Loss of U.S. jobs to China becomes powerful election issue
In Pennsylvania, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, Joe Sestak, accuses his Republican foe Pat Toomey of favoring China over hard-working Americans.
In a new website, the AFL-CIO pointedly tracks the loss of U.S. jobs to China and other cheap-labor countries.
With about a month to go more the Nov. 2 election, Democrats and their friends are pushing as a potentially pivotal issue the export of U.S. jobs.
They believe, or at least hope, it will resonate with American voters worried about the economy and their own financial futures.
A memo by consultants Stanley Greenberg and James Carville suggests Democrats could use concern about the outsourcing of U.S. jobs to help stage an “October surprise” and retain control of the House and Senate in next month’s election.
Campaign messages on behalf of protecting U.S. jobs — while ripping into Republicans who support trade pacts and tax breaks that jeopardize them — can be powerful.
In one of its lasts votes at the end of September before taking a recess for final election campaigning, the House overwhelmingly passed legislation that would allow the United States to seek sanctions against China and other countries that gain trade advantages by through currency manipulation.
New Jersey goes Republican too, bad night for Democrats
No matter how they slice and dice it, Democrat losses in the New Jersey and Virginia governor races are bad news for the party of President Barack Obama as he tries to move an ambitious agenda forward.
Congressional Democrats are already jittery about mid-term elections in 2010 when the party of a first-term president usually loses seats. And Tuesday’s Republican wins will only scare them more.
Even before the New Jersey race was called for Republican Chris Christie over incumbent Governor Jon Corzine, Democrats were postulating that this would be the race to watch rather than the Republican win in Virginia where Bob McDonnell beat Democrat Creigh Deeds.
“If the Democrats have a bad night…” James Carville, Democratic pundit, said on CNN after the Virginia race was called but before the New Jersey results were out.
“Let’s assume that the Democrats lose New Jersey, it could have an effect that people in Congress say ‘you know I’m not going to go along with some of Obama’s stuff, I’m really scared, we’ve gotta be careful, we’re going into 2010.’ That could be a reaction to that, maybe even an overreaction, which could be a danger,” Carville said. “That’s something that could have some implications.”
The White House has been downplaying these elections which come one year after Obama won the presidency. Spokesman Robert Gibbs was telling reporters that Obama was not watching the returns. (Fairly sure he’ll get the word somehow).
What it all means will be debated for days, weeks and months as the 2010 mid-term elections come closer.
Election Results. Nov.3,2009
November 6, 2009 by politicalsnapshots.wordpress.com
Election Results. Nov.3, 2009
The election results of Nov. 3, 2009 in Virginia, New Jersey and New York, will not give us a conclusive answer as to the resurgence of the Republican Party, nor the coming demise of the Democratic Party. At the same time, not paying attention to certain clues will be politically futile.
Few reasons for Democratic Party loss.
* Low voter turn out in historically Democratic strongholds.
* High unemployment, (in spite of 10,000 points at the Dow and so-called economic growth ballyhoo.)
* The disappointment of the progressive forces that helped put Obama in the White House. (Especially young white voters). Disparity between campaign rhetoric and reality.
* The uncertain, dim future of the U.S. economy.
* The unpopularity of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and,
* The Health Care Reform drama. (“not bound by any time lines” Sen. Reid)
For the time being, the Democrats might take third party candidates, as in (New York 23rd District) as their friends who might weaken the Republican Party. But, third party candidates are a double edged sword. In the future, progressive local candidates could arise challenging the status quo within the Democratic Party.
In other words, it will not be hard to envision for Conservatives and Progressives running their own candidates. After all, the rise of independents is based in the awareness that the two major political parties in the U.S. are not in step with the needs of the majority of the people. It is also an acknowledgment that the two party monopoly of politics is not conducive for democracy.
Finally, as my dear friend Ashley St.Claire says, “ may be, just may be, the so-called “ Blue Dogs”, ( I don’t know about the color but, the second part, they might be, if they call themselves one) might have a better fit in the Republican Party.”
Professor Mekonen Haddis
I have gone through the synopsis of the subject under discussion and the comments of my learned commenter friends. I could assimilate the gist of the huge anomalies of previous US governments and the heart burning agony of the young AMERICAN generation standing at the edge of a devastated economical, financial, and commercial catastrophe of the country with a bleak future in the country once known as the mighty country of dream.
The worst is yet to have emerged but shoed up earlier when the congress passed the bill against china on retaliation to china’s devaluation of their currency. US always thought it should dictate others to do whatever it says not considering that everything has its limit.
In addition, reply to only one case only now showed up and in future will show up one by one to all the cases. US had always played a hard game with China and China took things always coolly without giving in.
Now it is replying to all that US did in previous day’s with it.
Most unfortunately Bush regime wittingly or unwittingly stabbed at the back of the Nation by going to war on the Advice of a particular country and some criminal minded advisers who all pulled the rope of the US flag down to earth if not forever but at least for some decades to come.
China is a quiet dragon, it does not chew it gulps and swallows. First, it made America its market, became the master of important commercial institution, also made the Bush regime to dismantle its industrial complex and establish the same in china for financial, and job assurance.
Now China gave the jolt in Chinese way which in one go has hit the nerve center of the West financial, industrial, commercial industrialized sector including the most delicate sector of main Political issue. It is not the jolt for Democrats but will prove to be a morbid jolt for any government that steps in, in any future time for some decades to come.
From the look of things on ground, China will be a hard tusk master in its role as world super power, which until now it did not show up. South East Asia is already on alert and is preparing to confront the Jolt of China’s move forward..
US may not bother about its election but there are thing that US will soon find necessary to amend it to walk together with China.
Prominent experts of different discipline opined it is not late to resolve all issues in diplomatic level with China that will help both in the end.