Happy (Organized) Labor Day!

Well, here we are on the eve of Labor Day and guess who is showing so much gratitude for the workers? 

Would you include right-wing officeholders like Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman and Rep. Jim Renacci, both of whom have endorsed Donald Trump (although  they hope you haven’t noticed!)

But about Labor Day, which was inspired by labor unionists whose programs have been so defiled today by Republican anti-unionists. Anybody on planets Portman or Renacci remember that a couple of union-headed workers named Matthew Maguire , a machinist, and Peter McGuire, a carpenter, inspired the creation of Labor  Day back in the 1880s?

Peter McGuire was a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor.  Matthew Maguire became the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association  of Machinists in New Jersey.  On this special day, should there be a brief nod to these guys when Labor Day messages are handed out by politicians who don’t mind stiffing unionists the other 364 days.

Renacci began  with these eloquent words:

“This Monday, our country celebrates its 122nd Labor Day.  Celebrated the first Monday in September this holiday serves to recognize  the social and economic achievements of American workers who have contributed mightily to the strength and prosperity of the the United States through their diligence and hard work…”  I can’t go on.

As for Portman, he said, “I want to express my appreciation to the working men and women who, with their hard work and dedication, have made America’s free enterprise system the envy of the world…”

He closed with his support of pursuing sensible  pro-growth policies…

There he goes again with his favorites comfort zone word  “sensible”  in referring to himself as a common sense conservative.

I’m dizzy from the spin.  In hard hat, Portman uses that symbol of hard work and progress in his TV ads that are being paid for by two fierce  anti-union vectors,  the Koch Brothers ($10 million to Rob)  and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  Oh, it’s typical of his paddling on all sides of his canoe.

But he’s ahead in waving  off his rival, former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. As is so often the story of Ohio’s mainstream newspapers, they love Portman  just as they love most state politicians with an “R” after their names. The Beacon Journal’s weekly political columnist , for example, in a piece with a  headline referring to Ted Strickland as a “retread”  – notice how they never say  those things about Atty. Gen. Mike DeWine – praised Portman for running a “disciplined, well-organized, well-funded campaign’’ and not caught up in Donald Trump’s controversies.You can do that with so much money in the bank that is flooding TV with some of the biggest whoppers known to American politics. 

All the while, the Kochs’ guy is left to organize in disguise with discipline while reaching for his designer jeans and hard hat.

And he wants to be your U.S. senator, “fighting for jobs” – it says here – and all of the other sensible stuff.