On Wednesday, the SEIU converged on the lawn of the State
Capitol for a massive protest in their trademark purple shirts — screaming,
shouting and chanting about a State budget mess that they, in large part, have
gotten us into.
You can bet your bottom dollar (it is your dollar, after
all) that this is only a preview of what is to come during the Fall campaign’s
crazy season. After all, it is a terribly kept secret around town that
every Union is lying in wait to attack Gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman and
any number of the other Republicans and fiscal conservatives on the November
ballot.
Therefore, as we enter the battlefield for the General
Election I think it’s worth pausing to ask the question: "What
is the current State of the Union(s)?"
In a typical year, the common answer would readily be,
"The State of the Union(s) is Strong." But this is no typical
Election Year. While it’s true that the Unions possess massive war
chests, that alone may not be enough in this year’s hostile Election
climate. As we look out across the landscape of this great nation and the
races that have taken place over the last several months, there is hard andfast evidence that money can’t buy you love.
There
are four key races worth looking at. The first
stop is New Jersey. Land of Corruption. Home of "The Failed
Experiment," the great case study for what happens when state workers’
Unions are allowed to run amok. In the Gubernatorial race, the
teachers’
Unions spent $3 Million against Chris Christie. During the campaign,
two
Special Interest groups formed 527 Independent Expenditure
organizations inorder to dump another $4 Million into the kitty against
Christie’s run
for Governor. Every alphabet Union from the SEIU to the AFL-CIO piled
on,
too. Nearly $10 Million spent against the man. Guess what? He
won anyway.
In Bob McDonnell’s race for Governor in Virginia, the
Democratic National Committee and the big labor Unions poured Millions of
dollars into the campaign against his Conservative message. The outcome? He
won anyway.
In Blanche Lincoln’s hotly contested race in Arkansas
last month, the Unions spent nearly $10 Million against her – which,
believe me, is a lot of dough in Arkansas. The result? She won
anyway. (Not only that, but the Unions got a stern "talkin’
to" from the White House post-haste.)
And just a couple of weeks ago in Nevada, the Unions and the
casino owners made it known that they plan to spend – and spend big
– against Tea Party darling Sharron Angle this Fall. But that
didn’t scare voters, as Angle steadily surpassed a dozen other
Republicans in the field (including a popular former State GOP Chair) to win
the nomination. Yep, you guessed it, she won anyway.
To be sure, the Unions will spend what they wish this Fall
in California. I’m not one to tell the Unions to stop throwing good
money after bad, nor am I one to advise my enemies when to stop shooting
themselves in the foot. I am, however, keen on letting the Media know,
every blogger know, and every grassroots volunteer know that the Unions’
days are seriously numbered in California – just as their days have been
short-lived everywhere else. And that, my friends, is just about the only
thing that will be truly price-less this Political season.