Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Ringside Seat for Democrat Infighting

From Politico - Dem vs. Dem in the New Congress

Criticizing the other guy is much easier than governing much of the time. How will more conservative Democrats respond to a far-left agenda that directly hurts their supporters? For example (from the article)

Laboring over union bill

Opponents call it “card check” and say it oversimplifies the unionizing process and takes away the secret ballot. Advocates call it the Employee Free Choice Act and say it will open up new doors for labor protections.

This legislation — which would make it much easier for shops to unionize — is the big payback for Big Labor. The measure already passed the House this year and should easily pass the House next year. But the 100-member Senate needs 60 votes to break a filibuster, and the pro-business and pro-labor factions on both sides believe the Senate is stuck at 59.

The legislation is a tough call for new Southern Democratic senators such as Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mark Warner of Virginia, along with moderate Southerners such as Blanche L. Lincoln of Arkansas and Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, all of whom hail from less union-friendly Southern states.

The critical question is whether Reid and labor advocates can convince these moderates to back the cloture motion to stop a filibuster, then let them vote against the final bill, which requires only a simple majority to pass.

“We don’t know if we have 60 yet. We’re at 59 [for cloture] right now,” said Josh Goldstein, a spokesman for American Rights at Work, a pro-labor group. “The issue has become front and center, and the worse the economy gets, the more support we get. [Business groups are] trying to make this a volatile issue for senators.”

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