Vilsack Bridges DLC/Labor Divide (from Hotline on call)

[Debi]

At breakfast together this morning in DC: top leader leaders and the Democratic Leadership Council's Al From.

The man who put it together: DLCer/IA Gov. Tom Vilsack.

In attendence were IAFF President Harold Schaitberger and SEIU President Andy Stern, as well as pol. dirs from several other unions.

Labor officials and DLCers are generally at daggers drawn over trade (NAFTA, CAFTA) and over the nature and future of the American economy.

But Stern (who regularly meets with GOPers on Capitol Hill) and Schaitberger (whose Kerry-endorsing union has centrist members and maintains good relations with the GOP leadership)are not your average labor leaders.

<snip>

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/

[IA_Seth]

1. Is Labor being hijacked?

I honestly don't know what to make of this.

I am not involved in organized labor so I don't know, but it sounds to me like some of the higher-ups in labor leadership are turning into "management"?

[Debi]

2. Maybe

I'm sure that Vilsack is trying to line up support for his '08 attempts.

Would he be willing to sell-out Union members to get Leadership support? Sure. My hope is that Leadership won't do it.

Labor supported Vilsack in 2002 because they had no other alternative (AFSCME almost didn't endorse). I can't imagine that Iowa Labor has grown in their love for him. Maybe the National Leadership is unaware of the tense relationship.

:shrug:

[Critters2]

3. The unions involved in this--

are they the ones who've broken with the AFL-CIO?

[Debi]

6. Stern's group is, I don't know about the others...any union members here?

[IA_Seth]

4. Vilsack 08

I just can't get used to this idea.

Not only am I non-plussed about the idea of him running for President, but I am afraid of what this will do to the ambitions of other candidates that may have campaigned in Iowa. Why come in if we are already sold? It can't do much for our future as first in the nation either.

I kind of figured that this had SOMETHING to do with his presidential ambitions, but the whole thing is confusing to me. I have a lot to learn about labor/democrat politics I guess.

[Debi]

7. You hit the nail on the head

In so many ways.

Yepsen had an article about it recently (why did the JJ include an ousted former Democratic Leader instead of, say, Howard Dean or Warner or Richardson....Yepsen says it's because the party didn't want to upstage our soon to be candidate, blah, blah, blah).

He also brings up our very shaky first in the nation position. Vilsack is not doing Iowa any favors flitting about the country as the DLC's new snake oil salesman (sorry, not a fan) with all the '08 rumors running about. He should be fighting (along with New Hampshire) to protect our status.

The cynical view would be that he wants Iowa to lose it's place, then, when he wins big in whichever state IS first nobody can say it was because it was his home state. The logical argument against that is, "who the hell would vote for a guy that lost his state's first in the nation status?". (Yes, I am a cynic - I don't think he particularly cares about Iowa, it's just where he happens to live).

When Hoffa and the Teamsters started supporting republicans the crack up of Labor and Democrats started (at least that's when I think it started). But hey, with pseudo-republican Dems running - how do you tell the difference? You back the one who will win and hope they don't sell your union down the river. :shrug: Maybe someone else here has a better explanation.

[Broke Dad]

5. Chill baby chill

On the labor front, anybody that can keep labor and the DLC talking is doing God's work. The DLC needs to hear what they don't want to hear from labor AND labor needs to realize that DLC backed Democrats have won more elections in the last 10 -12 years than more progressive Democrats.

As far as Vilsack for Prez, the other top contenders will not skip Iowa in 2008 like they did in 1992. Second place here is important, especially if Vilsack fades like Harkin did. Unless Vilsack can lay his hands on $200 to $240 million, he will fade. In the post W/Kerry era, that is what it takes to win the White House. And the parties do not raise that money for the candidates anymore. The candidates have to raise it on their own and with their own resources.

Second, lately, Americans have generally elected people as President that they feel warm and fuzzy about: Reagan, Clinton and W. Vilsack is very smart, but he will never be confused with a warm fuzzy guy.

Let Vilsack run. You never know. The little train that could in 1998 kept Gov. Lightfoot from messing up Iowa.

[Debi]

8. Actually, Lightfoot LOST the Governor's race

And there was only one alternative. His campaign really shown the light on how much of an intellectual light-weight he really was. Vilsack was not the little train that could, he was just the only other choice.

Don't forget what Vilsack brings to the fund raising table in the presidential race. A 527 that almost hit $1,000,000 in it's first six weeks. He is the DLC's glory-boy right now and we all know that the DLC can raise $$$. Vilsack was ready (in the 2002 election) to dump Harkin and take the $$ to win, only because Harkin has bigger balls did he keep the $$ and keep in the race - translation, Vilsack will sell his soul to get money and stab ANYONE in the back to get to where he wants. (ask yourself how Vilsack won the primary in 1998 - or better yet, ask Mark McCormick or his neighbors who received the baited mailings the week end before the election).

It really won't matter who runs in Iowa if Iowa isn't first (who cares who comes in second if our caucuses are in June 2008??). Vilsack isn't trying to save Iowa's position, so come December '05 we may become a lonely little state.

[IA_Seth]

9. Is there anything WE can do?

Other than hoping and praying, is there much that we can do as activists?

I really don't want Iowa to lose our position either. I am not opposed to changing the schedule around, and getting more diversity front loaded, but to remove us is not something I want to see.

[Debi]

10. How well do you know the commission members?

http://dnc.org/a/2004/12/mcauliffe_names_1.php
(at the bottom of the post there is a link to the pdf list of the commission members)

You could call or write any of them.

Also, Howard Dean is our Chair now, you could call or write him.

You could also call or write our Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State (hehe call Chet!), or any of our Iowa Elected Officials and ask them what to do to help Iowa remain first in the nation.

It pains me to say this, but the republican's got it right, at their national convention they left their calendar alone. We created this commission WAY TO GO NATIONAL DELEGATES!!! :eyes:

One more thing we could do, anyone who plans on attending your caucuses, resolutions are great things. If we pass resolutions at our caucuses that make it to County/District/State convention that we continue to obey Iowa Law and hold our caucuses before any other type of vote or selection it could send a message (Iowa should do this no matter what, even if Dean shoots us down, we should become a rouge state and go first despite the commissions decision - what are they going to do? Take away what they've already taken away?). (We could also get shut down and look like asses - but losing our position would be way more embarrassing).

So, those are my thoughts - anyone else got some ideas on how us average citizens can make our commission members and Governor listen to us? Please join in!

[IA_Seth]

12. Lol..

While I am full of instances where I have made myself look like an ass, it's not something I TRY to do.

Thanks for the tips. I don't know a single soul on the commission myself...but I suppose that doesn't mean I can't write a letter or two.

I will continue to harp on any electeds I know, but I am not sure how much that is gonna do.

I think we should definitely work on that resolution at this years convention.

[Debi]

14. Just ask yourself if you want to be like Montana and New Jersey were

2004. They voted on June 3rd. Only Kucinich and Kerry were left and one of them had a looooootttt of ground to make up before they would win the nomination.

New Jersey has past a law that moves them to earlier in the calendar, I want to say March but I'm not certain. They were tired of being dead last.

There's only a month left before the final vote (or recommendation) is made. Then the recommendation goes to Dean to make the decision permanent.

Now, in 2004 he said he liked the calendar just fine (that was before TM created the commission at the national convention). And I'd love to hold him to those comments. I can't imagine Kerry really wanting to change the calendar or Edwards for that matter. So those are the people to lean on.

But, if all else fails, I say we go first anyway. No one will probably come visit us, no reporters will be calling us, David Yepsen will no longer be on Meet The Press, but at least we'd still be going first.

[Broke Dad]

11. People, people show a little optimism here

Iowa may have a little competition at the front end of the 2008 Presidential Election, but it will not get shoved back to June. I predict Michigan and one or two other states will move up closer to Iowa and New Hampshire.

Face it, Jimmy Carter was the last Democrat to win the Iowa Caucuses and win the White House. If Iowa Democrats were an NFL football team, the coach would have been fired in 1984. We need to do something different in the way that we pick Democratic presidential nominees! I would rather have a Democratic President than have Iowa Democrats be the first to pick another loser.

As far as Vilsack, I concede the point to Debi. However, back stabbers, including the present occupant of the Oval Office, have a long and glorious history of being elected president. Bully for Vilsack if he wants to sell his soul to raise $200 million to be president. Would you rather have Mark Warner? Bill Richardson? Condi Rice? Jeb Bush? Better the devil we know than . . . That said, I will probably support anybody but Vilsack in the Iowa caucuses . . .

We progressives mirror the radical right sometimes. We shoot the Democratic candidates most like the middle of the road voters because they do not agree with us on all of the issues. My son quotes a famous Democrat who said that Democrats form their firing squads in a circle. Bang!

[Debi]

13. Do you have any idea how much the caucuses bring to Iowa every four years?

and when I say how much, I mean money. Somewhere in the area of $40,000,000 every four years. And each cycle that number goes up. Iowa is treated well by members of Congress who want to run for president, Iowa is treated well by campaigns who want to win Iowa. Do you really want to lose that?

Iowa is not at fault for what the rest of the nominating states do (after all, Carter was the last Democratic President to win Iowa - maybe the other states should have listened to us). You may not enjoy the ability to speak one-on-one with those who may become our President, but I do and I don't want to give up that opportunity.
It's the very people who sit on their laurels and don't want to work for our position who will lose it (Governor Vilsack and Iowa's commission members).

If you have been keeping track of the fight, then you know how poorly Michigan performed in their 2004 'caucus' (Which wasn't a true caucus but a vote that they called a caucus so they could move up in the calendar and then they fucked that up!). Do you really want the first 'Caucus' to be a non-caucus? or held in a state that denies voters...I mean caucus goers....access to their polling....I mean caucus...places? Or held in the very same state where precincts didn't even have a place to vote?(shoot, I mean caucus). THAT would produce a great result wouldn't it? (I won't even go into Donnie Fowlers problems in Michigan).

As for where Iowa will fall in the calendar if we get bumped, for over twenty years 48 other states have envied Iowa and New Hampshire's spot. All of them are pissed and all of them feel they can do a better job than us. In 2008 they may have the opportunity to prove it. Several states have already passed laws that move up their nominating process and the DNC has done nothing to stop them. Iowa will be faaaar back in the pack, guaranteed, if we don't work to protect our position.