The Wall Street Journal reports that, happily, the Union Thug Empowerment Act (sometimes known as “card check”) looks to be stalled in the Senate:
It hasn’t been much noticed, but the political ground is already shifting under Big Labor’s card-check initiative. The unions poured unprecedented money and manpower into getting Democrats elected; their payoff was supposed to be a bill that would allow them to intimidate more workers into joining unions. The conventional wisdom was that Barack Obama and an unfettered Democratic majority would write that check, lickety-split.
Instead, union leaders now say they are being told card check won’t happen soon. It seems the Obama team plans to devote its opening months to important issues, like the economy, and has no intention of jumping straight into the mother of all labor brawls. It also seems Majority Leader Harry Reid, even with his new numbers, might not have what it takes to overcome a filibuster. It’s a case study in how quickly a political landscape can change, and how frequently the conventional wisdom is wrong.
The problem, of course, is that most Americans don’t think unions ought to be able to bully their way to power by having their goons beat up anyone who doesn’t vote to unionize: “[P]olls show more than 80% of Americans disagree with eliminating [secret] union ballots.” Empowering such thuggery is simply un-American, and the Democrats know it.
On the other hand, “card check” isn’t dead yet:
None of this is to suggest card check is dead, or that it might not yet be resurrected in the early days. If Al Franken pulls out a win in Minnesota, Mr. Reid might be inspired to use his 59 votes to forge ahead. Some House Democrats are also suggesting union intimidation would in fact “stimulate” the economy, and that the legislation ought to be attached to the upcoming spending package.
Just one more reason to pay attention to the recount in Minnesota, and to be skeptical of the Democrats’ inclusion of every item on the liberal wish list in the upcoming administration’s “stimulus” package.
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