I've Got Mail!

I don't get a lot of comments on this site, and almost all of those that I get are very supportive. How boring. So it was with great interest that I read a note from Kurt Hartle today who had a few things to say about my posting on Labor and the Iowa Caucuses.

It's just like you "died in the wool" democrates to think that your own constituancey is too stupid to make the "right decision".

Dear Kurt:

Thanks for your note. I'm glad you're reading Confined Space. Unfortunately you seem to have completely missed the point I was trying to make. So let me try again.

First, I've done a word-search and I never even mentioned the word "stupid."

In the article above you admit to having to tell union employees, "who to vote for"

Actually, that's not at all what I said. In fact, I said just the opposite. What I "admitted" was that "Following the disastrous 1994 election, the labor movement finally realized that it was no longer adequate to just tell members who to vote for. They wanted to decide for themselves, based on the issues."

That's because they're smart, not stupid.

and then when that didn't work, you were serving up a plater of propaganda

I don't think I mentioned the word "propaganda" either. What I actually said was "The secret was to educate union members about the issues [and] tell them where each candidate stands."

Let me explain what I meant. Pollsters have found that white men who belong to unions have roughly the same opinions about political issues (health care, education, taxes, etc.) as white men who don't belong to unions. Yet, in the 2000 elections, a majority of white men voted for George Bush, while a majority of union white men voted for Al Gore. Why was this?

It was because most who watch T.V. (especially Fox) only know what George Bush says, unions educate people about what George Bush actually does. For example, ask people whether they're in favor of George Bush's tax policy where 40 percent of the tax breaks, hundreds of billions of dollars, to go to the top 1 percent, or whether those breaks should be spread around more fairly and be used for education or lowering the deficit. I'd bet most white men would say they should be spread around more fairly, yet they voted for George Bush.

Ask Americans whether millions of people should lose their overtime pay. I bet almost all white men would say no, but most say they'll vote for Bush. Ask people whether they like our health care system (especially the 47 million who don't have insurance). I bet most would say no, but lots of those would still vote for George Bush.

and "then hope like hell they put it together and vote correctly" - (Your words, not mine).

Yes! Finally. My exact words. You're right this time. Two out of three ain't bad.

May be it's not them or the Repbulicans that are so stupid. You own a mirror?

Actually, I own several mirrors, but I never get to look at myself because my daughters are always in front of them.

And I don't think anyone who votes for George Bush or the Republican party is stupid. They just believe the lies they are told. When they are told the truth by the unions they belong to, they tend to vote overwhelmingly for the candidates who best represent their interests -- the Democrats.

As Adlai Stevenson said

I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends...that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them.

Thanks again for writing.

-- Jordan