U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO agree on something!

Hell has frozen over.  On one of those ubiquitous Sunday talk shows yesterday, Tom Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, both said that Congress needs to provide funding to rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure.

Richard Trumka said:

“We can’t be competitive in a global economy unless we have infrastructure that allows us to be competitive.  This is really a no-brainer.”

And that’s not all:  The Vatican has called for a sweeping overhaul of the global financial system.  The statement called for an end to “an economic liberalism that spurns all rules and controls.”

The Gudorf Chair in Catholic Theology and Culture at the University of Dayton said:

“While conservative leaders and several presidential candidates want to eviscerate financial reform, the Vatican has sent a powerful message that prudent regulation of our financial system is a moral priority…It’s clear the Vatican stands with the Occupy Wall Street protesters and others struggling to return ethics and good governance to a financial sector grown out of control after 30 years of deregulation.”

So we have the Vatican, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO all standing together.  Gee, who could be against them?  Oh, that’s right — Republicans.  They don’t want any infrastructure work done or any new jobs created because that would make Obama look good with an election coming up.  And they don’t want ANY regulation of the finance industry — their Wall Street pimps have told them very explicitly not to let this happen, Or Else.

Governor Scott Walker: The Douchebag Who Brought Us Together

Talk about unintended consequences. Wisconsin’s teabagging governor had no idea what he was walking into. This was just supposed to be Step #513 in the Rightwing Master Plan to dismantle labor unions and shrink the middle class down to the size of a bathtub. It should have gone just as smoothly as the first 512 steps.

Wha’ Happened?

Kwai Chang Caine used to talk about a sapling that would bend and bend and bend, and finally snap back like a whip. After decades of helplessness, passivity, bending over and bending over again even further, again and again, the middle class has snapped back. Lash those motherfuckers!

As of this writing, there are about 70,000 protesters in Madison, WI. You’d think the Vietnam War was still raging. People are pissed, and they’re finally doing something about it. They’re mad as Hell and they’re not gonna take it any more.

Not all 70,000 of the protesters are pro-union, pro-middle class. As expected, the Koch Brothers have shipped in a few busloads of inbreds — complete with George Washington costumes and mis-spelled signs — to stage a “counter-demonstration.” But the teatards are vastly, hugely outnumbered by middle class workers who have finally gotten the message: Stand up and fight back — NOW!!! — or spend the rest of your life with your hands around your ankles.

Similar protests are taking place in Ohio, where the new rightwad governor is also trying to dismantle labor unions and eliminate the middle class.

The White House and the AFL-CIO are also getting involved. Karen Ackerman of the AFL-CIO said:

“I think it's a clear message. If you take on middle-class people and try to solve the budget crises on their backs, there's a price to pay. Many thousands of people will be energized to fight back.”

The AFL-CIO and the Teamsters are united for the first time since 2005. A former congressman from Michigan, David Bonior, said:

“There's nothing like the possibility of extinction to focus people's attention. They've got everything to lose here and they're either going to do something or they're not.”

As the Right’s favorite swashbuckling hero used to say: “If not now, when? If not us, who?”