President Obama’s recent closed-door sessions with Republican congressmen to reach a “grand bargain” has roused suspiciously little attention in the mainstream media. What scant reporting has occurred presents the following narrative: President Obama is a “middle ground” politician attempting to breach political divides with erstwhile Republican opponents. In reality these meetings are not between political [...]
Archive | Obama RSS feed for this section 
What the 1% Heard During Obama’s State of the Union Speech
Shamus Cooke
When President Obama speaks, most Americans hear what he wants them to hear: lofty rhetoric and a “progressive” vision. But just below the surface the president has a subtly-delivered message for the 1%, whose ears prick up when their buzzwords are mentioned. Obama’s state of the union address was such a speech — a pro-corporate [...]
Will 2012 be the Final Election of Lesser Evilism?
Shamus Cooke
Just when the Obama campaign couldn’t appear any less inspiring, Paul Ryan was put forth as the Republican vice presidential candidate. Suddenly team Obama was supplied with enough political munitions to scare every last American over the possible Ryan destruction of Medicare, Medicaid, cuts to Social Security and the various other evils inherent in his proposed [...]
Obama, Labor and Marriage Equality
Mark Vorpahl
Mark Vorpahl Since President Obama made his very calculated public statement announcing that he was “personally” in favor of same sex marriage, among the many commentators who have rushed to his support have been a significant number of Labor leaders. Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, stated “Look, I support that position. We support it [...]
Why Labor’s Rank and File Won’t Campaign for Obama
Shamus Cooke
“What is Obama promising unions this election? Nothing. Why make promises to organizations like labor that don’t seem to care if you break them?”
Can Labor Confront Obama Over Jobs?
Shamus Cooke
Shamus Cooke As the seeds of Obama’s 2012 electoral campaign begin to sprout, labor unions are being forced either to pledge their allegiance or distance themselves from the incumbent president. There has already emerged some hefty splits in the labor movement over the issue, based on the President’s complete lack of action on creating jobs [...]
Obama’s Corporate State of the Union
Shamus Cooke
Shamus Cooke Finally, Obama will be delivering real change. But not the kind envisaged by those who voted for him. Rather, Obama’s revolutionary change builds upon the foundations laid by Reagan, who drastically altered American society by promoting the corporate sector at the expense of working people. Obama’s state of the union speech was the culmination of months of [...]
President Barack Obama: The Balance Sheet
Brad Forrest
Brad Forrest The George W. Bush years seem like a distant and very unhappy memory these days. But it should be remembered that it was the disastrous policies of the Republican Party and the same open and unabashed representatives of big business that figured prominently in bringing about the victory of Barack Obama. The ascendancy [...]
Obama, Oil, Lies and Money
Ann Robertson
Ann Robertson The BP oil disaster in the Gulf region, which is irreversibly destroying sensitive wildlife habitats while putting thousands of people out of work whose livelihood depended on the environment, offers yet one more example of how the government operates, whether Democrats or Republicans are at the helm. It should come as little surprise [...]
Torture Never Stopped Under Obama
Shamus Cooke
Shamus Cooke “A year on, the [Obama] administration continues to look the other way when it comes to full disclosure of and remedy for human rights violations perpetrated by the U.S.A. in the name of countering terrorism.” — Amnesty International What is Torture? It can be physical or pyschological, quick or unhurried. It implies lasting [...]
OSLP Executive Board in Response to Carl Davidson’s Article
Workers Action
Statement by the Ohio State Labor Party (OSLP) Executive Board in Response to Carl Davidson’s Article Submitted by Jerry Gordon, OSLP Chair Recently an article by Carl Davidson titled The Bumpy Road Ahead: The New Tasks of the Left Following Obama’s Victory.” [See below.] has been widely circulated. We are writing to express our strong [...]
Articles of Interest
CORE slate re-elected in landslide in Chicago Teachers Union
Richard Trumka: The 'grand bargain' is a dead end
On the Impotence of the Progressive Movement
Revealed: how the FBI coordinated the crackdown on Occupy
Bradley Manning is off limits at SF Gay Pride parade, but corporate sleaze is embraced
Cutting Social Security–More than a Bad Idea
The Forgotten Radical History of the March on Washington
Freedom Rider: Obama and the Class War- Hong Kong Dockworkers Strike Attracts Huge Solidarity
Understanding the Venezuelan Presidential Election Outcome
