Know Your Enemy

The Debate, the Donald, and the Strike [Teaser]

Sep 30, 2023

02:58

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Analyzing the recent Republican debate and its implications on worker rights and populism, the chapter questions the party's commitment to the working class and criticizes Trump's stance on job protection.

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Quick takeaways

The Republican Party's commitment to worker power and solidarity is questionable based on examples from the recent Republican debate in Michigan.

Trump's message during a strike undermines the expression of autonomy and efficacy that strikes bring, raising concerns about worker empowerment and the impact of an anti-solidaristic political class on the labor movement.

Deep dives

Republican Party's Pivot to a Working Class Party

There has been ongoing debate about whether the Republican Party is truly becoming a party for the working class. Despite promises of economic populism and concerns for workers, recent events suggest that the party's stance may not be substantively aligned with those interests. Examples from the recent Republican debate in Michigan show that three out of six candidates, including Mike Pence, held anti-union views. Even Trump's message of protecting jobs and worker support seemed to undermine the expression of autonomy that strikes represent. This raises questions about the party's commitment to worker power and solidarity.

Analysis of the Republican Party's Pivot to Support the Working Class

3min

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Matt and Sam suffer through the second GOP debate—a pathetic display from a gaggle of generally uninteresting reactionaries with no chance of defeating Trump in the primary—and then turn to an extended conversation about the politics and possibilities of the UAW auto strike against the Big Three car manufacturers. President Biden walked the picket line, while Trump spoke to employees of a non-union auto parts company. Why did the mainstream media continually insist that Biden and Trump were both appealing to striking workers? Did Biden do enough in his brief visit to the picket line? What did Trump actually say about the strike? These questions and more get answered in this primary season special!

Sources:

Alex Press, "Trump Is Speaking Tonight in Michigan at a Nonunion Auto Shop, as a Guest of Its Boss," Jacobin, Sept 27, 2023

Craig Mauger, "Donald Trump: UAW Negotiations 'Don't Mean as Much as You Think,'" Detroit Free Press, Sept 27, 2023

Martin Pengelly, "Signs Touting ‘Auto Workers for Trump’ at Michigan Rally Found to be Fake – Report," The Guardian, Sept 28, 2023

Heather Carter, "UAW President Shawn Fain Is Reviving That Old-Time Religion: Christian Radicalism," Jacobin, Sept 29, 2023