Art offers his perspective as a movement progressive activist.
**UPDATE: POLITICO HAS CONTACTED ME AND INTERVIEWED ME. THIS WILL BE A NATL STORY AND IN PRINT HOPEFULLY TODAY. WH HAS BEEN ASKED BY POLITICO FOR OFFICIAL RESPONSE***
A row between the Obama fundraising machine and labor has erupted in Houston. Michelle Obama is coming to Houston November 1st to fundraise for President Obama’s re election (see invite here.) And guess who is hosting the fundraiser? A billionaire named John Arnold. Who is John Arnold? He is funding a campaign to kill public pensions for our workers and give them 401Ks instead. Oh yeah, he was a key player at Enron:
The organization set up by Arnold and his wife, Laura, a lawyer, plans to be involved in pension-overhaul efforts around the U.S., Simonton said by telephone from Houston. State and local governments confront “massive financial distress” from the gap between assets and promised benefits, she said.
“Our attention to pension reform is not California- specific,” Simonton said. “We chose to get involved there because there are people who are engaged and choosing to illuminate the problems and address possible solutions.”
The California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility, the group they support, proposed a 401(k)-style savings plan as an option for future government workers, benefit limits and raising the minimum retirement age to 62, from as early as 50. A California prison guard with five years on the job can retire at 50 and get a pension under current rules.
This has provoked utter outrage and some smart replies from Gayle Fallon, President of the Houston Federation of Teachers (chapter of American Federation of Teachers), and the Director of HFT Zeph Capo. This whole sordid story deserves more exposure. Why? Because it demonstrates how broken our system is.
Obama is part of this system, which is money hungry and you take that money from whomever will give it to you. The Clintons have done so. Every Republican. Every senator. Most members of the U.S. House, governors, councilpersons and mayors at home do this as well. So, is not some “jump on Obama” thing. This is a prime example however of our terrible system and why OWS must keep moving.
Yesterday Zeph Capo, a educator himself, told the co-chair of the Women for Obama in Houston fundraising committee exactly what so many feel about this madness:
How could anyone attend an event at the home of someone who got rich of the ill – gotten gains of Enron and then proceeded to use their profits to further the corporate reform agenda of public education? And is now hell bent on taking the retirements of any and all public workers?
Has everyone in Houston forgotten the pictures of the secretaries, mail clerks, and other staff walking out of the Enron building with their boxes in their arms? What about every parent that has had their kids kicked out of a charter school because they didn’t test well? Do you side with the cafeteria cook that gets 619.90 a months after 21 years in the kitchen or the investment banker that wants to profit off the fees he will make gambling with her retirement?
No, there is nothing that would make me compromise my beliefs to attend, not even to see the first lady. I am only sorry I didn’t investigate further before we announced this event at our club meeting last week. You betcha I’ll be paying much closer attention from now on.
Working folks have had their fill of all the compromises at their expense. But it is Gayle Fallon’s response, which is posted on facebook and was also sent to the President of AFT Randi Weingarten and other leaders of labor, that really says it all about 2012:
While I understand that a political function at the home of a local billionaire will raise considerable funds for the Obama campaign, it will also serve to inflame the educational workers in Houston and make them question whether the current administration has their interests at heart. We have had enough trouble maintaining support for this administration due to the programs put forth by Arne Duncan involving teacher evaluation and compensation. It is an insult to every teacher in the state to have the president’s wife appear at the home of John Arnold – the hedge fund operator who has been at the forefront on the assault on teacher pensions. Keep in mind, money may pay for a campaign but money does not vote – people vote.
In the last presidential election 83% of my membership voted. When they feel they have no one on their side on critical issues, they stay home. Rank and file Houston teachers are well aware of who is attacking their pensions and this will make it considerably more difficult convince them that the Obama administration has not turned its back on them.
Gayle Fallon
President
Houston Federation of Teachers
I know teachers who are saying they will picket. Occupy Houston might getting involved as well. I have nothing against our First Lady, however given the OWS movement and President Obama telling the nation he backs the 99pct during a very trying re election campaign, I ask is this really politically smart? What message does this send by accepting money from the efforts of someone who is trying to take away pensions from hardworking Americans?
Our country is going to elect the Right in 2012 if the Obama camp keeps making it hard to distinguish the 2 parties. Will have further updates on this one.
glad to report on it. with ows and the whole rage about money in politics i cant get politically how does this help with the dem base locally. i sure hope obaa team at some point gets something like this is only further harming their chances..
Well done. This is the epitome of the problem with the Democratic Party.
You know, Art, team Obama obviously believes there’s nothing that can “harm their chances” for 2012. Even Ohio has shifted just recently, because of Kasich’s boneheadedness. That’s a welcome gift for Obama reelect.
So, looking at the Republicans right now it’s true. However, at some point Republicans will have to get serious, as they always do.
**shared**
i know it. gop will get game later. they got fox. gop in tx already pushing this 401k crap so teachers know WHO ARNOLD IS. THEY ARE NOT DUMB! and a team o email goes out to area dems to see michelle at this man’s home! I mean really? really?
Why the outrage? Is it because it is local? Isn’t this just standard operating procedure for Obama 2012? You can go all the back to 2008 and the Austan Goolsbe/NAFTA/Union flap.
Really, someone in Obama 2012 has a fundraising obsession.
Obama 2012 is in full campaign mode, so anything they do should be met with skepticism.
Like the latest housing plan/scheme. In the end who really benefits from it? A homeowner having the ‘privilege’ to refinance the principle on their house at a lower rate thus getting a lower monthly payment but still owing the same amount. Especially, in a depressed market like Las Vegas where it might take over 5 years for a turnaround. That sounds like a modern day form of indentured servitude.
The people that already lost their homes might be devastated, but in the long run it might have be benificial to them.
I understand your outrage, I’m just not at all surprised about this.
I obviously am not speaking for Art.
But I don’t think he’s surprised at all.
Knowing a lot of activists, Art is part of the progressive movement community that fights in the trenches, his territory in Texas. As head of his Democratic group, these types of things make making the case for Obama/Biden more difficult for Art.
It’s clear Mr. Obama & his team don’t think these things can touch him. Part of that arrogance is typical of all politicians at his level. Another part of it is because of blind partisan fan politics that keeps him protected at all times.
There are rarely consequences for Obama that really matter. As we’ve seen around here, some Obama fans think he can do no wrong and even when he does don’t care, because he’s the lesser of two evils. This type of thinking is slowly dying out, but it sure as hell isn’t dead yet.
a politician is just that…. a politician. Why do I have the feeling that a year after the election, we again, will be scratching our heads wondering what we have to do to gain control back from the “politician”. They all look out for each other….we have the numbers on our side, so how do we do it?
Thanks Art..
It’s a long time before 2012, Chuckg, with Occupy Wall Street starting to shift some minds. It also takes time, but as we all learned from watching the Tea Party, our politics is shifting.
Dems & GOPers are losing members, with new generations of voters less likely to be voter zombies, voting for party above the policies they implement, not simply those on which they campaign.
Barack Obama is now notorious for his campaigning, with candidate Obama reemerging now, exciting Democratic partisans. But as Art’s piece reveals, there is more to it than they will admit.
Believe it or not, it is happening. I bet you’ve changed in the last year re: politics. I’m a recovering partisan. Things are changing, shifting. It’s happening right now, but it won’t be near complete by 2012.
Again, however, OWS isn’t happening in a vacuum.
Hey Art, thanks for this post, and thanks for your work.
Whether or not there are those who are suprised at this fundraising, it probably is another indicator to the Obama campaign that this isn’t 2008.
I’ll just say it one more time: the Two Party Front for the Oligarchy must be challenged. Challenges from within can definitely play an important role. But challenges from without are absolutely essential. One reason Occupy is connecting is its rejection of the electoral politics status quo.
“In the last presidential election 83% of my membership voted. When they feel they have no one on their side on critical issues, they stay home. ”
Anyone who has been around here for any length of time knows I am a registered Dem simply because there hasn’t been a more liberal or progressive organization that stood any chance to actually do anything but be a spoiler. And frankly, as much as Obama sucks…and he is like the vacum of deep space level sucking…he actually IS far better then the alternative in this two party set up. However if 83% would change their registration to either Green, OWS or some new alternative I would reregister in a second. And WE COULD WIN! Right now the party hacks on both sides are shiting their pants over OWS. I love the smell of shit filled party hack’s pants in the morning….it smells like…well…shit filled pants but it MEANS victory!!!
I was just contacted by politico-this will be a natl story today!~
That is phenomenal! Great work.
Seconded.
As a teacher, you know what side I am on. No, the First Lady should not be fundraising with someone who opposes pensions for public employees such as teachers, police, and firefighters. The Houston teachers should push back hard on this one. Taylor is right – this is a problem within the Democratic party. They are leaving behind core values that they have always stood up for. Obviously, the “billionaire boys club” as Diane Ravitch refers to them, have gotten to some Dems. Will President Obama forego his public pension??? How about Congress???
Two great questions.
We both know the answers.
This is an example of why Republicans AND Democrats are losing supporters.