The Chicago Way on Trial: Blago, Obama & The SEIU

If you ever catch on fire, try to avoid seeing yourself in the mirror, because I bet that's what really throws you into a panic. Jack Handey

Summers are generally known as a time for forest fires and where there's smoke, there's usually a fire burning.  Right now, as waves of oil splash along the coastlines of the southeastern United States, there are large plumes of smoke coming from Pennsylvania, as far away as Colorado, and a huge cloud of smoke is hanging over the State of Illinois threatening to choke the airways of several Washington insiders.  And, while the White House fecklessly tries to deal with all of them, each (individually or collectively) have the potential of bringing down the presidency of Barack Obama.

In Washington, the White House is scrambling to contain SpecterGate (the alleged promising of a job to Congressman Joe Sestak in exchange for dropping his campaign to unseat Sen. Arlen Specter).  Then, just as Sestak and the White House appear to have their stories straight, Andrew Romanoff throws more gasoline onto the fire by confessing admitting disclosing that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina allegedly proffered not one, but three possible positions to Romanoff should he too drop his Senate bid.

Although the White House may still retain some "plausible deniability" on SpecterGate and The Denver Deal, since the parties have all seemingly been able to coordinate their stories (well, Sestak and Romanoff weren't actually offered paying jobs) and there have been no subpoenas issued (yet), the unmistakable odor of burning brush is in the air.

SpecterGate and The Denver Deal may ultimately blow up into raging infernos if the media begins to draw the nexus between the two as a wider pattern of bribery and secret back-room dealings.  However, that would take reporters willing to dig deeper than simply believing a White House explanation broadly issued at 6:25 in the morning via e-mail.  In the end, though, The Denver Deal and SpecterGate may rest on the possible collaboration of the parties, as well as what former President Bill Clinton refers to as "it depends on what 'is' is" and what he did or did not do under White House orders.

Blagojevich, Obama & The SEIU

The one scandal that has the White House positively p*ssing in its pants is the trial of ousted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich which began last Thursday.

Last December, we mentioned a possible smoking gun as Blagojevich's defense team requested FBI notes from interviews with the Obamas, Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett and SEIU bosses Tom Balanoff and Andy Stern.  Now, as the trial gets underway, the White House is bracing for the smoldering embers to drift back its way:

The corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is already shaping up to be a political circus, promising to lay bare the underbelly of Chicago politics.


But while the stakes are clear for Blagojevich — he could be the fourth Illinois governor in 40 years to retire to a federal prison — some of the most powerful Washington insiders are braced for potential political damage from the trial, which begins Thursday.


President Barack Obama, White House aides Rahm Emanuel and Valerie Jarrett, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) all have at least some interest in the outcome, according to documents produced by prosecutors, defense lawyers and the White House counsel. [Emphasis added.]

Swirling around in the center of this circus ring-of-fire is the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), specifically Chicago SEIU boss Tom Balanoff and former SEIU international president Andy Stern.  In April, SEIU president and king-maker Andy Stern abruptly resigned from the SEIU, which immediately fueled speculation that there was a connection between the Blagojevich scandal and Stern's resignation.

This speculation was further fueled when redacted portions of the defense's subpoena request were revealed just days after Stern's resignation:

Yet, despite President Obama stating that no representatives of his had any part of any deals, labor union president told the FBI and the United States Attorneys that he spoke to labor union official on November 3, 2008 who received a phone message from Obama that evening. After labor union official listened to the message labor union official told labor union president “I’m the one”. Labor union president took that to mean that labor union official was to be the one to deliver the message on behalf of Obama that Senate Candidate B was his pick. (Labor union president 302, February 2, 2009, p. 7).


Labor union official told the FBI and the United States Attorneys “Obama expressed his belief that [Senate Candidate B] would be a good Senator for the people of Illinois and would be a candidate who could win re-election. [Labor union official] advised Obama that [labor union official] would reach out to Governor Blagojevich and advocate for [Senate Candidate B] ... [Labor union official] called [labor union president] and told [labor union president] that Obama was aware that [labor union official] would be reaching out to Blagojevich.” (Labor union official 302, February 3, 2009 p. 3). [Emphasis added.]

Since Stern is now gone and his hand-picked successor Anna Burger was roundly rejected in a purple palace coup, it is unclear whether Burger loyalist Tom Balanoff will be thrown under the purple bus by SEIU's new president, Mary Kay Henry.  If she truly wants to rid the union of some its most recent controversies, Balanoff may be a noteworthy victim of such a purge.  If this happens, Balanoff may hold the key to what really went down in November 2008 and may be willing to spill his guts.

However, as Blago's trial is still in the jury selection stage, there is still plenty of time for all of the parties to get their stories straight (even though some are seemingly contradictory), which would leave Blago with a his word against theirs case.

Unless one of the parties (like Balanoff) flips, turns state's witness, or is caught perjuring him or herself on the stand, it is still possible for the White House to get past the summer with only a little smoke inhalation.

Then again, all it takes is one man to start a forest fire and, right now, there is a lot of smoke billowing out of the White House and different parts of the country and the White House might not be able to contain any one of these.

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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

Arlen Specter's Little Purple Pick Me Up...

In Pennsylvania, polls are tightening between Democrat Republican Democrat Arlen Specter and Republican Pat Toomey.  While a recent Franklin & Marshall poll had Specter with 34% to Toomey's 44%, the most recent RCP Average shows Toomey leading Specter by a mere 2.4 percentage points, with the most recent weighted* Daily Kos poll skewing the average by showing Specter with a six-point lead.

Of late, Arlen's been looking for a little boost to aid his flagging campaign.  And, miraculously, Andy Stern's union has come to the rescue.  Today, the octogenarian party-crosser got a little purple-pick-me-up, courtesy of pfizer the Service Employees International Union:

Sen. Arlen Specter racked up another union endorsement Monday as the Pennsylvania chapter of the Service Employees International Union said they will back the five-term senator in his Democratic primary battle with Rep. Joe Sestak.

"SEIU fights for its members so we have a natural kinship with Senator Specter who is well known as a fighter for Pennsylvania,” state SEIU Executive Director Eileen Connelly said in a statement. “He's been there for us and now we are proud to be here for him. We have close to 100,000 SEIU members in PA and we are ready to play our part in making sure Senator Specter stays in the US Senate so he can keep working on behalf of Pennsylvania families.”

The SEIU's endorsement is not wholly unexpected, as Specter has been the near-perfect union candidate since running into Harry Reid's open arms.  However, the endorsement may turn out to be more curse than blessing given the expected public backlash if Democrats succeed in nationalizing health care.



Now that Specter has the SEIU's endorsement, we're wondering if he'll be sporting a purple bracelet too.

* Daily Kos poll demographics of likely voters:

• DEMOCRATS                         280                 47%
• REPUBLICANS                      235                 39%
• INDEPENDENTS/OTHER        85                 14%

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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776

Follow LaborUnionReport on Twitter.

For more news and views on today’s unions, go to LaborUnionReport.com.

HAS ARLEN SPECTER'S EFCA VOTE BEEN BOUGHT?

Frankly, we just assumed Arlen Specter's repeated flip-flopping over the no-vote unionization bill (otherwise known as the hallucinogenically-named Employee Free Choice Act) was due to a lack of polictical backbone or principles--a man desperate to save his political butt.

We even considered his lack of fortitude might be due to addle-brained feeble-mindedness or senility. We did NOT, however, even contemplate that Specter may have been bribed.

That said, after Specter's latest flip-flop on Friday over EFCA, Erick over at Red State gives an interesting hypothesis which merits some further examiniation.

Arlen Specter is, admittedly, the most unprincipled opportunist in Washington, but something sure seems fishy.

Back in April after switching parties, Arlen Specter said, “I will not be an automatic 60th vote and I would illustrate that by my position on employees’ choice, also known as card check. I think it is a bad deal and I am opposed to it and would not vote to invoke cloture.” He was pretty adamant about it.

Well, Specter goes to the lefty blogger confab in Pittsburgh on August 14th and is asked, “Is it fair to say that on the climate legislation, on Employees Free Choice, on the public option health care plan, these are all areas where you would be voting with the majority for cloture?”

Specter’s response? “Yes.”

Guess what. Three days after Specter’s yes, Obama decides to raise money for Specter.

Sure, Obama had already said he’d campaign for Specter, but had actually done not one thing to help Specter. Heck, Obama did absolutely nothing to keep Sestak out of the primary, something Obama could have done.

But Specter goes on record saying he will now vote for cloture on stuff four months ago he adamantly was opposed to and now Obama says he’ll raise money for Specter, as will Joe Biden.

The question is: which came first? Did Specter saying ‘yes’ persuade Obama or did Obama persuade Specter?

The buzz in Pennsylvania last week was that Obama would not be helping Specter despite promises to do so. Now Obama is all in.

Unless you think the news is wholly coincidental, we must now consider the need to spell Arlen Specter’s last name with a dollar sign instead of an “S”.

It sure looks like Presidential bribe to get a filibuster proof Senate.

While there is nothing conclusive here, knowing that politicians often have less morals than snakes, this could be an explanation of why Specter's stance on EFCA changes from party to party or, for that matter, from month to month.

SEIU & ACORN ASTROTURFING & STACKING THE DECK AT SPECTER TOWN HALL

Liberal Democrats must be getting worried that their newest draft choice is catching too much flak from his constituents because SEIU & ACORN sent some busloads of paid protestors into a townhall in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania to provide cover for Arlen Specter, also known as the "Senator with No Moral Compass".

At three minutes into the tape, listen to how the SEIU stacked the deck in which questions Specter would receive.

SPECTER IS BACK OUT OF THE CLOSET AND OFF THE FENCE ON UNION BAILOUT BILL

The Democrat-turned-Republican-Turned Democrat Senator from Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter, who has been seeing his poll numbers sliding in these last few weeks, is back to voting for cloture on the delusionally-dubbed Employee Free Choice Act (as he did in 2007).

This, of course, is contrary to his position just a few months ago opposed the legislation. However, that was before his party switch a month later, which then renewed union bosses' hopes that EFCA would pass, as Specter had to prove his newly-Deomocratic creds.

Speaking at a Netroots Nation meeting earlier today, Specter told the audience that he would support Senate leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to bring bills (like the Employee Free Choice Act) to the floor of the Senate for an "up or down vote."

Here's the video:



From Bloomberg:

Senator Arlen Specter, the self- described “decisive vote” on a union organizing bill stalled in Congress, reversed his position and said he will support efforts to bring the so-called card-check legislation to a vote.

Specter, a Pennsylvania Democrat who left the Republican Party in April, said he expects a vote to occur on a “modified” Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to form a union. “I will support that cloture vote,” Specter, 79, told a bloggers convention in Pittsburgh today, according to his spokeswoman, Kate Kelly.

So, there it is. The Senator who as for EFCA, before he was against it, is now for it again.

POLL: TIME MAY BE CATCHING UP TO FORMER-REPUBLICAN SPECTER

Backing a $787 Billion spending package that no one in Congress read before voting on it...

Flipping political parties to save his proverbial political butt...

Telling irate constituents that he didn't have to be at a town hall meeting...

It's all bound to catch up to a career politician sooner or later and, in Arlen Specter's case, that time may be now.

According to a Rassmussen poll, Pennsylvania's newest Democratic senator is now trailing Pat Toomey (R).

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Pennsylvania voters shows 48% would vote for Toomey if the election were held today. Just 36% would vote for Specter while four percent (4%) prefer a third option, and 12% are not sure.

These figures reflect a dramatic reversal since June. At that time, before the public health care debate began, Specter led Toomey by eleven.

Just 43% now have a favorable opinion of Specter while 54% offer an unfavorable assessment of the longtime GOP senator who became a Democrat rather than face Toomey in a party primary. Those numbers have reversed since June when 53% had a favorable opinion of him.

What does this all mean?

Right now, it means that Specter is in BIG trouble and his new-found allies on the Left may not be able to help him.

However, it also could be just a blip in the poll numbers, which may fall back to Specter before next year's primary.

Time will tell.

UPDATE: THIS IS A MUST SEE! ARLEN SPECTER FACES ANGRY AMERICANS...

From Politico:

The woman speaking seems to be saying what is on a lot of Americans' minds these days before Specter drools all over himself by saying...

"I could be somewhere else. I don’t get [any] extra pay. I don’t have any requirement to be here.”

But Specter’s assertion that he was not required to attend the town hall was not received so well.

“You work for us!” shouted several members of the crowd. “You work for us!”

It's too bad more "leaders" in Congress have forgotten that fact.

This is a must view:




UPDATE: SPECTER SAYS PROTESTORS ARE "NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE"

Perhaps his 'non-representative' Americans will remember that on election day?