Election Comments from MWRO State Chair

By Maureen D. Taylor
State Chairperson, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization

When President-elect Obama first went to Iowa and won that primary, I thought it was an anomaly. When he won again in New Hampshire among a similar crowd of predominantly white college students and rural workers, I saw something. By the third victory, I understood that he was on to something, so I looked for the answer among those who were supporting his concept of "change."

Again, the use of technology was the trump card, and he and his campaign found that out. Technology has replaced the need for workers around the world, throwing millions out onto the streets with no income, no health care, and no hope. That paradigm shift has finally hit American workers, and the race to reconstruct society is on!

The misery index is on the rise while General Motors wants taxpayers to help them buy Chrysler, and then they will put another 35,000 workers out and on the unemployment line. Throwing $800B toward these banks has done nothing to help those millions who have already lost their homes, and talks of giving these banks even more money are being held.

What President-elect Obama was able to see was that technology was a tool that would put his campaign in contact with a totally new voting block...18 to 30 year olds who don't have landlines! They use cell phones and communicate through text-messages. Republicans didn't see that leap, and were shutout of that entire market. WOW!! No robo-calls reached that group, and the use of technology was one of the main instruments that ushered in this great international victory.

Imagine, using the tools that have replaced so many of us, to win this election. Workers should never again not see the entire picture relative to the importance that new innovations can be used to hurt, and also help us, when they remain in the hands of those capitalists who don't care if we eat, or live inside, or have healthcare, or anything else we need to merely survive. We must capture all means of production and institute an American system that maintains a level of survival regardless of if we are working or not.

Our's is a moral issue. It is wrong to deprive people of water, of food, of housing based on the whims of the marketplace. Stand up American workers, and get your "fight on." Take the country back and let's make her what she was meant to be. Like Obama says, "...it's not that America is perfect, it is that she can be perfect if we work block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, and institute the concept of taking care of each other. We can fix this if we try!

Image courtesy of Flickr.