The real cause of the economic decline of the middle class and the sharp drop in union membership is a "two" party system that puts corporate interests before that of working people and the poor!  If you are one of those "don't confuse me with the facts" party loyalists, you're not going to want to visit my Listen Here! page.

As a working person and proud union member, I'm sick and tired of the condescending, “I know better than you” breed of Democrat.   All it takes to draw them out of the woodwork on any form of social media is to say that most Democrats, including the President haven't lived up to their campaign promises.   If you add that most Democrats have joined their Republican “pals” in supporting things that can and do hurt unions and America's middle class, you are guaranteed to get at least one obnoxious Kool Aid drinker who takes on the demeanor of a second grade teacher reprimanding an errant seven year old.  Saying that we need a third party, a true labor party will bring his or her orgy of condescension to a crescendo and guarantee an immediate and snotty “If you vote for a third party, you help the Republicans win”.

We know that the middle class will die a quick death under the Republicans and WE don't want them to get elected to ANY office.   However, the middle class have been dying a slow death under Democrats who let Republicans set government's agenda and meekly comply!   That complicity is akin to a crooked boxer who is paid to throw the match by gamblers.   The gamblers, in this case being many of America's corporations, Wall Street and the rich whose lobbyists control BOTH parties!

The bottom line is that America's Middle Class shouldn't choose a quick death by electing Republicans, an intellectual death by supporting the Tea Party or an agonizing slow death by voting for Democrats.
Rather, they should choose life by electing pro-union candidates from a brand new labor party!

The new motto of America's middle class should be, “GIVE US HONESTY, DON'T GIVE US DEATH!”

Jim and I did another show for the Working Family Radio Network. We also did a no holds barred mini show for The Jack Wade Show website.  You can listen to the festivities by visiting the Listen Here! page.

With many Democratic politicians distancing themselves from Anthony Weiner and Nancy Pelosi calling for an “Ethics Committee investigation” in the wake of his internet dalliance, we have further proof that we need a third party.   Compared to most of our electeds, Anthony Weiner has a fairly decent voting record.   As a matter of fact, except for his support of certain “free” trade agreements, he stands for traditional Democratic values, in the FDR sense.   He puts his his compatriots, including Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, with their lack of anything but verbal support of union issues to shame!

Hey Democrats, if you are more concerned about adverse publicity and what the Republicans are going to say about Anthony Weiner than doing the right thing, many Americans will be looking for a party that is truly democratic, with a small "d".  Working Americans need a third party that truly represents their interests, not that of corporate America.   Perhaps Anthony Weiner can be a part of that third party if he reconsiders his support of “free” trade agreements.

The Republicans and their shock troops, the teabaggers get their candidates elected by convincing middle class voters that any safety net government extends to their neighbors and even, in some cases to their families will translate into higher taxes or a sharp increase in the deficit that they or their children will have to pay in the future.

The Republicans' cynical and selfish message to the middle class voter is:

• That entitlements are anything but entitlements, they are burdens on anyone not collecting them.
  
• That Social Security isn't something that a retiree richly deserves after a lifetime of paying into the system, it's an entitlement which can be cut to reduce the deficit.
  
• That unemployment insurance isn't something that was deducted from an employee's paycheck to protect that employee, it's just a form of welfare for lazy people.
  
• That paying a unionized government worker a fair wage comes out of their pockets.
  
• That unions cost taxpayers money because their members make more money and have better benefits than a non union worker.
  
• That education is a luxury, not a necessity that can be reduced or eliminated from a state's budget.
  
• That anyone in need is a freeloader who will cause lifeboat America to sink.
  

The Republicans use the above in an attempt to pit working person against working person, middle class against poor, black against white, young against old and non-union against union.  The crux of their message is simple, if they get something, there won't be enough left for you!  That translates to, if they get on the lifeboat, it will sink so let them drown!

If anyone still thinks that the Republicans are truly sincere about deficit cutting, I am going to dispel that illusion right now.  Any budget has two main categories, income and expense.  If you have little or no money coming in, you have little or no money to spend.  A working family's income comes in the form of a paycheck.   Any government gets it's income by taxation.  Over the years, working people have been taxed to death while corporate America and the rich have gotten constant tax breaks.

Since you can't get blood from a stone, our Republican electeds are now cutting expenses by cutting government services and what they refer to as “entitlements”.   Nothing important, just education so we can become a third world country.  Nothing important, just “entitlements” like the Social Security that was deducted from everyone's paycheck that would have been self sustaining if a certain President with the initials R.R., acting on the advice of Alan Greenspan didn't decide to use the Social Security fund for general government expenses.   Reagan set a precedent that literally robbed the seniors of their future!   Speaking of entitlements, someone should tell the Republicans that Unemployment Insurance isn't welfare it's a form of insurance that is deducted from an employee's paycheck. Republicans hate it because their pet corporations have to contribute part of it into the fund for their employees.

Finally, the Republicans are using the budget deficit issue as part of their ongoing war on unions by attacking the right of collective bargaining for unions in the public sector. If they can eliminate unions in the government sector, they have set a precedent for their corporate backers to also become union busters. When that happens, goodbye middle class!

The reality is that there's a big fat elephant that's sinking America's lifeboat! Working Americans, the retired and the poor must throw the elephant overboard in 2012!