HARDBALL IN THE HOMESTRETCH.... Late last week, we learned the Service Employees International Union, one of the nation's largest and most influential labor unions, was beginning to urge wavering Democratic lawmakers to support health care reform. A top SEIU official in New York
told Rep Mike McMahon (D-N.Y.), who opposed reform in November and is likely to do so again, "If you can't support this, we can't support you."
It's a reminder that when it comes to getting reform done, progressives are relying on both carrots and sticks. Take MoveOn's
latest push, for example.
<...>
The initiative comes just days after
83% of MoveOn members expressed their support for the Democratic health reform proposal.
For some House Dems, the threat may seem hollow -- filing deadlines have already passed, so it's too late for a primary challenger to take them on. But there are still plenty of Dems who may yet draw a primary opponent, and for the rest, there's always 2012. That may seem like a long ways off, but for Dems who kill this once-in-a-generation opportunity, the betrayal will not soon be forgotten.
Update: In related news, New York's Working Families Party, "a major state player whose ballot line is a prized asset to Democratic candidates,
will deny its endorsement to any member of Congress who votes 'no' on health care legislation, party officials said." For a few wavering Dems in the Empire State, this might matter.
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