CHUCK ROGÉR: TODAY’S ELECTIONS COULD SAVE US FROM BECOMING FRANCE
Last week, American Spectator's Paris correspondent, Joseph Harriss, described the situation in France as a result of President Sarkozy's suggestion that the government will have to tighten its belt in the face of out-of-control spending and massive, unsustainable debt.
This past week has seen France's fourth crippling national strike and seventh day of violent street protests against the government's reform proposals. Labor unions have paralyzed much of train service and other public transport, along with half the flights at Orly airport and a third at Roissy. (They often block airport access roads, making luggage-laden passengers trudge hundreds of yards to the terminal.) Riot police in RoboCop body armor grapple with hooligans spoiling for a fight; some 3,000 have been arrested so far, dozens of police officers injured. School children, egged on by their leftist teachers and mouthing labor union slogans, join the joyful chaos. (One group of apprentice Robespierres in short pants raided a bakery to steal bonbons.) University campuses are beginning to rumble, raising the specter of another May 1968.
On orders from the largest French labor union, the communist-backed CGT, workers in oil refineries and ports have taken a strangle hold on energy supplies. Ten of the country's 11 active refineries are blocked, along with many of its 219 fuel depots, while dockers refuse to offload oil tankers. Some 3,000 gas stations have run dry. Tons of rotting, uncollected garbage pile up in major cities like Nantes and Marseilles. Tens of thousands of businesses have been hit by the transport disruption and lack of fuel. The national railways have been losing $26 million a day, the chemical industry $130 million.
Does any clear-thinking American believe that the thug-led American labor unions would not stoop to calling for such disgusting behavior?
It was Barack Obama's good buddy, frequent White House visitor Andy Stern, head of Service Employees International Union, who parroted Karl Marx, saying, "'Workers of the world unite' is not just a slogan anymore. It's the way we're gonna have to do our work." Stern also stated boldly that if "the power of persuasion" doesn't work, then unions will not hesitate to use "the persuasion of power" to get what they want.
It was President Obama himself who recently called on Latino voters to "punish [their] enemies"--white Republicans with whom he seemed to be encouraging Latinos to go to war in order to complete his fundamentally transformative wealth redistribution agenda.
Today's is the most important election in American history--in my humble opinion.
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© 2010 Chuck Rogér
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