Day: November 9, 2016

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Defeat of HRC

Franklin Jones
 

The defeat of HRC was based on her failure to deliver a large enough portion of white voters to coalesce with minority voters to win a majority of votes in the Electoral College.
If the split inside the white community is not great enough, the black vote will not determine the outcome. That was the case in this election. The increase in the number of white voters and the across the board support of white voters for Trump led to his win.
Half of the American public appears ready to join the xenophobic and European nationalist fervor that is gripping the western “democracies.”

The question for me is how can the high level of black participation in this election can be mobilized to participate in the liberation struggles of African peoples. We have to seriously discuss the limits of electoral politics and what else we must do to achieve equality and justice.

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AJC Congratulates President-Elect Trump, Urges Quick Steps to UniteNation and Reassure Allies

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — AJC, the global Jewish advocacy organization, congratulates Donald Trump on his election as the 45th President of the United States.

“American democracy has spoken after a long and bitterly-fought campaign,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “We wish President-elect Trump well, as he prepares to assume the highest position in the land and the most powerful political position on the planet. And we also extend our best wishes to Secretary Hillary Clinton for her many years of distinguished public service to our nation, the strong campaign she ran, and, I would add, her friendship to AJC.”

“Now that the election is over, a first priority should be to address the wounds of an extraordinarily divisive contest. The United States is one country with one destiny, and any expression of bigotry and exclusion, as we’ve regrettably seen during the extended campaign, must never be allowed to corrode our pluralistic fabric,” Harris added.

Smooth post-election transitions are an essential requirement of our political system. In that spirit, AJC looks forward to working with President-elect Trump and his administration, as well as with the new Congress, on the priority policy concerns that AJC has advocated during this campaign, including at the Republican Convention in Cleveland and Democratic Convention in Philadelphia. Among them:

— America’s diversity must be defended against any further attempts to demonize or stigmatize on the basis of ethnicity, race, gender or faith;

— The United States needs to assert strong global leadership, which only our country is capable of, especially in support of allies and treaty obligations around the world, and in the face of dangerous regional and global state and non-state actors;

— The unique U.S.-Israel relationship, based on shared democratic values and national interests, should continue to go from strength to strength.

From its birth 110 years ago this month, AJC has cherished American democracy and the unparalleled opportunities and protections that our country’s system aspires to offer all its citizens, whatever their background or identity.

“The right to vote is a pillar of democracy, and the nation has spoken. We wish President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence a successful Administration that, we earnestly hope, will take early steps to reach out to every American, including concerned minority communities across the land; reaffirm our links to our friends across the globe; and, in the months and years to come, advance peace, security, and prosperity for our nation and the world,” said Harris.

AJC, founded 110 years ago this week, is the premier global Jewish advocacy organization, with 22 offices across the United States, 10 posts around the world, and 33 international partnerships. It is a strictly, non-partisan 501(c)(3) agency.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

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Labor Voters Key to Winning Electoral Coalition in Harris County races

Block-walks, Phone Banks, Mail, Social Media Fuel Turnout

 Houston, TX – Members of labor unions in Texas took advantage of a changing Texas political climate to help build winning progressive coalitions in Harris County, Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation Executive Director Hany Khalil said today.

   “Labor unions helped put victorious candidates over the top by running a multi-pronged ground campaign in which union voters heard about the importance of voting for candidates backed by the AFL-CIO’s Committee on Political Education (COPE),” Khalil said.

   The AFL-CIO campaigned heavily for Mary Ann Perez for House District 144; county-wide candidates Kim Ogg for District Attorney, Ed Gonzalez for Sheriff, and Anne Harris Bennett for Tax-Assessor Collector; Anne Sung for HISD District VII; and to defeat HISD Proposition 1.

   “The national picture was bleak, but in Harris County, working people made advances on Election Day,” Khalil said. “Unions knocked on 19,987 doors, sent mail to 14,028 households, and had 7,751 personal conversations with union families in Harris County. We were also pervasive on social media in calling for voter turnout.”

   “In 2016,” Khalil said, “we focused on driving up turnout of members who did not have a history of voting regularly. If you were a union member in the Gulf Coast area, you very likely heard from us several times, and we have long known that member-to-member communications highlighting a working families message are effective in turning out votes. Two-thirds of the 6,000 union members who voted early in Harris County were ones we targeted for turnout and may have accounted for a large share of the 7,855 votes that made Ann Harris Bennet our new Tax-Assessor Collector.”

   “Union members alone cannot form a majority, but in the Gulf Coast area in 2016 we spoke up together with allies to show it is possible to build a winning coalition here,” said Zeph Capo, President of the Area Labor Federation. “We are celebrating a strong result while resolving to continue our efforts to build a better Texas.”

   Texas AFL-CIO President John Patrick said the labor movement’s Get Out the Vote operations in and around Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and other parts of the state helped bring about a sea change from the results of the 2014 election, Patrick said.

   “This election marks a new era in coordinated campaigning for labor in Texas. The Dallas and Tarrant County Central Labor Councils (CLCs) worked together on block-walks of mutual interest. The Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation covered ground that used to be covered by several CLCs. The entire labor movement arrived at priorities in cooperative fashion.”

   “We appreciate the thousands of volunteer hours put in by union members around the state. The labor movement knocked on at least 50,000 doors and made many more phone calls and mail contacts during the campaign. On social media, the labor campaign generated more than half a million impressions across several platforms, all in service of turning out union members, family members, and allies. What we did this year laid solid groundwork for the future. We honor our affiliates who worked overtime to take our Get Out the Vote program to the next level.”

   “The conversations we had with union members were not merely about candidates,” Patrick said. “From the minimum wage to paid sick leave, from improving public education to equal pay for men and women, issues that affect our workers’ everyday lives took precedence. The candidates we endorsed were on board with our agenda to provide a fair shot for every working family.”

“Labor’s vote made a major difference in Texas. Amid a tragic national result, Hillary Clinton’s performance here, coming within a margin we have not seen lately, set the stage for pickups in congressional, legislative and local races around the state,” Patrick said. “Union members seized on the opportunity, and we are proud the 2016 election set a new standard for statewide union participation.”

 The Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO is an umbrella organization that coordinates the political, community, and educational programs of 45,000 union members in 13 Gulf Coast counties.

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Trump wins, glass ceiling still solid

Around 1:30 pm CST on November 8, Hillary Clinton (D), the first female presidential candidate from a major political party  was stunned by Republican businessman Donald Trump in an upset victory for the 45th President of the United States of America. Running mate Mike Pence called the victory “A Historic night.” With his family standing near him, Pence (R) Governor from Indiana said that he was deeply grateful in being given the opportunity serve. He then introduced the president-elect business tycoon and television personality Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States. He has never held any job in government and made a decisive win. In front of a crowd chanting USA, he began by saying Hillary has worked very hard and we owe her a debt of gratitude. Trump having won the necessary 270 electoral college votes to become President said that he will bring the country together and unify the people of America.

Clinton, leading in the popular vote did not speak to supporters on election night instead, deferring to make a statement on Wednesday.