On Labor Day, I ventured to a union event in the blue-collar town of Muskegon, Michigan to gauge members’ tastes in presidential candidates.
Muskegon is middle America — the “middle of the middle,” one person said.
I talked to 8 people and they are all included in this video. The collection of interviews isn’t meant to tip the scales for or against a particular candidate, but rather, serves as an example of what union members are thinking.
In short, judging by those interviewed at random, Hillary’s in trouble with union voters.
One woman derided Clinton as changing her mind “every minute.” She added that she doesn’t trust her and that she plays “underhanded games.” She said she thinks Clinton could be president, but she doesn’t “want her to do it.”
Another woman said she supported Hillary in the last primary against Barack Obama — “I was a big Hillary supporter,” she said. “She’s disappointed me a little bit,” she added.
“She’s waffled on some things,” the woman said, naming off abortion and gay marriage. “She’s come around. I’m hoping she wasn’t just playing for votes.”
Hillary had her contingent of advocates, including one whose support was cemented years ago. So much so, when I asked her what she thought of Bernie Sanders, she responded, “Who’s he?”
She really didn’t know.
Another woman said she believes Sanders is resonating because “people are tired of big government.” Something tells me she doesn’t really know what it means to be a socialist, as Sanders is.
A gentleman sporting a purple SEIU t-shirt said he supports Hillary because of her experience. “She knows a lot more being under Bill Clinton,” he said.
He added, “If she’s in office, she’s going to be getting a lot of knowledge from Bill.” He liked the idea of a co-presidency between the Clintons.
Another woman likes Sanders. “Hillary’s got a lot of problems right now so I don’t know how that’s going to work out.”
According to recent polling, that seems to be the sentiment among many Democrats.
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