Harry Reid’s Problem With Democracy

Yesterday, I linked to an article by a former Clinton administration official, Ronald Asmus, who decried the current Democratic party's problem with democracy. His point: that the Democrats were abandoning a core component of what has been the very essence of what the party has stood for through the years, the spread of freedom and democracy. If you needed any proof that Asmus is correct, look no further than Harry Reid. He has scheduled a vote on the "card check" bill that takes away the right of American workers to use a secret ballot.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has decided to hold a vote this Wednesday on perhaps the most unpopular element of the Democratic agenda. The Employee Free Choice Act has already passed the House, but now it faces real hurdles in the Senate because, contrary to the name, it undermines workplace democracy.

Under the so-called card-check bill, a company would no longer have the right to demand a secret-ballot election to certify a union, thus stripping 140 million American workers of the right to decide in private whether to organize.

Republican senators, except possibly Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter, are uniformly opposed to the idea. "We went to the secret ballot in the early 1800s in this country for a darn good reason: If somebody's looking over your shoulder, your ballot doesn't mean much," Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says, noting fears of intimidation by unions should the bill pass.

But conservatives aren't the only ones concerned. A February survey of 1,000 likely voters by McLaughlin Associates found that 79% of respondents oppose the bill, with only 14% in favor. Even Democrats opposed the idea, 78% to 16%.

So why is Mr. Reid taking the risk of putting the bill on the floor, since even if it passed it would face a certain presidential veto? Simply put, the card check law is the No. 1 priority of union lobbyists in the new Democratic Congress. Union membership numbers are down. In the 1950s, 35% of private-sector workers belonged to unions; only about 7% do today.

Of course, union officials blame others for their decline. "In the past few decades, labor law has been so twisted by corporations and their union-busting hired guns that it is now virtually impossible to form a union against an employer's wishes," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says–even though unions currently win just over half of the elections called over union representation.

This is raw political payback, of course. Reid has no problem lying to his own friends on the far left but has to pay back union support - even though a vast majority of voters oppose the measure. A "card check" will allow quite blatant coercion by union organizers. Which, of course, is what they want. But it isn't what the people want. That secret ballot means a lot - ask people in countries where it isn't allowed. That's where dictators can get massive approvals in elections - because if you vote the wrong way, you'll pay.

Other Links to this Post

1. Public Secrets: from the files of the Irishspy — Wednesday, 20 June , 2007 @ 4:14 pm