The MYTH of the Democrats as "Friends of Working People"

New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney

I've long said that the GOP is NOT a good vehicle for working class Conservatives, or working people in general. This past Primary season seems to have proven that out. The GOPe's insistence on "Immigration Reform," as a pathway to more cheap migrant labor and expanding the H-1B Visa program show that all too clearly.

The sad truth is the Democrats are NO BETTER.

So, which Party is the friend of the working class?

Neither!

We have NO friends in politics...and so, no real representation either.

That the Dems are NOT friends has been harder to prove, because they, at least pay "lip service" to working class concerns, but then go right on supporting the SAME cheap labor policies (more H-1B Visas & more ILLEGAL immigration) as Republicans do.

New Jersey is undergoing a pension crisis that could crash that system. The Public Sector Unions know they have no friend in Chris Christie, even though Christie paid more into that State's pension funds than Jon Corzine and Christie Todd Whitman combined!

Perhaps what some DIDN'T expect was the reaction of Senate DEMOCRATS to the Union's insisting that the Democratic representatives they fund, take on this issue.

Yesterday (Wednesday, August 3rd, 2016), NJ State Senate President, Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) sent letters Wednesday asking Attorney General Christopher Porrino and U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman to investigate the New Jersey Education Association, for threatening to withhold campaign contributions unless the Senate passes pension legislation. Sweeney called that a "clear cut" case of extortion. (http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/08/extortion_or_jersey_politics_experts_respond_to_sw.html)

And they call Trump "an out-of-touch fat cat."

Indeed, on Monday, August 1st, Representatives from the state's teachers' union did contact Democratic party leaders and told them that unless and until there's a vote on a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing billions of dollars to the government worker pension fund, they wouldn't be making campaign contributions this year.

Senator Sweeney also expressed the SAME kinds of concerns over his legislative office having received the same kind of "direct threat" from Bob Fox, president of the Fraternal Order of Police. Fox also reportedly said that no state senator would receive a contribution from the union until the resolution to put the referendum on the ballot is passed, according to an internal email describing the phone message.

So there is the response from DEMOCRATIC "friends of the working class" to Unions that simply refuse to continue supporting the politicians that are actively working AGAINST their own best interests. Maybe the strategy is t let these pension systems crash and then pick up the pieces are drastically reduced settlements with retired workers. It's already happened elsewhere.

Look, if you're a working person in this country...you have NO friends in politics. They'll gladly take your money, but when it comes time for pols like Sweeney and many, MANY others to actually act...well, you can't expect much.

No one can legally force public sector Unions to contribute to campaigns. Maybe they all should be far more judicious with their money!