Progressives push President Obama to use his bully pulpit

By Zach W On February 25, 2011 · 8 Comments · In Labor Unions, National Politics, News, Wisconsin Politics

Leading progressives within the Democratic Party, including Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chairs Raul Grijalva and Keith Ellison called for President Obama to get more involved in the fight over public worker rights playing out in Wisconsin and other states across the country:

Obama has publicly sided with state and local government employees against laws meant to crush their right to collectively bargain. But his political shop has run hot and cold on the question of involving him more publicly in the protests.

The co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus yesterday both called on him to speak out more loudly — or even join the protesters in Wisconsin.

“I think the statements the president made supporting collective bargaining and organized labor are important,” Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) told reporters on a Wednesday conference call organized by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “I think that there is more to do.

Barring one statement made to Today’s TMJ4 here in Milwaukee, President Obama and his administration have done their very best to avoid coming out in direct, full-throated support of Wisconsin’s public employees – and their labor brothers and sisters, but hopefully he’ll come around (literally and figuratively).

Tagged with: President Barack Obama

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8 Responses to Progressives push President Obama to use his bully pulpit

Michael Peterson says:

February 25, 2011 at 8:08 am

We’ve started a facebook cause, “Shoes For Obama,” and we’ll begin mailing them later today.
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Super Id says:

February 25, 2011 at 10:56 am

But if Obama were to get involved he would have to explain why he is objecting to Walker’s plan when it still affords more collective bargaining rights to Wisconsin public employees than Federal public employees currently have.

In short, he has no soap box on which, to stand.
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- Locke says:
  
  February 25, 2011 at 2:02 pm
  
  Why isn’t this getting more (any) media attention? Is it untrue? I haven’t seen it sourced by people to convince me it absolutely is, but I haven’t seen it discredited either.
  
  Whether President Obama weighs in or not, if it is true, the fact that federal employees unions do not have these powers created for them by the legislature is most certainly a pertinent fact.
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PartiallyBlue says:

February 25, 2011 at 11:23 am

President Obama should stay out of this. This is a state issue and not a federal one.
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Proud Progressive says:

February 25, 2011 at 12:24 pm

The fact that the republicans are rolling this out all over the country definitely makes this a federal issue!
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- PartiallyBlue says:
  
  February 25, 2011 at 12:58 pm
  
  No, it does not. It makes it a national political party issue but it has nothing to do with the federal government or its authority over anything.
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  - T. says:
    
    February 25, 2011 at 1:29 pm
    
    I’m agreeing with this, Obama should stay out of it because this could easily turn it into a “Obama is for it so let us be against it” deal to derail the major damaging topics in it.
    
    ( I won’t even begin to tell how some portions are unconstitutional. Check page 128. To think, Walker promised us he wouldn’t do that. )
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forgotmyscreenname says:

February 25, 2011 at 3:38 pm

Why won’t Obama grant the same rights to federal employees that WI public employees currently have? It’s a travesty. I don’t even know how those federal employees can stand to stay at their jobs.
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