Something interesting happened in Arkansas this week. An incumbent US Senator barely squeaked to a runoff win, despite having a hefty initial fundraising advantage and the support of a lot of the Democratic establishment (including the not-so-tacit-support of the state party, and the anything-but-tacit support of a certain former President from Arkansas).
That it was even close, that it even forced a runoff at all, is a testament to the power of two powerful groups that are, lately, anything but establishment. Lincoln’s opponent, Bill Halter, was heavily supported by progressive organizations, like MoveOn, and by organized labor.
Unions had every reason in the world to support Halter, and even more reasons to oppose Lincoln. She was second only to perhaps Joe Lieberman when it came to hijacking the health care bill, and had spent the better part of two years doing everything she could to keep the Employee Free Choice Act from even getting a vote. So, the AFL-CIO did exactly what it should have done – they invested in Halter, to the tune of millions of dollars in advertising, and more importantly, on-the-ground organizing.
And they were vilified for doing it.
Lincoln and her Democratic surrogates attacked organized labor, playing the hackneyed “special interests” card every time they opened their mouths. By the end, the Democratic primary looked an awful lot like a typical general election, with one candidate backed by union money (Halter) trading shots with a candidate backed by Chamber of Commerce money (Lincoln).
In the end, Halter came up short, by a mere 10,000 votes or so. And far from making peace, it looks like Lincoln’s friends are more interested in gloating. An unnamed White House source said:
Organized labor just flushed $10 million of their members’ money down the toilet on a pointless exercise. If even half that total had been well-targeted and applied in key House races across this country, that could have made a real difference in November.
More on that one in a second.
Senator Chuck Schumer, a guy I normally like, congratulated Lincoln on her win, and for, “[f]ighting Wall Street with one hand, unions with the other.”
And Senator Bob Menendez, who chairs the DSCC, put out a memo patting Lincoln on the back as well, saying in part:
Tonight Arkansas Democrats nominated Blanche Lincoln, a proven independent voice for her state. In this race Blanche took on powerful special interests in Washington and won.
So my question is this: When did our party leadership in DC decide that organized labor was the enemy, to be excoriated during an election and mocked afterward?
Well, it was probably around the same time that organized labor decided to make it abundantly clear that they are not the lapdog of the Democratic establishment, there to open up their checkbook every couple of years and shut up when Democratic leaders sell them to the likes of Joe Lieberman on issues like a public option and EFCA.
Despite what the DC Democratic establishment might believe, labor isn’t there to be their personal campaign ATM machine. They’ve got a membership to look out for, and when the interests of that membership collide with the actions of the party in power, then labor’s choice is clear, as it was in Lincoln vs. Halter.
Let’s go back to our unnamed White House official again:
Organized labor just flushed $10 million of their members’ money down the toilet on a pointless exercise. If even half that total had been well-targeted and applied in key House races across this country, that could have made a real difference in November. [Emphasis added.]
Oh, well that explains it. Democrats still want your money, organized labor, as long as they get the right to tell you where to spend it.
I should also note that President Obama’s record on looking out for working people is good. His heart’s in the right place. But he ought to have a stern talking-to with some of his staff, who are clearly still a little power-drunk.
Personally, I like the new assertiveness out of the unions. Democrats shouldn’t get to take labor’s support for granted. The AFL-CIO ought to pick and choose which races they want to support, based on the principles of the candidates. I doubt we’ll see many, if any, examples where labor would support a Republican over a Democrat, but the AFL-CIO has every right in the world to support one Democrat over another in a primary. They should exercise that right whenever and wherever they choose.
And Schumer, Menendez, and certain unnamed White House sources should probably learn to play nice, because when you get right down to it, the AFL-CIO is holding better cards than they are.
For example, Bob Menendez and the DSCC have taken nearly half a million dollars in union money in just the past twelve months. (They spent $90,000 on Lincoln’s race, by the way.) I don’t know about you, but if I were the AFL-CIO, I might be asking for my money back.
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