Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist

Mignon Veasley-Fields

This is a portion of last night’s “The Ed Show” on MSNBC. The host Ed Schultz, like all the others on this cable news station, has the same relationship to Obama that Fox had to George W. Bush. Their job each evening is to deliver the talking points of the Obama administration (the TARP money saved us from a Depression, ad nauseam) while painting Sarah Palin and the Tea Party as some kind of fascist threat. Schultz is particularly obnoxious because he tries to ooze this folksy populist charm while serving up White House propaganda. Last night he ran into somebody who was in no mood for the bullshit, a middle-aged Black woman named Mignon Veasley-Fields whose unemployment will be cut off after 99 weeks, the outer limit that Democrats have failed to extend. She will tell Schultz that she does not plan to vote in November.

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SCHULTZ: Joining me now is 99er Mignon Veasley-Fields, who has vowed not to vote in November. That was our last interview on this program a few weeks ago.

Mignon, the Democrats tried to do it. Is that going to be enough? Do you change your mind? Do the NOVOs now get back engaged and get in the process? What do you think?

MIGNON VEASLEY-FIELDS, “99ER”: Well, Ed, yes, we have committed that we are trying now to encourage our fellow 99ers to vote for either party of their choice. However, Ed, yesterday was very disappointing for us.

And even though we are trying to tell them to vote, many of them are not going to vote. Even though the NOVOs [NOVO’s are 99’ers who pledge not to vote for any politician who failed to vote for an extension] says to go ahead and do this. They were disillusioned by what they saw on the Senate floor yesterday.

We are very grateful for Senator Stabenow, for her effort, but we thought it was just sort of put together really quickly, like a dog and pony show in order to get us to vote for them.  This is the sentiment across this nation. And so —

SCHULTZ: But Mignon, if the Republican had not stood up, this would had gone through and you would have had the votes, and you would have gotten an extension. It`s the Republicans. Why take it out on the Democrats, the majority party, that time and time again has been there for the unemployed?

VEASLEY-FIELDS: Well, you know, Ed, we have gone back in the history of the tiers [tiers are a schedule of benefits]. We, as 99ers, are trying to figure this out ourselves.

What has happened is we can remember the time in which the Republicans said, sure, get another tier, use the stimulus fund. And the Democrats said, no, we need to find sourcing for unemployment.

So now we`re thinking back on that and we`re realizing it`s not the Republicans. It was the Democrats that caused us to be in this situation that we`re in. We want the Democrats to come back before this election, and we want them to come back and rectify this, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Well, they won`t do it. They`re going to be out until the middle of November. And the president has said — asked you to engage. That`s not enough?

VEASLEY-FIELDS: We are engaging. The NOVOs has given our commitment to encourage American 99ers to vote. We have finally come — we`ve conceded to that. However, our president, we do need to hear from him.

SCHULTZ: OK.

VEASLEY-FIELDS: You know, Senator Whitehouse, he explained a 99er, and we want to be clear with the American people what a 99er really is.

The presentation that they showed yesterday is not a 99er. It is an unemployed person, but not a 99er.

The 99ers who have been without benefits for over eight months is a 99er on the street; a 99er that is living in his car, her car with her children; a 99er who is laying out on a park bench somewhere; a 99er who has moved in with their 90-year-old parents because they have nowhere else to go; a 99er who is in their apartment in the dark, in the cold, that will be coming soon.

That`s the real 99er, Ed. A 99er who is hounded by bill collectors every day that they live; a 99er whose foreclosure is on its way. We have a 99er friend right now who has paid on her house for 17 years, Ed, and was just sent papers to tell her that it was time for her to go.

SCHULTZ: Well, Mignon, as a broadcaster, and as an advocate for American workers, I have to tell you that I`m at a loss. I mean, I did everything I could, and it`s — we`re stuck and it`s unfortunate.

And I hope that the — I think the unemployed people in this country can save the majority. I really do. And I hope —

VEASLEY-FIELDS: I do.

SCHULTZ: — they engage, and I think President Obama deserves to work with the majority for another 24 months. And if they don`t get it done then, then make a decision in `12.

But, I mean, Bush had eight years. You mean to tell me the progressives can`t give this president, you know, 48 months? It just amazes me. So —

VEASLEY-FIELDS: Well, Ed, what I`m saying is this — is that we need some help. We absolutely need help. It`s gone past understanding that.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

VEASLEY-FIELDS: What it is we have to have someone come in and help us. We need to hear from our president.

SCHULTZ: Mignon, good to have you with us tonight.

VEASLEY-FIELDS: Thank you.

SCHULTZ: Thank you for fighting. Thanks for standing up. And I appreciate your time.

VEASLEY-FIELDS: Thank you.