is the democratic party posssible pt 3: labor to the rescue

Can Labor Save the Party’s A**?

It is a good day. The announcement that key unions will be resurrecting the Alliance for a Better California in a full campaign to unseat Gov. Schwarzenegger is indeed welcome news. It comes at a time in which understandable disappointment is brewing over the Democratic Party’s seeming inability to mount a viable campaign for it’s Gubernatorial candidate. Once again, it seems that the burden for electing a Democrat to high office will fall on the working families of California’s labor movement. While the Party may well do a similar independent expenditure in the campaign, it is likely to be paltry compared to Alliance’s.
We should all be saying “thanks.”

The fact is that Phil Angelides is a good candidate. What he lacks in relative star power, he more than makes up for in substance and commitment to Democratic values and sensible, winnable policy change. I don’t want to throw salt on anyone’s wounds by criticizing his campaign, though there is much to complain about. The point, however, is that the campaigns of individual candidates shouldn’t matter nearly as much as they do. There should be a grassroots apparatus which surrounds and supports such campaigns. That’s hard to do given campaign finance law, and may become even harder should the otherwise noble Proposition 89 pass.

However, the problem is not just the vagaries of post-McCain-Feingold campaigning. There is an unfortunate lack of will among some leaders of the Party, particularly elected officials who put their own careers ahead of the goals of the Party and the needs of their constituents. A more partisan and dynamic Democratic Party could help to translate last year’s decisive victory against Arnold into a triumphant campaign to replace him. Alas.

Enter labor. Labor is often the subject of accusations, from both our enemies and some of our erstwhile friends, that unions are anachronistic “special interests”. However, the decision by the Alliance to jump into the campaign demonstrates that unions, like other social movement elements of the Democratic coalition, respond to the real needs and interests of their base. That’s what makes them a vital part of our democracy. The analysis presented by Political Scientist Bruce Cain in yesterday’s Chronicle is right on the money:

"If you go after Arnold and he wins, you're giving him more reason to go after you when the election is over," said Bruce Cain, political scientist at UC Berkeley. "But if you don't go after Arnold now, you still have the risk that he will do another 180-degree turn on you after the election. "My guess is that labor probably doesn't think they have a choice -- they've got to go all out for Phil and not trust Arnold."

Labor knows what so many Democrats can’t seem to grasp: Arnold is not a friend. He may have played nice these past few months, but the real Arnold will be back.

It’s not just the Alliance that will be working to stave off that return. County Central Labor Councils and locals of unions not active in the Alliance have already started contacting their members and mobilizing their troops to walk precincts and make phone calls. We won’t be able to rely on many of the Party’s mucky-mucks, and there is no doubt that Arnold will outspend Phil. What we do have, however, are thousands of union members who will join those grassroots Democrats who, despite it all, believe that Arnold is worth beating and can be beaten.

Eat that, Susan Kennedy.