Tea Parties vs. Unions in November

[Valin]

WSJ:

The two groups get much different media scrutiny.
John Fund
5/21/10

Elections this month have enhanced the political clout of two groups widely separated on the political spectrum. The tea party movement stands to play an outsize role in the fall elections now that outsider Rand Paul has swept Kentucky's GOP Senate primary, while unions provided the muscle for Democrats to win a key special election in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Paul's victory comes just after Utah Sen. Bob Bennett was denied a place on the primary ballot by a GOP state convention dominated by tea party activists. In Kentucky, Dr. Paul beat a GOP establishment candidate by calling for spending restraint and an end to "Bailout Nation" policies. A new Rasmussen poll shows him leading his Democratic opponent by 25 points. Tea party-backed candidates also won key House primaries in Pennsylvania and Arkansas this week.

Democrats, fearful of the grass-roots enthusiasm that candidates such as Dr. Paul are able to generate, immediately accused him of being an elitist for holding his victory party at a country club. They also slammed him for suggesting physicians like him deserve to earn "a comfortable living" while supporting an end to farm subsidies.

Liberal attacks on the tea party have flipped completely. Largely gone are dismissals that they are rednecks and rubes. After a New York Times survey found tea partiers are generally better educated and wealthier than the general public, they are now attacked as aloof and out of touch with the concerns of average voters.

The criticism will only mount because tea party activists represent an injection of fresh blood and enthusiasm that threatens Democratic incumbents. They certainly expand the GOP voting base: A March Gallup poll found that 43% were registered independents and 8% declared themselves Democrats.

The rise of the tea party makes Democrats even more dependent on organized labor. In this week's Pennsylvania special election for the late Jack Murtha's seat, the AFL-CIO alone sent out 80,000 mailers on behalf of Democrat Mark Critz, along with 100,000 robocalls.

In Arkansas, unions showed their clout by forcing Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln into a June runoff with labor-backed Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. Unions decided to make an example of her after she opposed the "card check" bill that limits the use of secret ballots in union elections. Unions, especially the Service Employees International Union, spent more than $3 million against her.

In contrast to the tea party, there has been far too little scrutiny of the SEIU, whose membership of government and health-care workers is the fastest-growing of any union in the country. Andy Stern, the just retired head of the SEIU, was found to be the most frequent guest at the Obama White House last year, stopping by 22 times between January and September, more than all congressional leaders and cabinet members.

The SEIU's close ties to the discredited group Acorn have largely been ignored. The same is true for the violence perpetrated by some of its members.

(Snip)

You can expect friction between tea party activists and union members in coming months. Last month, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka gave a speech at Harvard in which he warned that anger at a sour economy was being transformed into dangerous "hatred" by the forces on the right.

At a time of heightened passions such as this election season, anyone who jumps proper political guardrails must be called on any excesses. As tea party members and unions vie for political supremacy this fall, it will be important for the media to scrutinize both and make sure their coverage is accurate and complete. So far the tea party—the new kids on the political block—have gotten far more attention than their union counterparts.

[Geee]

Posted a story this morning about unions spending $100M to save Dems

 

http://www.therightreasons.net/index.php?/topic/21255-unions-to-spend-100m-on-saving-democrats/

[Valin]

Posted a story this morning about unions spending $100M to save Dems

 

http://www.therightreasons.net/index.php?/topic/21255-unions-to-spend-100m-on-saving-democrats/

 

 

Wonder what their members say about this?

[nickydog]

I wondered about that, too.

 

It's going to get rough out there.

[Guest AnneV]

 

It's going to get rough out there.

 

Yes it is....especially since we all know, when it comes to the unions, they will not fight fairly, they will fight down and dirty.

[Valin]

 

It's going to get rough out there.

 

Yes it is....especially since we all know, when it comes to the unions, they will not fight fairly, they will fight down and dirty.

 

 

I know how to do that. I have the ability to be nice or....not so nice.