tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18747118.post6210737920464891756..comments2023-11-02T05:00:36.315-04:00Comments on Democratic Convention Watch: Jim Taylor vs the Democratic ConventionMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02126730290750804530noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18747118.post-39014347662346860072007-01-10T22:30:00.000-05:002007-01-10T22:30:00.000-05:00Jim Taylor is not doing this for the power, and he...Jim Taylor is not doing this for the power, and he doesn't care about the fame. That is why he isn't talking to reporters, he wants to make it a non-issue for the party he has donated most of his life to. There has to be more to this story. Where is Stan Kroenk? Why hasn't he said he is willing to negotiate with Taylor? Maybe because him and his important republican family have too much to gain on this problem. The media needs to attack his lack of action instead of creating a situation that has Jim Taylor as the ultimate fall guy for the Democrats' own mistakes. Democrats should side with Taylor on Principle, not hang him out to dry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18747118.post-39092966761792797762007-01-10T18:41:00.000-05:002007-01-10T18:41:00.000-05:00Anonymous, I suspect that most of what you're sayi...<i>Anonymous</i>, I suspect that most of what you're saying comes out of frustration with Taylor more than an actual opinion. It would be extremely inappropriate for Democrats to punish union workers for what Jim Taylor is doing. They aren't at fault for Taylor's position. Rewarding Stan Kroenke isn't wise either. <br /><br />The problem with Taylor's power play is that he actually <i>does</i> have a lot of power, because if Taylor refuses to sign on and union members were to actually strike the Democratic Convention, the result would be a disasterously touchy situation for everyone involved in the 2008 convention. Of course the media would be right there in force to hone in on the drama, right in the middle of the Democrats' official launch of the 2008 campaign. Democratic delegates would have to choose between crossing a picket line, which many will surely vehemently refuse to do, or shunning the convention. It would be a lose-lose situation for the Democrats and a PR disaster that they CANNOT risk. <br /><br />That's why people are ultimately so frustrated with Taylor. If he were really an entity that could be easily ignored, the committee would gloss over the situation and move forward with the convention in Denver. But if Democrats piss Taylor off now, who knows if his bitterness would be enough to cause him to act out during the convention. It would be the political equivalent of a suicide-bomb, leading to Taylor's own self-destruction and taking out a lot of people with him in the chaos.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18747118.post-26218834487627087452007-01-10T16:11:00.000-05:002007-01-10T16:11:00.000-05:00I see. Well, the fact that the Dems have granted ...I see. Well, the fact that the Dems have granted Taylor's stagehands a job doesn't give him the right to attempt to throw the whole thing. <br /><br />Let's face it. Taylor's being a real jerk here. The Dems try to help him out by hiring his unionized stagehands instead of the non-union Pepsi center, and the guy acts like he's king here, trying to dictate to Dean where the convention should be held.<br /><br />They ought to just cut Taylor out of the loop completely and contract with Stan Kroenke and his non-unionized stagehands.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18747118.post-71663897930531030402007-01-09T21:22:00.000-05:002007-01-09T21:22:00.000-05:00She says "We feel" like we're being told to roll o...She says "We feel" like we're being told to roll over. I think what they're saying is, OK, we're not signing this without getting something back - what can I get for my union? The problem is that I don't think the DNC or the local host committee are capable of negotiating anything that's meaningful to the union. The only ones who can solve this are the national unions, who will have both side's interests at heart.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02126730290750804530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18747118.post-5977557071528825602007-01-09T20:54:00.000-05:002007-01-09T20:54:00.000-05:00I saw this quote by Leslie Moody today:
"Labor ha...I saw this quote by Leslie Moody today:<br /><br /><i>"Labor has invested a lot in swinging this state in a Democratic direction," Moody said. "We feel we're being told that labor needs to roll over on this one, and that's not the way labor and the Democratic Party ought to interact."</i><br /><br />I don't recall anyone saying that.Corinnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01985403809027648352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18747118.post-5742702089775139552007-01-09T20:09:00.000-05:002007-01-09T20:09:00.000-05:00In response to the comment above, Taylor gets a sa...In response to the comment above, Taylor gets a say because, while the Pepsi Center is not unionized, Taylor's unionized workforce will be the workforce in the Pepsi Center doing stagehand work, not the non-union Pepsi Center employees. <br /><br />Of course, that makes it more ironic -- this is a bid that will mean money and work for Taylor's constituents in IATSE; yet, Taylor seems to be cutting off his nose to spite his face and working to lose work opportunities for the employees he purports to represent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18747118.post-26086822216553678172007-01-09T19:01:00.000-05:002007-01-09T19:01:00.000-05:00HI,
Excellent blog. I just discovered you via a me...HI,<br />Excellent blog. I just discovered you via a mention in a Dailykos diary: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/1/9/17443/01741Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18747118.post-30530911998544488552007-01-09T11:59:00.000-05:002007-01-09T11:59:00.000-05:00I don't get why Taylor gets a veto over the conven...I don't get why Taylor gets a veto over the convention anyway. He's just one guy, same as you or me. Why don't the rest of us get to veto a convention location? <br /><br />Taylor doesn't even represent anyone related to the convention. Which is perhaps what this is all about -- he thinks he SHOULD be representing the workers of the Pepsi center, but he doesn't. So if he doesn't represent anyone, why does his opinion on the convention location matter any more than anyone else's?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18747118.post-6237856831869463132007-01-08T15:29:00.000-05:002007-01-08T15:29:00.000-05:00It's sort of ironic that unions originally formed ...It's sort of ironic that unions originally formed so that that workers, in large numbers, could stand up against their bosses and show how necessary they are. They would demand better pay and reasonable work hours by striking, proving that their employers can't make money without laborers, so they'd better start treating labor with respect. <br /><br />Now, we have one union leader acting alone, and in doing so, people are starting to question whether he is really necessary. You could just hire somebody else to do the same job, people argue, and it doesn't seem like he's going to <i>achieve</i> anything by taking this stand. I question whether unions can function when you have one renegade demanding more or different things than everybody else. <br /><br />I am not necessarily against Taylor for making such a stand, I just hope it doesn't prevent the Democratic Convention from coming to Denver, and I don't think it's worth the stakes, for Taylor or anyone else. Perhaps in princple Taylor has a point, but he has unrealistic expectations of Denver's bid comittee - and he seems to keep changing his reasoning anyway. <br /><br />But what is starting to bother me more than anything is that Taylor completely refuses to speak for himself to journalists. Leslie Moody, another labor leader, speaks on his behalf in almost all circumstances. If Taylor is going to take a position which has such a wide-ranging effect, I think that we are all entitled to an explanation, from his own lips, about his reasoning. I would be a lot more confident that this despute is legitimate if Taylor explained it himself and the specifics didn't keep changing all the time. Since Taylor won't speak, others are speculating on his behalf: first it was that the committee hadn't paid enough attention to unions throuought the process, then it was that Denver itself is anti-union, then it had to do with the staff to run the convention being non-union, then it was about the Pepsi center itself being non-union, then it was the Pepsi Center's ties to the GOP, then it was that the committee should hold the convention at the Convention Center... there might be a general theme in that, but I want to hear something specific, concise and consistent, otherwise it makes me suspect that Taylor is just angry or bitter about something.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com