The next person to tell me how the GOP has lost ground with the party flip by Arlen Specter gets punched.Specter has always been in it for Specter. He’s willing to abandon claimed principles if it improves his chances of keeping his Senate seat. And he’s prepared to do just that again.
On May 5th, Specter met with the union bosses over at the SEIU. That organization, as well as others on the left, has been pressuring the new Democratic senator to change his position on card-check. Some have even threatened to put up a primary opponent unless he flips. Well, Specter being concerned primarily with sustaining power, is melting:
Specter had come out against the bill in March, disappointing labor leaders. They had hoped he would be the crucial 60th vote needed to overcome an expected GOP filibuster of the Employee Free Choice Act.
The Pennsylvania senator has since switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, and he said he’s been meeting with labor leaders and fellow senators in hopes of coming up with a compromise he could support.
President Barack Obama said on Thursday that he hoped a compromise could be worked out.
“How do we make it easier for people who want to form a union to at least get a vote and have an even playing field?” Obama said in response to a question during a town hall meeting in Rio Rancho, N.M. “How do we do that, but at the same time get enough votes to pass the bill? That’s what we’re working on right now.”
Specter wouldn’t elaborate on the negotiations about the legislation, but said he is “hard at work trying to find some way to find an answer.”
The bill is a top priority of labor groups.
“Even playing field”? Let’s keep in mind that card-check takes away the secret ballot and paves the way for workers to be intimidated by union bosses into voting to unionize the work place. It’s simply a move by the unions and their political representatives to expand their membership by legalizing intimidation practices. That’s why even some Democrats, including George McGovern, have come out in opposition to the legislation. Even Warren Buffett, a supporter of Barack Obama, has stated his opposition to the EFCA.
As Michelle Malkin says, it’s Specter’s “final betrayal”. A betrayal most people could see coming from a mile away.
by Stephan Tawney on Thu, May 14, 2009