The Professional Left, In The End, Didn't Take Its Ball And Go HomeSam Stein - HuffingtonPost
First Posted: 11- 2-10 10:13 AM | Updated: 11- 2-10 11:13 AM
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Shortly after the Arkansas Democratic primary, at the height of discontent between the labor community and the Obama White House, top officials with the DNC and the administration trekked over to the offices of the AFL-CIO to repair burned bridges.
The night before, anonymous White House aides lashed out at the union federation for flushing millions of dollars "down the toilet" in an effort to defeat Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.). And so it was not without tension that the president's political director, Patrick Gaspard, and the DNC's Executive Director, Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, addressed the AFL-CIO's political directors at their office on I and 16th Street in Washington D.C.
Over coffee and soda, the two tried their hand at rapprochement. They acknowledged that the anonymous swiping was in poor taste and pledged to solicit greater policy input going forward. There were no apologies. But the message was clear: labor and the White House needed each other.
The political directors weren't yet sold. They had invested heavily in Lt. Gov Bill Halter and were smarting over the loss. More than that, they were embittered by the health care reform process, convinced that the White House had used their priorities as bargaining chips. Talks progressed but one question lingered: What, exactly, would their electoral philosophy be going forward?
The final answer could best be defined as calculated but serious -- the union would not take its ball and go home, as was vaguely threatened. Instead, it would rally despondent members, spend boatloads of money and wage one of the most extensive campaign efforts in organizational history. But they would only do it on their terms.<snip>
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/02/the-professional-left-in-_n_777530.html:kick:
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