Not fit to print, Michigan right-to-work edition

The passage of right to work legislation in Michigan represents an interesting development in the aftermath of Obama’s reelection. For the left, of course, this cannot stand. One can infer the intensity of the opposition from the quotes in the page-one New York Times story by Monica Davey, at the top of the RealClearPolitics honor roll this morning.

Davey leaves out a few items that illuminate the import of the legislation. For example, Davey omits much in the way of background on the bill. For that you had to go to Jillian Kay Melchior’s profile of the first-term Republican state representative devoted to the cause.

Davey omits any mention of the role played by compulsory union dues in promoting the Democratic machine. For that, you would have to go to Ed Morrissey’s column on the Michigan law.

Davey omits any mention of Democratic state Rep. Douglas Geiss’s pungent prediction on the Michigan House floor: “There will be blood” as a result of the bill’s passage.

Davey omits any mention of White House spokesman Jay Carney’s refusal to comment on Geiss’s prediction. Carney held out the possibility that the prediction was open to interpretation and seemed to hold out the possibility that Geiss was speaking metaphorically.

Davey also omits any mention of Jimmy Hoffa. Hoffa is not a man given to metaphor. He is literalism walking. President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Hoffa predicted on CNN’s Newsroom: “This is just the first round of a battle that’s going to divide this state. We’re going to have a civil war.”

Davey also omits any mention of the violence in which union thugs engaged during the day. For that you had to go to InstaPundit, or NRO, or Weasel Zippers.

Davey also omits Iowahawk’s comment on the proceedings, kindly supplied by Glenn Reynolds as part of his continuing, comprehensive coverage: “I’ve now become oddly accustomed to fat violent paramilitary thugs attempting to take state capitols by force.”

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