Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta is under fire from nearly all sides over the sweetheart deal he gave to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein when Acosta was a U.S. Attorney in Florida. The fire is all the more intense because a Florida federal judge has now ruled that, in the process of giving Epstein his deal, Acosta violated federal victims’ rights law.
Editorialists of all political stripes have called on Acosta to resign or be removed. So have members of the Florida congressional delegation. Florida Senator Rick Scott wants a thorough inquiry into Acosta’s handling of the Epstein case. So does his Florida colleague Sen. Marco Rubio.
But, tellingly, there’s one group that isn’t shooting at Acosta: the AFL-CIO.
The AFL-CIO executive council held off Tuesday on asking Labor Secretary Alexander to resign over his 2008 plea deal with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. On a conference call to discuss the controversy. . .two union leaders. . .worried that Acosta’s successor will end up being worse for workers.
This underscor[es] a counter-intuitive political dynamic: The same traits that make Acosta tolerable to unions — a propensity for deliberation, a preference for legal prudence, and a persistent fear of generating negative headlines have eroded Acosta’s support among pro-management lobbyists.
(Emphasis added)
We’ve been writing about this “dynamic” for the better part of two years. In fact we predicted it before Acosta was confirmed.
The dynamic applies not just to union-related issues, but pretty much across-the-board. Acosta has steadfastly refused to take action that might offend liberals and generate bad press. You can bet the open borders crowd and “civil rights” groups want Acosta to remain at DOL about as much as the AFL-CIO does.
Liberals who deal with the Labor Department and those who ran it under President Obama are delighted that Alex Acosta is at the helm in a Republican administration. They can barely believe their luck. They don’t want it to run out just because Acosta broke the law to help a pedophile.
That’s a more than rational attitude for left-wingers to adopt. But how about President Trump? What interest of his is served by retaining a justifiably damaged Labor Secretary who protects left-wing interests and steadfastly refuses to drain the swamp? None, I hope.
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