Hoffa, Unions and the Tea Party

As I have said before, I am a political creature who has learned not to be surprised or scandalized by any manifestations of election posturing.  But unions can still make my teeth itch.  Outside of the fact that they seem to attract corruption like dogs attract fleas, it is the arrogant ignorance of them that gets me going.  Labor Day brings them out of the woodwork.

            First there was Maxine Waters wanting a trillion dollar stimulus package.  Never mind that Maxine couldn’t write $1,000,000,000,000 if you spotted her the 1 and half the zeros.  Never mind that if the government said they would actually spend that much money to rebuild our sadly neglected space program, acquire energy from space, go to Mars, and employ hundreds of scientists, engineers, skilled technicians and support staff, that she would vote against it.  She doesn’t want jobs, she wants government dole for people who are still in bed when the rest of us go to work.  But that’s just Maxi; she doesn’t get to me.

            Then there is President Obama, a private prep school student who went to Harvard; a lawyer, who speaks in perfectly enunciated English, except when he is talking to a room of union or blue collar workers.   Suddenly he starts dropping the, “g” from verb forming suffixes.  The word, “talking” becomes, “talkin’” and, “walking” becomes, “walkin’.”   He evidently wants them to know that he is walkin’ the walk and talkin’ the talk!  Does he really think he is craftily manipulating these people into thinking he is, “one of them?”  Does he think they are all ignorant of correct diction?  That they are too careless or too sloppy to use careful language?  Does he think they are that stupid or just that easily managed?  The obvious, cynical stereotyping of his approach to working class people is more blatant than it is insulting.  But that’s just Democratic politics; it doesn’t get to me.

            That leaves us with Teamster President, Jimmy Hoffa.  This gentleman decided that since he was in charge of warming (excuse me, warmin’) up the crowd for President Obama that he would do so by conjuring up the left’s favorite demon, the Tea Party.  He reminded his constituents that they are working people and working people, “…like a good fight.”  Then he addressed the President saying, “President Obama, this is your army.  We are ready to march.  Let’s take these sons of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong.”  There is so much wrong with this I hardly know where to start, but let’s start with the obvious.  Mr. Hoffa, your union workers are not the only people in this country who work!

  I am no a fan of the Tea Party, and I haven’t seen the numbers but I’ll bet that the percentage of Tea Party members who work is higher than the national average.  My parents both worked outside the home.  They were blue collar workers, and we were poor people.  I remember a summer when we were homeless, living in our car, and going from state to state while Dad looked for work.  I was the first person in my extended family to go to college.  I have worked two jobs more years than I have worked one and you, Mr. Hoffa, do not speak for me!  The difference between us is I can tolerate you, but you feel the need to threaten me.   

It grieves me to say that President Obama’s response to Hoffa’s speech is that he is, “proud” of Hoffa.  I’m proud of standing up to union threats, and keeping the faith.

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