Freedom of Press is limited to those who own one - H.L. Mencken

Friday, August 26, 2005

A point that I have been making off and on for the past few years is the way that the Democrats are unintentionally doing all they can to drive themselves away from a core voting demographic: union members.  How?  You have to realize who the vast majority of union members are.  By and large they’re working stiffs, fiercely patriotic, with a large number of veterans in their ranks, and full of families with kids in the military.  Union members live in neighborhoods where people proudly fly the American flag in their front yard, and have barbecues and drink beer with their neighbors over the weekend.  They’re steelworkers, automakers, electricians, shipbuilders, police, firemen, and so on.  They’re good salt of the earth folks, many of whom are religious and attend regular services.  They vote Democrat primarily because of their union membership.  But a shift is coming, which I believe is eroding that support. 

The more the left begins to radicalize towards issues on gay marriage, abortion, rabid anti-war sentiment, and so on, the less these people see their values being represented by the party at large.  What does a steelworker in Pittsburgh have in common with a radical flag-burning “America is a terrorist nation” Democrat from San Francisco?  Virtually nothing.  To keep the radical, vocal wing of the party mollified the Democrats are being forced into taking stands on these dramatic social wedge issues.  This, of course pisses off the working union Democrats, many of whom are as against gay marriage as most conservative Republicans.  For a practical example of this in action, see here.

Many public school teachers will be surprised to hear where their California Teachers Association dues are spent. CRI has obtained a copy of a letter of support from the CTA to the author of the gay marriage bill, endorsing homosexual unions. What is the CTA doing lobbying for gay marriage? Why are union dues being spent to support this venture? The CTA’s own mission statement limits their involvement to issues affecting teachers as professionals. How is gay marriage an issue that professionally affects teachers?

Click the link to see the actual letter they sent out.  Now, this is a California teachers union, so I imagine that they would probably find great support for this gay marriage bill among their members, but I don’t think it would be the kind of blowout that they hope it will be.  At any rate, as the quoted section shows above, why are union dues being spent for radical left-wing social engineering, when the dues paid into the union are to go for union purposes only?  Do you think ironworkers will be thrilled to find out the radical left-wing causes their unions are tying them to for political expediency?  And even if their union does not take part in these types of shenanigans, will they still be able to vote for the anti-war, weak-on-defense, UN-loving party the Democrats are currently making themselves into?  Time will tell.