Obama's Hostage Hypocrisy

As noted at Third Base Politics and elsewhere, there are limits to the "new tone" called for by President Obama amid efforts to blame a deranged individual's violence on the tea party movement. Strangely, the dividing line varies depending on your political beliefs. It's almost as if the moderate king of hope and civility wants to silence opposition to his lefter-than-left policies.

Words are one thing, but actions are another. Surely the President of the United States is against taking hostages in service of a political goal?

Hundreds of Longshore workers stormed the Port of Longview, overpowered security guards, damaged rail cars and dumped grain at the center of a labor dispute that also stopped work at four other ports on Thursday, officials said.

[...]

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union believes it has the right to work at the facility, but the company has hired a contractor that's staffing a workforce of laborers from another union, the Portland-based Operating Engineers Local 701.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is one of many under the AFL-CIO umbrella. How forcefully do you expect President Obama to decry the union's actions?

The White House has announced that nearly two dozen guests will sit with first lady Michelle Obama to watch President Obama deliver his jobs speech to a joint session of Congress.

The list of business, labor and political leaders includes GE Chairman Jeffrey Immelt, AOL co-founder Steve Case, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley.

Remember, this is the same president who claimed Republicans were holding America hostage during the debt ceiling debate. It's the same president who is holding trade agreements -ahem- hostage because the GOP won't agree to another union bailout.

When her president has friends like these, America's economy hardly needs enemies.

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Cross-posted at that hero.