The SEIU isn’t the only major union worried about Specter’s new shoot-from-the-hip political strategy. AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale says, “Endorsement decisions for Pennsylvania are made by the workers in Pennsylvania and the State AFL-CIO Federation, not in DC.”
As [AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard] Trumka explained that process is based on the issues that matter to workers, not party affiliation, or who the establishment is backing. This same process is used for both primaries and general elections.
Specter’s now saying he hopes the courts ignore the will of Minnesota voters (and of his new party) and send Norm Coleman back to the Senate. And in a perverse way, that makes a certain amount of sense–if the courts uphold Franken’s victory, then Specter will give the Democrats their 60th vote–a contingency he once warned against rather loudly. That’s a curious way to be consistent, but, more importantly, an implication that he wants to see his new party’s agenda undermined. If Coleman returns to the Senate, the benefits to the Democrats of Specters’ switch (glancing as they’ve been) will become all but meaningless.
