must not forget that there are a lot of other Michigan voters who are angered at the prospect that their candidate of choice was not on the ballot but Clinton was. A disproportionately large share of these voters are black democrats from Detroit. A democrat cannot win in Michigan without turning out the Detroit vote, so I would not be surprised if her poll numbers vs McCain reflect in some measure this inability to stir much entheusiasm among this important Michigan constituency.
February 20, 2008 2:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Michigander, here: Of course Obama is doing better. And of course, Clinton won back in January -- it helped that she was the only major Dem on the ballot. Coming in at second place was "Uncommitted" -- there was a movement to have Obama supporters vote thusly (as I did), in the hopes that if uncommitted delegates were seated then they could be free to go for Obama.
AP story from Feb. 8:
"The Michigan Democratic Party said Friday that Clinton will get 73 pledged delegates after winning 55 percent of the statewide vote.
"Another 55 delegates will be uncommitted since 40 percent of the Democratic voters chose uncommitted. Because Barack Obama and John Edwards had taken their names off the ballot, many of their supporters voted for uncommitted."
So, basically, after no campaigning, and ballot confusion and the promise that the votes wouldn't count anyway, 40 per cent came out on a snowy, crappy day to vote against Clinton.
February 20, 2008 2:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
maybe if she would have fought to make the michigan votes count before the vote someone might take her more seriously when she tries to let our voices be heard.
February 20, 2008 2:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wow, good news for Obama. With the AFL-CIO unions now coming to his side, it is getting harder and harder to see how she wins by the necessary margins in OH.
February 20, 2008 2:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
They make steel toed Birkenstocks? Geez, next thing ya know they'll be taking ballet during their morning breaks.
February 21, 2008 12:08 AM | Reply | Permalink