Home > Programs
> Democracy
Now! > Mon., June 21, 2004
Democracy Now!
ATTN: ALL STATIONS
From: Democracy Now!
Re: Rundown 6-21-04
PRSS Channel: A67.7
Battleground State: Wisconsin, Welfare and the Poor
Race and the Presidential Elections
Bush vs. Cuba: The Quiet War
The Last Socialist Mayor
Battleground State: Wisconsin, Welfare and the Poor
Wisconsin Senator Gwen Moore joins us to discuss welfare
and the poor. Moore is currently running for Congress in Milwaukee
where, she says, the gap in socio-economic status between
White and Black citizens is among the highest in the nation.
[includes transcript]
As we continue our Exception to the Rulers book and media
tour swing through Wisconsin, which is a major battleground
state in the upcoming presidential election. This weekend,
we were in Madison, celebrating community radio station WORT
and community TV WYOU, we were also in Stevens Point where
we went to the Midwest Renewable Energy Conference and yesterday
we arrived in Milwaukee.
Wisconsin is a state, which has two competing traditions.
It is the home state of Sen. Joe McCarthy who led the communist
witchhunts of the 1950s and it is also the home of the famous
progressive political leader Fighting Bob La Follette, who
waged perhaps the most successful progressive presidential
campaign in history. In 1924, he won almost 5 million votes
as he pledged to "break the combined power of the private
monopoly system over the political and economic life of the
American people"
This city that we are broadcasting from today also has a
very rich tradition. Milwaukee had 12 socialist mayors. The
last of them, Frank Zeidler, will join us later on the program.
He was mayor from 1948-1960 and was reelected twice during
the McCarthy era. He was also the Socialist Party candidate
for president in 1976.
Milwaukee also is a significant city in the struggle for
worker's rights in this country. In the late 1800s, the Federation
of Organized Trades and labor Unions organized a movement
to win an 8 hour work day. The campaign would climax on May
1, 1886. After that day, all workers not yet on the 8-hour
system were to cease work in a nationwide strike until their
employers met the demand.
There were over 1600 mass demonstrations across the country
and on May 3, 1886 a demonstration in Chicago's Haymarket
Square turned bloody when police shot four workers to death.
The next day a bomb was hurled into police ranks killing several
officers and wounding many more in what became known as the
haymarket massacre. The next day in Milwaukee, striking steelworkers,
marching toward a mill in the Bay View section of the city,
were intercepted by a squad of militia, who fired point blank
into the strikers, killing seven.
In the 1968, Milwaukee was the site of the second major raid
on a draft board during the Vietnam War. Following the Catonsville
9 action in May of 1968 led by Dan and Phil Berrigan, the
Milwaukee 14 carried out a similar raid on a draft board in
September of 68. This is also the home city of Fr. James Groppi,
who led many of Milwaukees civil rights marches and fought
for the rights of working people in the city.
But despite the rich progressive tradition in this city,
Milwaukee is held up by the Bush administration as an example,
particularly in the areas of school choice and so-called welfare
reform. President Bush came here to Milwaukee to launch his
Faith-based initiatives program. Many of the policies of former
Republican Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson have been used
as a national model. Thompson, of course, is now Bush's Health
and Human Services Secretary. Milwaukee is also one of the
most racially segregated cities in the country. And, according
to our first guest, it is a city where the gap in socio-economic
status between White and Black citizens is among the highest
in the nation.
- Sen. Gwen Moore, Wisconsin State Senator from Milwaukee.
She is currently running for the US Congress.
Race and the Presidential Elections
We speak with George Martin, co-chair of the Wisconsin Green
Party which plans to hold its national convention in Milwaukee
this week and Robert Miranda who recently ran for city council
in Milwaukee and is Editor in Chief of The Milwaukee Spanish
Journal, a bilingual weekly newspaper. [includes transcript]
As John Kerry continues his search for a running mate and
rumors swirl about whether George Bush will keep Dick Cheney
on his ticket, the Democrats and Republicans prepare for their
official coronation ceremonies this Summer at their respective
national conventions. The only drama expected at the conventions
will be the mass protests planned for the streets of Boston
and New York.
But there is one political convention that promises to bring
heated debate and discussion and it will all take place later
this week, here in Milwaukee when the Green Party holds its
national convention. In the 2000 election, Ralph Nader ran
as the party's official candidate. This time around, Nader
has said he will be running as an independent with no party
affiliation. But that doesn't mean he isn't seeking endorsements.
In fact, he has already picked up the official endorsement
of the Reform Party of Ross Perot. This week in Milwaukee,
Nader will be asking the same from the Greens. But that is
by no means a fait acompli. Nader is being challenged by Texas
lawyer David Cobb for the party's endorsement. In fact Cobb
is seeking to run as the official nominee of the Greens. We
are joined now by two members of the Green Party here in Milwaukee.
- George Martin, Program Director of Peace Action Wisconsin.
He is also co-chair of the Wisconsin Green Party, as well
as the co-chair of the national party's Black Caucus. He
is also a member of National Steering Committee of United
For Peace and Justice.
- Robert Miranda, Editor in Chief of The Milwaukee Spanish
Journal, a bilingual weekly newspaper. He recently ran for
city council in Milwaukee.
Bush vs. Cuba: The Quiet War
On June 30, the Bush administration's newest adjustments
to the blockade against Cuba go into effect. To discuss these
latest sanctions we are joined by Art Heitzer, a Milwaukee-based
attorney who currently chairs the National Lawyer's Guild's
Cuba Subcommittee and represents people who break the US travel
ban on Cuba. [includes transcript]
June 30 has been designated by the Bush administration as
the date of the official handover of sovereignty in Iraq.
But it is also a key date in the Bush administration's newest
adjustments to the blockade against Cuba. On Wednesday, the
US government published the regulations in the Federal Register.
The latest sanctions against Cuba have been under discussion
for several weeks but the official announcement comes after
the formal recommendation from George W Bush's interagency
commission tasked with proposing steps to bring down the government
of Fidel Castro.
The new rules permit Cuban-Americans to visit immediate relatives
on the island only once every three years, instead of once
per year. Visits can last no longer than 14 days. U.S. citizens
who are not Cuban-Americans are banned from visiting the island
nation.
The regulations ban travelers from bringing back any Cuban
merchandise and receiving any gifts of goods or services from
Cuban nationals, the Cuban government, or citizens of third
countries. And authorized visitors will only be able to take
$300 in cash to Cuba, down from $3,000. Educational visits
to Cuba will also be curtailed.
In response to the new moves, Florida Republican Congressmember
Lincoln Diaz-Balart said Bush "is the best friend the
cause of freedom for Cuba has ever had in the White House."
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, also a Republican from Florida,
said the measures "will rob the dictatorship of funds
to further oppress the Cuban people."
- Art Heitzer, a Milwaukee-based attorney. He is currently
Chair of the National Lawyer's Guild's Cuba Subcommittee
and works with the Center for Constitutional Rights representing
people who break the US travel ban on Cuba.
The Last Socialist Mayor
We speak with Frank Zeidler, the Mayor of Milwaukee from
1948-1960. He was the last in a string of 12 socialist mayors
and was re-elected twice during the McCarthy era. In 1976,
he was the Socialist Party candidate for president of the
U.S. [includes transcript]
- Frank Zeidler, the Mayor of Milwaukee from 1948-1960.
He was the last in a string of 12 socialist mayors and was
re-elected twice during the McCarthy era. In 1976, he was
the Socialist Party candidate for president of the US.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
|
Listen
to the show
Help
whole
show
