Are the days of a two-party system coming to an end? At this time the GOP is split between the Tea Party and the old GOP people. The Democrats are splitting between the centrists/Blue Dogs and the new young people’s party, the Revolutionaries.
The wages slaves of the world are demanding a fair share in their lives that they are not getting from their government’s representation. Just look at Spain’s election, which shows strong support for two new upstart parties challenging Spain’s traditional two-party system. Then there is Ukraine’s governing coalition that lost its majority in parliament. There are different reasons for each country, but there is one that crosses lines, which trust and dissatisfaction with their elected politicians.
Here in the U.S., we have a broken system in the Democratic party, which can rig elections by using super delegates. Super delegates were established during the 1972 election cycle when George McGovern and Jimmy Carter squared off. Using the 712 super delegates, which essentially nullifies the people’s vote, are made up of 20 Democratic governors, 47 Senators, 193 Congress members, 432 elected members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and 20 “distinguished” party leaders, such as presidents, vice presidents, DNC chairs and congressional leaders.
Even if a candidate gets the majority of the people’s votes, the candidate can still lose by the super delegates. Despite Sanders receiving the majority of votes in New Hampshire, Clinton received as many super delegates as Sanders so they were essentially tied in this corrupted system. How long will the smart and techie savvy young voters going to put up with this rigging of the system before they leave the Democratic party and side with or start their own party? Either way, it will be the end of the Democratic party as we know it today. Of those registered to vote in the U.S., 43 percent identify as Independents, 30 percent as Democrats, and 26 percent as Republican. The Democratic party better wake up.
The GOP is in the same sad shape and for better or worse, the old GOP establishment will not be able to hold back the hoards with their pitchforks. They are already pounding on the gates of the 1 percent oligarchies. If the Democratic establishment shutout Bernie Sanders in an unfair use of super delegates or otherwise there will be a revolution and a new party for this is not a third world country yet.
This is where unions must take sides and they should side with the young workers and the soon-to-be workers. This is where the future of unions lies if they hope to rebuild their numbers and strength. Think about how the centrist Democrats perceive the unions today. They look upon us as irrelevant because we have lost our membership numbers and membership means money. With low numbers, the centrists turned to Wall Street, big banks and the oligarchies for money and support—which are not and have never been friends of labor. Today, during the Nevada caucus, the casinos sent union members with pay to caucus on behalf of Clinton, why do you suppose they did that? Those who were supporting Sanders said they couldn't the time off from work.
Pick a side, we have rebuilding to do.
I hope that I am wrong, but what I see at this time is our unions are going to be in the fight of their existence. This is the most perilous time of our life. The life we had is threatened like never before. Unions are the largest organized group of people who can save our country if things keep going the way they are heading at this time. We need to all stand together for power, but we each must prepare and plan to take care of ourselves and our families. We can fight the big fight and not be distracted by worry about things that can and should already be taken care of. For instance, stashing at least one month’s pay and at least a month or even a year’s worth of food, whether the food is staples (pasta, rice, canned goods) and meat or chicken in the freezer. Keep your vehicles' tanks full and if possible a gas can full. It’s in your best interest to also save money for house or rent payments plus extra. This is not new thinking for us old trade workers who had to prepare when...
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