Sometimes, labor unions work against logic and ultimately the interest of all their members in supporting the wrong candidate.
For example, right wing, reactionary incumbent, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ-04) is being challenged by progressive Democrat, Josh Zeitz. However, instead of backing Zeitz who is a labor union and working class supporter and rights and justice for all mainstay, unions like the NEA and SEIU are going with their selective voting, conservative friend, Smith.
Matt Stoller at Open Left has more information on this congressional race as he writes:
"I've already talked about progressive Democrat Josh Zeitz in NJ-04 running against hard right reactionary Chris Smith, with labor (teachers and SEIU) endorsing Smith. According to James Kirchick or the New Republic, it turns out Smith has pretty deep ties to anti-gay and vaguely white supremacist groups. Way to go SEIU/NEA! I have more here and here."
Having been in the House since 1981, Smith was there when, under Newt Gingrich, the Repuglicans took over Congress and made a complete mess during their 12 year stranglehold on both chambers, including rubber stamping damaging Bush policies from 2001 to 2006.
When many Republicans lost their seats to Democrats in the 2006 elections, reactionary Chris Smith, labeled a moderate, retained his seat and supports the Employee Free Choice Act and minimum wage. But those labor votes only extend so far...he voted against equal pay for equal work.
As
ThinkProgress reports:
"At a reception in St. Paul on Wednesday for Catholic Republicans, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) ”a fierce opponent of abortion” said that he is "very concerned that many of our schools and universities have lost their way." They have become "bastions of moral relativism and moral compromise with the culture of death.""As a solution, Smith suggested that “students must find the God of the Bible and Biblical values in the classroom:
SMITH: Our schools need to become oases of goodness, sound moral teaching and, they must become agents of change in the culture. Our students must find the God of the Bible and Biblical values in the classroom, on the campus. I believe we need to do more to find effective ways to educate and inform policy makers and hold them to account.
"Smith's call for "Biblical values in the classroom" could easily be interpreted as a call for the promotion of Christianity in American schools. But, as the First Amendment Center has pointed out, "the courts have been clear that public school teachers cannot teach religion to their students or read the Bible to the class as a way of promoting their faith."
"Smith's comments appear to be more radical than Rep. Steve King's (R-IA) claim last year that "every child" in American schools needs to learn "the tenets of the Christian faith." While King conceded that if "the tenets of Christianity" are to be taught in school, "other faiths" should be taught as well, Smith said no such thing."
In their eagerness to show bipartisanship, these unions are rewarding the incumbent for certain votes and consituent service, a service that a given, a responsibility of the office. However, these unions are ignoring the broader damage Rep. Smith is doing to women and students with his myopic, conservative positions.
Shame on the NEA and SEIU.
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