I support John Edwards—and I’m not wearing pants!

David Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants, has cut their own deal with the WGA—which means that you can watch his show without feeling like a scab. It also means that candidates who understand how important unions are to America’s working men and women, and to our economy and our culture as a whole, can appear on The Late Show with a clear conscience.

John Edwards knows the significant role that unions have had in providing workplace protection and economic leadership. He has called organized labor “the most important anti-poverty movement in American history,” and has made strengthening the labor movement an important part of his campaign to end poverty and reinvigorate the economy. As is spelled out in his Plan to Build One America:

Unions made manufacturing jobs the foundation of our middle class, and they can do the same for our service economy. That's why Edwards has helped more than 20 national unions organize thousands of workers over the last few years. Union membership can be the difference between a poverty-wage job and middle-class security. Federal law promises workers the right to choose a union, but the law is poorly enforced, full of loopholes, and routinely violated by employers. Edwards supports the Employee Free Choice Act to give workers a real choice in whether to form a union, and making penalties for breaking labor laws tougher and faster, so unions can compete on a level playing field and the right to join a union means something. Edwards also supports banning the permanent replacement of strikers so unions can negotiate fairly.

So, it makes perfect sense that while Republican presidential contenders have been crossing WGA picket lines to appear on Leno, John Edwards will do his national late night star turn on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Edwards will attempt to run the establishment news media blockade and deliver his message directly to some 5 million viewers—and you can help.

Though most tickets for the Tuesday taping were distributed many months ago, the scene outside before ticket holders are seated often garners more attention than the studio audience. If Edwards supporters show up at the Ed Sullivan Theater to loudly and proudly greet the Senator when he arrives, tape of the scene has a good shot at making the local CBS news in a media market that reaches three Super Tuesday states. If the supporters outside are boisterous enough, some of the goings on might even make it on to the Letterman show—it has happened before.

So, New York Metro Area Edwards supporters, it’s time to take action!

Pry yourself away from your computer.

Put on your coat and hat—and your John Edwards ’08 buttons.

Come out and meet your fellow JRE supporters.

Come out and show JRE how much you support him.

Come out and show 5 million Americans you care about our country more than you care about squabbling celebrities. . . and show 5 million Americans John Edwards cares more about our country than those squabbling celebrities do, too.

What: John Edwards on The Late Show with David Letterman
Where: The Ed Sullivan Theater, Broadway at 53rd Street, NYC
When: 4 PM (one hour BEFORE the taping)


Show Corporate America and greedy media producers who wears the pants!


Stand up for John Edwards, and he will stand up for you.

(cross-posted to capitoilette, The Seminal, and Daily Kos)

tuesday in the park with John

I’ll admit, practically every photo of this event—posted all over the place—is better than what I’ve got, but I’m going to give you my impressions, so, just to keep it real, you’ll have to suffer with my images, too.

Several hundred members of the WGA East, their union brethren, supporters, and fans gathered Tuesday afternoon in Washington Square Park. Yes, there were guild member/writers, yes, there were union leaders (UFT, SEIU, SAG, AFTRA), and, yes, their were, uh, you know, stars (Tim Robbins, Danny Glover. Joey Pants), but I want to talk first about the politicians.

I say politicians because, though you wouldn’t know it from the coverage, former Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards was not the only one from that class to show up in support of the writers. There were US Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Anthony Weiner (D-NY), and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, to name a few. Senator/presidential hopefuls Barack Obama (D-IL) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) also sent statements to be read at the rally.

I make this point not because I’m afraid the coverage was biased towards Edwards (hardly), but because I’d like to point out that it is just maybe possible that all of these folks support the WGA in their fight for a fair slice of future revenue from new media venues.

In fact, much has been made on some blogs about how Sen. Edwards had the audacity to campaign. . . wait, I’ve got it right here. . . Edwards's words went something like this:

This is all about fairness, it's about opportunity, it's about making sure those who create the work that generates revenue actually gets to share in that revenue. We have to show that we're gonna have economic fairness and economic justice in America again, and I promise you this: When I'm President of the United States, there will be economic fairness in the United States of America again!

He also said this:

This cause is about making sure that big media conglomerates don’t step on your rights.

Oh.My.God. Just over a month from the Iowa caucus, John Edwards makes an appearance in New York, and dares to mention that he wants to be president—and even kind of says why.

Shameless, I know.

Honestly, to my mind, he kind of wasn’t shameless enough. While it is clear that being at the rally (Edwards also appeared on the west coast picket lines ten days ago), standing with the union, makes the biggest statement, the Senator could have taken 30 seconds to connect his support for labor to some of the anti-poverty and pro-economic revitalization planks in his platform. You know, sell a little. Communicate the benefits (as we say in marketing) of an Edwards presidency. Not that the recent college grad who now does what passes for strike coverage in the New York Times would have necessarily noticed, but I think the writers would have. And, as the mingling crowd that lingered in the park for more than a half-hour after the rally ended made clear, these people like to network!

(Senator Edwards did apparently do some of that communicating to reporters after the rally.)

Also almost completely absent from the coverage were the issues around which this strike revolves, or just how good the various union leaders that spoke were at articulating these issues. They’re great in a room (as we say in the biz), even if that room is outdoors. These people really know their audience, and inspired it—it was impressive.

. . .


(All of my pictures of Edwards make him look like he’s singing. . . )

(. . . or like Gilbert Gottfried.)
And, I’d be, like, a bad journalist if I didn’t also publish the photo that confirms the prejudices of the establishment media.

(h/t gem spa for the links to some of the other coverage)

the ultimate in procrastination: rally for writers!

Rather than spend several hours this morning writing about how smart Stephanie Coontz is, or how stupid Joe Klein is, or how greedy Trent Lott is, I am going to just pass this information along so that I can catch a few winks before I show my support for the WGA:

Labor Solidarity with Writers:
Rally on Tuesday, November 27 at Washington Square Park.

Solidarity Rally
Tuesday, November 27
Washington Square Park
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

Join your fellow members of the Writers Guild of America, the labor community, and supporters and fans, as the WGA begins week four of its strike against the media conglomerates of the AMPTP.

Recently confirmed participants include:

Senator John Edwards, Congressman Jerry Nadler, Tim Robbins, Michael Emerson, Joe Pantoliano, Colin Quinn, Aasif Mandvi, Tony Goldwyn, Evan Handler, Gilbert Gottfried, Randi Weingarten (UFT), Gary Le Barbera and Ed Ott (Central Labor Council), Denis M. Hughes (NYS AFL-CIO), Sam Freed (SAG NY President), Richard Masur (former national president of SAG), WGAE leaders, and more.

We are expecting a huge showing of solidarity from other New York Unions. Joining the striking WGAE members at the rally will be leaders in the labor community, politicians, and exciting speakers from the entertainment community.

Meet us at Washington Square Park for a Solidarity Rally. We’re expecting a large attendance from the union community -- including SEIU, AFTRA, SAG, UNITE-HERE, AFT, NYS AFL-CIO, national AFL-CIO, and the New York City Central Labor Council among others -- as well as some exciting speakers, music and entertainment.