NPR which can sometimes thrill and sometimes disappoint got it all wrong today in a report from Ari Shapiro. He claims in the report that"In recent elections, Republicans have made inroads with working-class voters who used to be staunch Democrats." and quotes Andrew Kohut calling the protesters, "strikers".
The story starts by looking at whether there is a connection between the Obama Administration and the Wisconsin protestors. He quotes Gerry Hudson of the SEIU saying thanks to the Prez for his support but that they do not need his involvement. They are organized well enough on their own. Then Shapiro rewrites American political history...
There could be significant consequences for the White House regardless. In recent elections, Republicans have made inroads with working-class voters who used to be staunch Democrats. This may be a moment to reverse that trend.
Since FDR died in 1945, there has been a struggle for the white working class votes by Democrats and Republicans. Has Ari gotten into some type of time warp?
Now if you wanted to guarantee that there would be no sympathy for the public employees fighting for human rights in Wisconsin, then claim they are on strike. That would certainly set up a historical equivalency with the Air Traffic Controllers strike in the 80's. But was we all know these are protesters exercising their constitutional right to redress of grievances. Here is how he frames the Kohut quote...
"Democrats stand to solidify their position with working-class voters who are sympathetic to these strikers," says Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center. "This is especially important because working-class voters have very much been a swing group in recent elections."
Why can't we have a media that understands history and context and that can add, subtract, multiply and divide?
