Unions and the Union Jack

I rarely read MSNBC news except for what they feature on the home page but I opened the menu by mistake and discovered a couple of interesting items.

Unions are putting aside their differences to focus on their common interests at the ballot box. I just read another post about unions a few days ago that I didn't blog. It may have been a guest post at Buzz Flash, I just can't remember, but the basic premise was that unions traditionally have exercised their political clout on behalf of the working class and progressives should be doing more to support them.

I agree with that in principle but I've found in practice, at least in the last decade or so, they have largely served as arms of the politcal machine and have lost touch with their roots as much as the Democrats have. I wasn't unhappy to see the AFL-CIO split and the Change to Win formed. I think it's good that their numbers are strong to enough to challenge each other. I see it as split between ideologists and the current "win at all costs" strategists. I think a little debate and some compromise among the two factions could strengthen the labor movement's clout.

And Ron Reagan had a good post on how the White House has been using the latest foiled terror plot to make political hay. Read it, it's short, but here's the choice cut.

There are many lessons to be learned from the recent events in Britain. That the Bush Administration, the Republicans in Congress, neo-con pundits and even Joe Lieberman have been proven right all along isn’t one of them.

I think he's right. The fear factor is about to backfire on them.