The Truth In Arkansas Politics

How much does it take to “buy” a Senator (or for that matter a Caucus) in order to compel them into voting for legislation that is opposed by 79% of America? Legislation that is intended to subvert honest elections while encouraging intimidation and coercion? Legislation that is a major component of the Communist Party’s platform?

For eleven in-cycle Senate Democrats it costs around $10 million; over $450k since January alone (Figures are from http://www.politicalmoneyline.com/).

The legislation I am talking about is H.R 800 the inaccurately named Employee Free Choice Act. This legislation removes the secret ballot requirement from the union organization process and allows union bosses to coerce workers into signing cards authorizing an unwanted union. This legislation failed to muster 60 votes for cloture but did have the entire Democrat delegation vote for it including Sen. Pryor.

This is clearly a payback from Senate Democrats for the cash they have received from big labor and related PACs.

But let it not be said Senate Democrats come cheap. Below are some examples of the cash these eleven in-cycle Democrats have taken, overall and for the 2008 election cycle, from big labor and related PACs:

Senator Total Contributions From Labor

Pryor $436,000.00
Landrieu $919,300.00
Baucus $1,062,402.00
Harkin $1,680,086.00
Biden $479,677.00
Durbin $882,225.00
Kerry $51,556.00
Lautenberg $1,253,764.00
Levin $1,257,276.00
Reed $718,900.00
Rockefeller $983,728.00

Total Contributions From Labor Since January 2007
Pryor $50,500.00
Landrieu $46,000.00
Baucus $30,500.00
Harkin $36,500.00
Biden $5,000.00
Durbin $63,500.00
Kerry $42,000.00
Lautenberg $33,500.00
Levin $51,500.00
Reed $44,100.00
Rockefeller $55,000.00


Check out the NRSC Web ad condemning this un-American legislation as well as an op-ed from John Fund of the WSJ-Opinion Journal.

To recap, this Communist legislation…
…will remove the right of private elections in the unionization process for 140 million American workers
…is opposed by 79% of Americans, including 78% of Democrats
…is opposed by 78% of union members
…is co-sponsored by 46 Senators (all Democrats and Independents)
…is a pillar of the Communist party’s platform
…is a payback to donors of the Democratic party
Big Labor PACs to account for 6 of the top 10 political donations
Big Labor spent $100 million on get out the vote in 2006
Big Labor spent $59.5 million to political candidates, up 11% from 2004
…has the potential to ensure even more cash for Democrat candidates in 2008