Teamsters will withhold endorsement

[Paine]

What makes you say OBrien is not MAGA?

One of my in-laws is a career union rep for the Teamsters and that's precisely how he describes him.

The actual description was "an insufferable Joe Rogan MAGA cunt".

He’s insufferable, bombastic, etc. I agree with that. I just don’t see how he’s “MAGA.” What policy positions does he hold that make him MAGA?

I don’t really associate trade unionism with MAGA. I guess it’s a pliable definition, but I tend to associate the word with Trump’s core base of support. O’Brien is the type of person who would’ve been squarely within the Democratic coalition 20, even 10, years ago.

Don’t think it’s useful to just call anyone amenable to working with Trump “MAGA.” What specifically makes him MAGA? Seems like a useless descriptor.

Helps to be specific about the issues with O’Brien, of which there are many.

A Return to Gompers

Teamster president Sean O’Brien’s speech at the Republican National Convention may represent a return to nonpartisan realpolitik for unions. But does that reflect labor's strength or its decline?

jacobin.com

 

[superrific]

He’s insufferable, bombastic, etc. I agree with that. I just don’t see how he’s “MAGA.” What policy positions does he hold that make him MAGA?

I don’t really associate trade unionism with MAGA. I guess it’s a pliable definition, but I tend to associate the word with Trump’s core base of support. O’Brien is the type of person who would’ve been squarely within the Democratic coalition 20, even 10, years ago.

Don’t think it’s useful to just call anyone amendable to working with Trump “MAGA.” What specifically makes him MAGA? Seems like a useless descriptor.

Helps to be specific about the issues with O’Brien, of which there are many.

A Return to Gompers

Teamster president Sean O’Brien’s speech at the Republican National Convention may represent a return to nonpartisan realpolitik for unions. But does that reflect labor's strength or its decline?

jacobin.com

anyone intent on effacing the effect of race, ethnicity and gender on the working class will find it hard to explain sean obrien. those of us who foreground those elements find sean obrien easy to explain. im not necessarily addressing you, btw,. that article didnt even use the word race and referred to black people precisely once (in a parenthetical). there was a nod to the problem in the anodyne, both-siding comment that:

As workers within the labor movement have become severely divided along cultural and political lines,

I dont think every single article has to analyze race all the time. but if you are going to include this type of consideration, it seems almost like misinformation to omit the factors causing those divisions among cultural and political lines. and it is hard to have solidarity in the face of that.

i know you heard billy bragg's response to the rich men north of richmond song. i'm not a big billy bragg fan but i quite like it. and in it, he addresses the "fudge rounds" line in the original by referring to solidarity. thats nice and all, but the fudge rounds attitude is prevalent and billy bragg cant make it go away.

 

[Paine]

anyone intent on effacing the effect of race, ethnicity and gender on the working class will find it hard to explain sean obrien. those of us who foreground those elements find sean obrien easy to explain. im not necessarily addressing you, btw,. that article didnt even use the word race and referred to black people precisely once (in a parenthetical). there was a nod to the problem in the anodyne, both-siding comment that:

As workers within the labor movement have become severely divided along cultural and political lines,

I dont think every single article has to analyze race all the time. but if you are going to include this type of consideration, it seems almost like misinformation to omit the factors causing those divisions among cultural and political lines. and it is hard to have solidarity in the face of that.

i know you heard billy bragg's response to the rich men north of richmond song. i'm not a big billy bragg fan but i quite like it. and in it, he addresses the "fudge rounds" line in the original by referring to solidarity. thats nice and all, but the fudge rounds attitude is prevalent and billy bragg cant make it go away.

Yeah, I don’t find O’Brien difficult to explain at all. Understanding you weren’t necessarily specifically referencing how I approach politics.

My approach to social life and politics centers class and subjugates culture to class, but it doesn’t ignore culture or discount it unlike the approach of some leftists after the cultural turn.

 

[gtyellowjacket]

Yeah, I don’t find O’Brien difficult to explain at all. Understanding you weren’t necessarily specifically referencing how I approach politics.

My approach to social life and politics centers class and subjugates culture to class, but it doesn’t ignore culture or discount it unlike the approach of some leftists after the cultural turn.

I think there is a fair amount of X politician has supporters that are ...ist therefore anyone who supports X politician must also be ...ist. I think its a lazy way to think about anyone that would dare to support a politician they didn't vote for. Until someone shows me a quote of O'Brien being racist or sexist or misogynistic or communist or fascist or even MAGA, I'm going to assume he's not.