For every action, a counteraction:
Quote:
Unions Try to Counter Republican Supporters
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR
President Obama and the Democrats have spent much of the last several weeks complaining about outside groups — mostly financed by big business and wealthy donors — that they believe are interfering in campaigns across the country.
But by their own admission, the Democrats are relying more than ever this year on another outside force to help even the playing field: organized labor.
In a memo to be released this morning, the political director of the AFL-CIO argues that any surprise Democratic victories on November 2 may well be the result of an unprecedented effort by the national union in the past weeks.
“Outside the political party committees themselves, we have the largest political mobilization operation in the country,” says Karen Ackerman in a memo obtained by The Caucus.
The ultimate impact of that mobilization is far from clear. Many polls continue to show an enthusiasm deficit among Democrats compared to their Republican counterparts. And many competitive races are in places where union membership is low.
But Ms. Ackerman argues in her memo that more than half of the 75 competitive seats with a Democratic incumbent have high “union density” and could be decided based on the turnout of labor voters. There are 37 House districts with more than 40,000 voters who belong to a union, she writes.
“Union voters are the firewall for candidates that support working families,” Ms. Ackerman writes in the memo.
[...]
|
Unions Try to Counter Republican Supporters - NYTimes.com
It's interesting to note. However, the indication still points to a gross imbalance.
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
|