Meet Hillary's Dem Primary Challenger: Jonathan Tasini (Editorial here by Cindy Sheehan)

NYT / and Tasini for New York ^ | Dec 2005 | NYT- RAYMOND HERNANDEZ/ and Cindy Sheehan

[summer]

From the NYT:


NYT: "Some liberal activists are angry over Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's stand on
the Iraq war, and are supporting a 2006 primary challenger."

From the NY primary challenger's web site:

Cindy Sheehan on Jonathan

I am so pleased that Jonathan Tasini has stepped forward to challenge Senator Clinton and to take her on as an anti-war candidate.

I encourage the people of New York to take a hard look at Mrs. Clinton's dismal record on the illegal and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Then take a hard look at what Jonathan is saying.

We as people who strive for peace and justice should not support a candidate who advocates for continued killing on the basis of flimsy reasoning. It is time to hold the pro-war Democrats responsible for what they are saying and doing also.

I fully endorse the idea of peace with justice and support the message that Jonathan is espousing, but I cannot endorse candidates because of my organization’s tax-exempt status.

I thank Jonathan for his leadership, for his support and I look forward to our continuing efforts to end the war

[summer]

Well, I was so surprised to see in today's NYT, buried in the back of the NY section, an article mentioning an opponent to NY Senator Hillary Clinton!

Here is an excerpt from the NYT, which is where I got the above photo and caption:

The frustration on the left toward Mrs. Clinton, the junior senator from New York, has been building for months, particularly as opinion has turned against the war and some Democrats in Congress have begun to pressure President Bush to begin a withdrawal of American troops.

Recently, the anger erupted into public view, with antiwar activists publicly protesting against the senator and, perhaps more significantly, an antiwar candidate emerging to challenge her in the Democratic primary next year.

That challenger, Jonathan Tasini, a longtime labor advocate, has the support of Cindy Sheehan, the antiwar protester who lost her son in the war and who camped for weeks outside Mr. Bush's Texas ranch, demanding to meet with him. Mrs. Sheehan has been critical of Mrs. Clinton.

[summer]

Yes, I knew some of you Dem lurkers would be as surprised as I was!!!

[Onelifetogive]

I am so pleased that Jonathan Tasini has stepped forward to challenge Senator Clinton and to take her on as an anti-war candidate.

I think this guy stands a very good chance of getting his own vote and those of many of the members of his immediate family. It could happen.....

[summer]

have you ever heard of this guy??

[ozzymandus]

Mother Cindy is playing with fire. The only thing keeping her from ending up in Ft Marcy Park is her irrelevance.

[summer]

LOL...now that doesn't say much for the influence of Cindy!

[kcvl]

Hillary will wipe the floor with him.



http://www.tasinifornewyork.org/



"I fully endorse the idea of peace with justice and support the message that Jonathan is espousing, but I cannot endorse candidates because of my organization’s tax-exempt status."

Cindy Sheehan

[summer]

What exactly is the difference between "supporting the message Jonathan is espousing" (which Cindy says she is allowed to do) and "endorsing" a candidate (which Cindy claims she is not doing)??

[summer]

Hillary will wipe the floor with him.

I don't know. At first, everyone laughed at Perot, too. But not after he won a hefty percentage of the vote from disgruntled members of the GOP.

[wideawake]

John Tasini will receive a handful of votes in the Democratic primary - perhaps as much as a few thousand.

Hillary Clinton will receive several million.

[trek]

"What exactly is the difference between "supporting the message Jonathan is espousing" (which Cindy says she is allowed to do) and "endorsing" a candidate (which Cindy claims she is not doing)??"

Don't look to the First Amendment. Only the oracle of McCain-Feingold can split that baby.

[summer]

You never know. The Dem party activists on the blogs are solidly anti-war on Iraq. Hillary is like on another planet with respect to that issue.

[summer]

LOL...thanks.

[kcvl]

http://www.economist.com/images/events/jonathan-tasini.gif


For the past 25 years, Jonathan has been a union leader and organizer, a social activist, and a commentator and writer on work, labor and the economy. From 1990 to April 2003, he served as president of the National Writers Union (United Auto Workers Local 1981) During his tenure, the union tripled in size and became one of the most influential forces in the country for protecting the rights of freelance writers. During Jonathan’s years as NWU president, his close-up experience with the health insurance crisis for creative workers inspired him to make Medicare For All a central plank of his Senate campaign.

He was the lead plaintiff in Tasini vs. The New York Times, the landmark electronic rights case that took on the corporate media’s assault on the rights of thousands of freelance authors. In a historic decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2001 that media companies had illegally used the works of writers without their permission. The decision led to a series of class action lawsuits (in which Jonathan served as a principal strategist and negotiator) which resulted in a mass settlement for authors and the creation of an $18 million compensation fund.


snip


In 1971, Jonathan moved to Israel where he spent seven years, completing high school and two years studying psychology and philosophy at Tel Aviv University. In Israel, he was involved in the Histradut, the country’s labor federation’s political activities, as well as the early flowering of a serious debate about peace.

In 1978, he returned to the U.S., relocating to Los Angeles where he finished a degree in political science at the University of California, Los Angeles (U.C.L.A.). In the early 1980s, Jonathan was one of the founders of the National Writers Union’s Los Angeles chapter. Upon arriving in New York City in 1985, he became active in the union’s national leadership, focusing mainly on organizing new members. He is the proud uncle of four nieces, and a lifelong baseball fan who holds Yankees' season tickets.



http://tinyurl.com/7s7oy




Jonathan Tasini, President, Economic Future Group

Jonathan Tasini is the president of the Economic Future Group, a national strategy consulting group. From 1990 to April 2003, he served as president of the National Writers Union (UAW Local 1981). He was the lead plaintiff in Tasini vs. The New York Times, the landmark electronic rights case won by the plaintiffs in a historic decision by the US Supreme Court in June 2001.

For the last twenty years, he has written about labour and economics for a variety of publications including The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Business Week, The Washington Post, The Village Voice, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Nation. He is the author of two books and he also writes a regular column on labour and the economy entitled "Working in America".



http://www.pbs.org/newshour/images/media/jan-june01/content4.jpg

[wideawake]

I don't know. At first, everyone laughed at Perot, too. But not after he won a hefty percentage of the vote from disgruntled members of the GOP.

Bush got the core Republican vote, Clinton got the core Democrat vote and Perot took the lion's share of the undecided, unaffiliated vote. Very few registered Republicans defected from Bush to Perot.

Perot never beat Bush, and would never have beaten Bush in a Republican primary. Tasini will never beat a Clinton in a Democratic one.

[summer]

Hmm...very interesting. Thanks.

[kcvl]

Bio


Jonathan Tasini is the president of the Economic Future Group, a national consulting group. He is a strategist, organizer, activist, commentator and writer, primarily focusing his energies on the topics of work, labor and the economy.

From 1990 to April 2003, he served as president of the National Writers Union (UAW Local 1981); he remains the union's president emeritus. He was the lead plaintiff in Tasini vs. The New York Times, the landmark electronic rights case won by the plaintiffs in a historic decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2001. He is also the president and executive director of the Creators Federation.

For the last twenty years, he has written about labor and economics for a variety of newspapers and magazines including The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Business Week, The Washington Post, The Village Voice, The Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of two books: "The Edifice Complex: Rebuilding the American Labor Movement to Face the Global Economy," a critique and prescriptive analysis of the labor movement (1995); and "They Get Cake, We Eat Crumbs: The Real Story Behind Today's Unfair Economy," an average reader's guide to the economy (1997). He also writes a regular column on labor and the economy entitled "Working in America," which can be seen at www.tompaine.com .

Among other posts, he has served as a member of the executive board of the International Federation of Journalists; a member of the National Research Council's Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, which issued the report, "The Digital Dilemma: Intellectual Property in the Information Age"; and as a member of the Committee on Arts, Media and Entertainment of the AFL-CIO's Department for Professional Employees.

[summer]

Maybe he will decide to run anyway, as an independent.

[JerseyDvl]

We all know that the Clintons lie, cheat, rape, steal,obstruct, and even murder in their quest to claw to the top.
The female dog we all know as PIAPS has no chance of losing the Senate race even if the Barrett report is released. My hope is she gets dinged up enough along the way and hurts her "Blind Ambition Tour" to be Socialist in Chief.

[kcvl]

I hope Jonathan has good health insurance and/or security.



Read all posts by Jonathan Tasini



12.07.2005
Hillary Panders Again


Our men and women are being killed in Iraq. Millions of people wake up every day without health insurance. Jobs are being shipped off-shore. Our economy is increasingly becoming hostage to an authoritarian regime in China. And, until today, I didn’t understand what the real important issue facing Americans truly is: a few people are burning the American flag.

At least that’s what Hillary Clinton believes. She has jumped on board with Pat Roberts, one of the most right-wing conservative members of the Senate, to co-sponsor an amendment that would criminalize flag-burning.

Clinton’s new bout of pandering is one reason I decided to challenge her and run in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. Just a day after I officially entered the race, it should be even more clear to progressives and New Yorkers why my opponent does not deserve another term: she will sacrifice any cherished American principle for the sake of political expediency.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-tasini/