Democrats in Disarray, Delaware Division
After playing Charlie Brown with the football again on gun control legislation, Delaware progressives are grumbling so loud Matt Bittle of the State News heard them. His story carries a classic Dems-in-disarray headline: “Split Over Gun Control Roils Delaware Democrats”
But the Democrats aren’t actually in disarray. They’re just beholden to unions, which in Delaware are more conservative than Tom Carper. From Bittle’s analysis:
“I got a sense that my caucus isn’t interested in doing this. I can tell you that straight up,” [McBride said]. … He estimated just five of the 12 members of the Senate Democratic caucus backed the proposals. Four senators — Harris McDowell of Wilmington, Bryan Townsend of Newark, Dave Sokola of Newark and Laura Sturgeon of Woodbrook — sponsored or cosponsored each of the three measures, while Sen. Elizabeth Lockman of Wilmington signed on as a backer of the permit to purchase proposal. Broadly speaking, those five belong to the Democratic Party’s more liberal wing…
Upward of 900 people crowded into a union hall in Newark a few weeks ago to express anger over the legislation, and while the gathering was not an official union event — the state’s major unions were deliberately neutral on the bills, according to Delaware AFL-CIO President James Maravelias — many of the attendees belong to labor organizations. Mr. Maravelias posted a picture of the meeting on Facebook, urging individuals to pay attention to “the writing on the wall” and tagging Sen. Jack Walsh, a Stanton Democrat with strong ties to labor.
This is why any Constitutional amendment dealing with Citizens United should deal with cash-based political power across the board. Read the whole thing to understand why Delaware is Democratic but not progressive, and why any fight against status-quo politics in the state involves attacking the state’s entrenched Democrats more than its antediluvian Republicans.
Rumor confirmed!
Delware State News political reporter Matt Bittle visits the Bunker this week. This will be discussed.
Maybe someone can explain to me what Unions get out of their apparent conservatism?
Great question. My guess is liberals sold out unions so now it’s just standard reactionary garbage.
RE Vanella-
Were you ever a union member? I was, for more than 15 years. In my opinion, you’ve got it backwards. Unions sold out Liberals decades ago.
My pop was a Teamster. That’s the reason I had such a quality middle class childhood.
Michael Moore’s film Roger & me came out in 1989. Democrats sold out unions because rather than stand with them they invented Clintonian triangulation and became best friend with the managing directors at Goldman Sachs and told us his great NAFTA was.
So, no, you’re wrong. And it isn’t my opinion. But to respect your effort here I won’t reply anymore.
Union members are hunters. I guess as gun owners, a large number were alarmed by the reach of the proposed laws.
Much of the open space efforts led by White Clay Creek hero Don Sharp were on behalf of his employer, the UAW led by Sam Lathem at the time, to chase after and help preserve the remaining hunt-worthy private land in New Castle County.
When I was working to preserve the La Grange farm in Glasgow, Don called me and asked how he could help and told me then it was a goal of the union organizations to preserve the open spaces for hunting.
I was a Teamster for 9 years, of the people I worked with I was perhaps the only progressive, more then a few were NRA lovers and voted Republican. As noted the state is blue, but is not progressive. The problem remains we need more and better Dems, especially ones that are openly and proudly progressive.
When Democrats align with capital/management this doesn’t escape the attention of folks on the labor side whether labor are hunters, religious, activists, etc.
This is very informative on the topic.
https://www.patreon.com/home
The boys are back! This History Is A Weapon is so massive (and inebriated) that we had to break it into two parts.
In this installment, Matt and Sean shoot a little shit about the radical geography of Europe before we plunge into the pool of disco and despair that was the 1970s: how the global crisis upended the ‘Golden Age’ of American capitalism, how Richard Nixon rode a wave of aggrievement to become the voice of a ‘silent majority’ in backlash, and how the uneasy alliance between organized labor and the Democratic Party began to fracture as stagflation undermined the post-war compromise.
Part II, another goddamn hour-and-a-half of historical goodness, will drop later this week to complete the story of how this thing called neoliberalism came to dominance, how it, too, is now crumbling, and how we might dialectically overcome the limitations of working class self-organization evident in previous cycles of struggle.
Outro: The Mekons – ‘Hello Cruel World’
Seriously?
The DE Trades killed the gun Bills?
If this is true, then this is a betrayal.
The same people that convinced Townsend to run afoul [pun intended] of the Coastal Zone Act?
The same people that year after year get, essentially, whatever they want? No Right to Work, Apprenticeship Bills, Prevailing Wage, Coastal Zone, etc.
Perhaps this is a relationship past its prime? If labor can act with impunity well beyond its interests (guns), then maybe they need a reminder of what life without their D protectors would be like.
Perhaps theyd fare better under the Rs encircling wings?
Maybe RTW isnt so bad? I know a lot of public works contracts that can get done far more cheaply than under prevailing wage….
Yes. Or, Trolly Von Trollhiemer logged on.
Tsk-tsk. Don’t you guys ever learn? Trolls gotta stick their toes in the water before revealing themselves. Otherwise, you’re one and done, and then what have you accomplished?