If you won’t accept the word of the so-called
alt media or
wikileaks when they tell you that the mainstream, respected, established, reputable, traditional, ad infinitum “media” is biased, would you accept a testimonial from a regular guy who likes big, old Chrysler products and knows how to turn wrenches? . No need for a big payday. No agenda for power, no political ambition beyond my current part-time city council gig. (And someday, when I'm able to snow-bird it, I'll also have to give that up.)
But like our current President, I have also done some community organizing. In 2008 I put together a rally supporting the US auto industry. I had the backing of the mayors of Sterling Heights and Warren, MI (either of which; individually dwarf the city of Detroit in numbers of auto sector jobs) along with a few intelligent friends. It was timed to coincide with the January press week at the 2009 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). There was no support from the UAW; in fact they were against it because we refused to play their simpleton “corporate greed” message. Of course that didn’t stop them from sending down a few people to hold their signs once it was obvious we were pulling this off without them. I would label the event a success. Hundreds attended, but most of our coverage was from international media. (The corporate-owned local media gives less than a damn about this city.
And who de-regulated that same media? Good ol' Bill Clinton)
In order to be a credible speaker I had to become expert on issues of trade policy, currency values, regulation and even manufacturing strategy. In the years since this event, I have been quoted in many publications and interviewed on radio/TV and in print by journalists from all over the world. The reason is obvious to me… Novelty.
You see, journalists are
fascinated by the radical idea that intelligent people work in non-executive positions within the auto industry. What they fail to realize is that the blue and light-blue collar jobs pay fairly well, and while they would attract just about anyone, they retain a high share of "smart people" because of the benefits. At least for those who are grandfathered-in at higher wages (pre-2007 hires). If you are willing to work hard; either overtime or a second career in your off-hours, you can really earn money. To borrow a Sopranos term, most of my co-worker
"earners" own investment real estate, are silent partners, or directly employ other people. And of course, others manage to burn through their paychecks as soon as they are cashed, as happens in all occupations. But back to the novelty aspect… They call on me because it’s easy; I’m sure they share sources. When you develop a reputation as being knowledgeable and reliable (deadlines!) you’ll soon become a favorite. In fact, CNN called while I was writing this.
A few months ago, I gave an interview for the
German news magazine Focus. The German journalists wanted to investigate the fascinating subject of Americans who would admit they were voting for Donald Trump. We had a pleasant phone conversation and I suggested we take advantage of the nice weather and meet at a local park on the shore of Lake St. Clair. I greeted them in my most formal German
(Wie geht es dir, mein Herr und meine Frau?) and began a quick dissertation on German vs. US trade policy. I covered
Value Added Taxes (and how they are rebated to German exporters), explained why two vehicles which sell for the same price in the USA are $9-15,000 apart in Germany, covered the influence of
IG Mettal on German politics vs, the US, and finally summed it up by saying that while I expected no miracles, at least candidate Trump appeared
interested in balancing the scale. Interview complete I suggested a local restaurant for their supper, for which they later texted me
“Danke“.
Anyone care to guess how much of that appeared in print? Exactly zero. Instead they found another guy to complain about “them foreinerrs“ while wearing his ripped shirt half-open.
Did the reporters decide to omit anything of intelligence or did their editors? Does it matter? The result is the same...
When something doesn’t fit the predetermined-narrative, (half-literate factory rats for Trump)
highlight, click, delete. But lest you think I’m only picking on German journalists, let me tell you about last Friday’s interview with the New York Times.
I spoke with Abby over the phone. Her story would be about how the Democrats misread the industrial mid-west. She asked If I voted for McCain, to which I replied “You mean ‘who cares about manufacturing', Lexus-driving John McCain? Absolutely not." What about Mittens Romney? “Oh, you mean the guy who wrote an op-ed titled ‘Let Detroit [industry] Go Bankrupt‘? No, I didn’t feel moved to vote for him either." Of course, she didn’t ask who I did vote for; (third-party since I thought the major candidates were awful in both elections).
"So what makes Trump different?" and I replied to her, "He understood some of our issues right of the bat, unlike Secretary Clinton, who had to be told by the UAW that her stance on NAFTA and TPP were killing her chances in industrial states." Then she said "You didn’t beieve her when she reversed on those deals?" I said that I wasn’t sure if that was a
public or private position.
Abby confided to me that many in her profession don’t listen to anything said in between the coasts, but that she was "different", because she grew up in upstate New York, and that’s nothing like the city. I told her that I knew that was true... I have friends in upstate New York. We have this thing called the internet now, and even people in Michigan talk to people all over the world. In fact, we also read books and I mentioned reading Trump’s book. That’s why this attempt to label him a misogynist wasn’t working on me. As I stated earlier, Trump has placed many females in power-postions within his organization. Locker-room talk with shock-jocks and gossip show hosts wasn’t going to convince me otherwise. I also passed along two op-ed pieces I wrote for the Macomb Daily (the county where he rallied several times and won HUGE). They were chock-full of reasoning which reflected local sentiment.
So even though I was photographed, looking as working class as possible in a black leather jacket next to an American flag, they cut the whole interview down to essentially one quote, and that was a partial quote. ""He understood some of our issues right of the bat".
......... 
