Labor Leader Threatens Not To Back Specter
The possibility of a civil war over the coming 2010 Pennsylvania Democratic Primary — with the Dem establishment and Arlen Specter on one side against labor, progressives and the blogosphere on the other — just got a bit more real.
Top AFL-CIO official Richard Trumka just flatly told ABC News that despite the Dem establishment’s backing for Specter, labor leaders won’t support him if he continues to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act, labor’s top priority. He’s the first labor leader to publicly suggest the possibility of backing a challenger to Specter in the Dem primary.
It’s hard to overstate the pressure the Dem establishment will be under to drop its automatic support for Specter if the newly-minted Democrat keeps failing to support the agenda of Obama and Dems. Specter’s record so far: No on Obama’s budget, No on Employee Free Choice, No on Obama’s nominee for Office of Legal Council Chief Dawn Johnsen.
By the way: Specter claimed on Meet the Press yesterday that the Dem establishment hadn’t promised to clear the Dem primary field for him. But Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell did in fact promise that he would run unopposed.
The Specter story is only getting started.
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Good move by labor. Ball is in Specter’s court now.
Has anyone asked the gentleman why he won’t simply retire and save us all a lot of heartburn?
Well, now at least he’s got one.
(whistle) Personal foul for low blow!
Honestly, I’m liking the dimensions of this fight. It seems necessary. The progressive base needs a chance to flex it’s muscle, the Obama admin needs a bad cop to it’s good cop in order to keep from giving away the farm, and Specter needs to be made to understand anew that there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch or even a never ending buffet lunch for the price of one vote (Healthcare), no matter how important it is. Game on.
in truth, Specter’s recent backtrack from the “loyal democrat” statement is the sort of cover the dems need. they can call him out and he has no options….not saying that the dems will, but Obama is a counter-punching sort of fella that does not take kindly to getting slapped.
Sestak speaks out about his meeting with Specter:
http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/torture/happy-hour-open-thread-sestak-predicts-unions-wont-back-specter-without-efca-shift/
Obama will not come out against Specter or for any primary opponent. It will make Obama look disingenuous (welcoming Specter into the party, then trying to kick him out) and will provide fuel for the inevitable “Look at the Democrats, enforcing rigid party ideology” whining from the conserva-crazies. More likely: Obama will stay out of it, sitting back and letting Pennsylvania Democrats make their choice. This will of course be an implicit endorsement of the primary challenger(s), but it will allow Obama to keep his hands clean.
A civil war implies there are two sides. Who’s on Arlen’s? It sounds like the four or five “guys” at the top made a decision about Arlen and told everyone else in the club. The club gets to vote. Arlen’s loyalty is to Arlen’s future only. He has the ethics of an alley cat.
My friend on Orkut shared this link with me and I’m not dissapointed that I came to your blog.
p.s. Year One is already on the Internet and you can watch it for free.