SEIU officials: Blanche Lincoln should forget about our support in general election In a move that's likely to ratchet up already-white-hot post-Arkansas tensions between organized labor and the White House, officials with the labor powerhouse SEIU are confirming that they are all but certain not to back Blanche Lincoln in the general election. SEIU sends over a statement from national political director Jon Youngdahl that constitutes the first on-the-record threat since the election not to support the Democrat:
For all the talk about what this race meant, the pundits are missing the point: all around this country their are families who've lost their jobs or watched their paychecks shrink. They are fighting to keep homes they've owned for 20 years. They are wondering how they are going to send their kids to school. These voters are demanding candidates who are speaking for them, not for the special interests who have destroyed our economy. And we will be at their side making sure that our members, their families and their communities have a voice in the process.
We'll see if Blanche Lincoln is made a better Senator for having to answer to working Arkansans over these past few weeks. And if you are Larry Kissell (NC-08) or Zach Space (OH-18) or Mike McMahon (NY-13) or Michael Arcuri (NY-24) or another candidate who stopped advocating for the needs of working families once elected, the labor movement is going to be at the side of those voters who demand change.
The lumping of Lincoln with other Dems who "stopped advocating for the needs of working families," all Dems the union is not supporting, is unmistakable. And a second senior SEIU official confirms to me that Youngdahl's statement is meant to be read as a clear sign that the union won't back her.
"We have a responsibility to our members," this official says. "We have issues our members want us to fight for. She doesn't fight for those issues. It's not realistic that she should expect our support."
Asked for comment, SEIU spokesperson Michelle Ringuette didn't dispute this interpretation, saying only: "We're interested in candidates that are going to go out there and fight for working people in this country."
An anonymous White House official yesterday took a hard shot at labor for backing Halter, describing it as a "pointless exercise," a barb that reflects deep anger among White House advisers at unions for bucking them and the Dem establishment. But labor doesn't appear to be willing to change course.
By Greg Sargent | June 9, 2010; 11:10 AM ET
