Erik Loomis

And Jared Polis vetoes it because he doesn't believe in unions. And frankly, if you don't believe in union rights and you don't believe in the power of unions to transform the American people, then I don't think you're a Democrat. I don't think you belong in the Democratic Party.

And Jared Polis vetoes it because he doesn't believe in unions. And frankly, if you don't believe in union rights and you don't believe in the power of unions to transform the American people, then I don't think you're a Democrat. I don't think you belong in the Democratic Party.

I think you should be read out of the Democratic Party because to me, it's just as big of a moral crime as being a Democrat and saying, I don't support gay marriage. or being a Democrat and say, I think abortion should be banned, which would be red lines for a lot of Democrats. But being anti-union is not a red line for too many Democrats.

I think you should be read out of the Democratic Party because to me, it's just as big of a moral crime as being a Democrat and saying, I don't support gay marriage. or being a Democrat and say, I think abortion should be banned, which would be red lines for a lot of Democrats. But being anti-union is not a red line for too many Democrats.

And so we need a better Democratic Party as well to show the American working class that this is the party of the worker, and you need to rejoin the party and become the kind of Democrats, working class Democrats that we have in this country from the 1930s through the 1970s.

And so we need a better Democratic Party as well to show the American working class that this is the party of the worker, and you need to rejoin the party and become the kind of Democrats, working class Democrats that we have in this country from the 1930s through the 1970s.

Yeah. I mean, first of all, thank you for summarizing the points of the book so effectively. I mean, I hope those are the takeaways. And let me, I guess, close with an example. The March on Washington in 1963, everybody knows it for the I Have a Dream speech. And of course, that's been corrupted by Republican distortions of what Martin Luther King was saying.

Yeah. I mean, first of all, thank you for summarizing the points of the book so effectively. I mean, I hope those are the takeaways. And let me, I guess, close with an example. The March on Washington in 1963, everybody knows it for the I Have a Dream speech. And of course, that's been corrupted by Republican distortions of what Martin Luther King was saying.

But what is forgotten about, even by liberals and in the way we teach this in K through 12, often at the college level, and is part of our general understanding of society, is the actual name for it is the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

But what is forgotten about, even by liberals and in the way we teach this in K through 12, often at the college level, and is part of our general understanding of society, is the actual name for it is the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

And economic demands were as central to the civil rights movement as desegregation, as central to the civil rights movement as legislation, as central to the civil rights movement as equality in schools. but they get dropped from the overall memory of the civil rights movement because economic demands are, in many cases, more challenging to established power than even demands for civil rights.

And economic demands were as central to the civil rights movement as desegregation, as central to the civil rights movement as legislation, as central to the civil rights movement as equality in schools. but they get dropped from the overall memory of the civil rights movement because economic demands are, in many cases, more challenging to established power than even demands for civil rights.

I mean, the idea for the March on Washington came out of A. Philip Randolph's World War II-level movement, and he was the head of the Brotherhood of Sleepy Car Porters Union. He speaks at the March on Washington in 1963. Walter Ruther and the United Auto Workers pay for most of the March on Washington.

I mean, the idea for the March on Washington came out of A. Philip Randolph's World War II-level movement, and he was the head of the Brotherhood of Sleepy Car Porters Union. He speaks at the March on Washington in 1963. Walter Ruther and the United Auto Workers pay for most of the March on Washington.

And the March on Washington had economic demands that included a $2 an hour minimum wage, which in the contemporary economy of 2025 is something like $18 or $19 an hour. So they're pushing for widespread minimum wage legislation as well. All of that is totally erased from our memory of civil rights, not only on the right, but in liberal world as well. And we need to think about why that is.

And the March on Washington had economic demands that included a $2 an hour minimum wage, which in the contemporary economy of 2025 is something like $18 or $19 an hour. So they're pushing for widespread minimum wage legislation as well. All of that is totally erased from our memory of civil rights, not only on the right, but in liberal world as well. And we need to think about why that is.

Why do we, even when we do teach other justice movements, And on the left, we do do that more. We teach women's rights. We teach gay rights. We teach civil rights. This is very important. These are big advances in the way we teach history. Why are we leaving labor out of that? And that's a question we all need to think about.

Why do we, even when we do teach other justice movements, And on the left, we do do that more. We teach women's rights. We teach gay rights. We teach civil rights. This is very important. These are big advances in the way we teach history. Why are we leaving labor out of that? And that's a question we all need to think about.