Anderson@Large

Just Getting Started

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?  Well, pick a number because a poll by the MetLife Mature Market Institute found that 60% of Americans believe "old" is something that happens at age 71.  The flip side is that 65% want to be under age 40.  That may reflect their understanding that "youth is wasted on the young."

Sandra Timmermann, Ed.D., director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute, observed:

The implications for workforce participation and social involvement will be far-reaching.   As time goes on, changed attitudes will result in increased numbers of older people who will continue to work, to start their own businesses, or to join with younger generations to help meet community needs.  No longer will there be social pressure to ‘hang it up’ at a certain age.

A House Divided

An untold story of the labor split (and here) is that we all have a stake (here and here) in what's happening inside the House of Labor.  Indeed, I was filled with sadness when I passed the Service Employees International Union's headquarters and noticed this relief inscribed, "In Unity, Strength."

Though I've never been a member of SEIU, the union has long been special to me.  It was the union home of my best friend, who was a pension consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area.  A memorial service for Phil was held at the Oakland local.

I've attended countless events at SEIU in DC and SEIU District 1199 in New York.  I've been invited to speak at the SEIU Member Political Action Conference.  And I always look forward to the activities sponsored by the Bread and Roses Cultural Project.

So, I have to assume that the rank-and-file are as stunned as I am to know that their Yalie-turned-man of-the-people apparently skipped the history lecture about the perils of a house divided.

I Can't Stand the Heat

I must be a glutton for punishment because I’m back in DC, where the heat index will be in the triple digits today. The city’s unending supply of bloviators, prevaricators (and here) and privacy invaders is enough to get anyone hot under the collar.  But my temperature is also rising just thinking about the gauntlet of random searches that I now must factor into my day-to-day routine.

A four-hour trip to the nation's capitol, for instance, could include at least three searches of my bags -- one on the New York subway, one on Amtrak and yet another on Metro.  Mind you, I'm more steamed by the futility of looking for a needle in a haystack (and here) than I am by racial or ethnic profiling (and here).

To keep my cool, I’m going to mosey on over to the National Museum of American History and check out the exhibition commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Déjà Phew

Here we go again. Yet another veteran of the 2000 election debacle is moving on up.  And it stinks to high heaven. We now know that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts went to Florida, met with Gov. Jeb Bush "and shared with him some of his thoughts on what he believed the governor's responsibilities were after a presidential election, a presidential election in dispute."

Black leaders were already expressing concern about Roberts. Prof. Ronald Walters told BlackAmericaweb.com:

The civil rights community doesn't believe he's good for black folks. He’s been consistent in providing the conservative movement with the legal resources to oppose civil rights. His principles are damaging.

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Melvin Watt said in a statement: “The Supreme Court has been the place of last resort for African-Americans throughout our history in this country.”

During Roberts' confirmation hearing, Senate Democrats can redeem themselves for failing to support the CBC’s objection to the certification of Florida's electoral votes (and here) by demanding that Roberts recount his role in Florida (and here).  And just like the general public wants to know Roberts' views on abortion, black folks want to know his stance on civil rights, affirmative action and voting rights.

An Ill Wind Blows

Today, John Sweeney will gavel to order the AFL-CIO's 25th Constitutional Convention in the Windy City.  But the ill will of union dissidents (here and here) blows no good for the labor movement.  All year, Andy “My Way or the Highway” Stern (and here) has been huffing and puffing, and threatening to blow the House of Labor down.

Stern should be careful what he bargains for because he just might get it:

With union memberships in decline nationally, a new Zogby International poll shows that just one-in-three (35%) non-union workers would consider voting to unionize their workplace, while a 56% majority would not. The poll also finds workers nationwide are generally content with their jobs and their employers.

Choosy People

Republicans' courtship (here and here) notwithstanding, the GOP hasn’t gotten its groove back with black folks. Earlier this week, Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman told a small group in Michigan:

I believe there is a unique opportunity today because this president is so committed to expanding opportunity at home, because of shared values and because I think increasingly a lot of African Americans I hear from are tired of a Democratic Party that takes their votes for granted.

To be sure, the thrill is gone with the Democratic Party but there's no love for the GOP.  Here's the latest from the Gallup Organization:

Gallup’s recent Minority Relations poll finds that blacks’ support for George W. Bush remains low -- unchanged from last year. More Hispanics disapprove than approve of Bush, while whites remain about evenly divided in their views of the job Bush is doing as president. Blacks still overwhelmingly identify as Democrats politically, and during the Bush years there has been no apparent change in party support for this group.

Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Star reported that the Indiana Republican Party chose not to show up to hear Bush’s well-rehearsed lines before the Indiana Black Expo. To their credit, state party officials decided not to fake it. They know that black voters choose New York Times columnist Bob Herbert’s assessment of where the relationship is going (links added):

At its heart, the Southern strategy remains the same, a cynical and remarkably successful divide-and-conquer strategy that nurtures the bigotry of whites and is utterly contemptuous of blacks. My guess is that Mehlman’s apology was less about starting a stampede of blacks into the GOP than about softening the party’s image in the eyes of moderate white voters. If the apology was serious, it would mean the Southern strategy was kaput. And we know that’s not true.

Roberts' Rules of Order

Democrats are playing it smart by “keeping their powder dry” (here and here) and withholding judgment on John G. Roberts Jr.  If Senate Democrats had moved to table Judge Roberts' nomination before a fair hearing, they would have fallen into President Bush’s trap (here and here).  A well-funded GOP front group was poised to go on the attack.  Indeed, these Republican smearmeisters have already placed TV, print and Internet ads in which Democrats and progressive groups are accused of “judicial character assassination."

As the New York Times editorialized: “It would be irresponsible to take a position on the nomination of Judge Roberts until his background is carefully reviewed, and until senators have a chance to question him at length.” The fact that MoveOn PAC is organizing an “emergency petition drive to stop Roberts” is another indication that it’s time for MoveOn.org to move on.