Move underlines broader rift
by Gordon Sova (gordon.sova@thomsonreuters.com)
The Democratic Senator from Arkansas, Blanche Lincoln, no longer has union support. In fact, they want to defeat her. After years of Lincoln taking union money and voting against union initiatives, they’ve had enough.
And she is not alone. Union patience is flagging for Democrats who are racing toward the right in response to the Tea Party movement.
Union members to man the phones and to register voters have long been invaluable for U.S. Democrats; Barack Obama is only the most recent and the most prominent. Without that support, many Democrats are looking at defeats that cannot be prevented by adopting a Republican platform. And, to add insult to injury, unions are starting, though largely unsuccessfully, to try to run candidates against the offending Democrats.
The Labour party in Britain under Tony Blair cast off the unions and adopted the “Third Way.” But, Labour supporters moved away from the party this year and, despite a three-way race, the election was lost.
In Canada, union support has never been gone unreservedly to one party as it has south of the border. Nor is it as effective, despite the greater union penetration here. But there are definitely ridings where union support has been crucial for electing members.
The NDP has also provided fewer disappointments to its supporters, primarily because it has had fewer terms in office to disappoint them (Bob Rae being the exception).
British and American “labour” parties have failed their union supporters when in office. Which leaves the unions casting about for a more hard-line alternative. Paradoxically, Canadian unions have an ideologically firmer but marginal party to support and some have are toying with the idea of backing the Liberals because they have a shot at power.
Barack Obama is supporting Blanche Lincoln. He can’t afford to lose any electable Democrats.
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