Lots of voters may be concerned about a Barack Obama presidency combined with a Democratic Congress. Still, they might rationalize: “Oh, we’re out of money and Iraq is secured, what damage could they do?” Well plenty.

Here’s one isolated but important issue: the Orwellian-named Employee Free Choice Act, which will make secret union elections a thing of the past. If you think it’s just concerns cranky conservatives, think again. George McGovern of all people has been talking against it.

It ranks high on Fred Barnes list of concerns:

Start with “card check.” It would permit organized labor to unionize the private sector without winning a certification election by secret ballot. It’s easy to get workers to sign cards saying they want a union, but it’s hard to get them to vote that way when labor organizers aren’t hounding them. Card check is labor’s last hope for more dues-paying union members.

Unions simply aren’t popular and neither is card check. But it passed the House last year, only to be blocked in the Senate by a Republican filibuster. In 2009, with Washington controlled by Democrats, it would sail through Congress and President Obama would sign it. After all, neither Obama nor congressional Democrats have bucked organized labor even once.

This, of course, is just one of many items on Big Labor’s list (which includes a heavy dose of protectionism), and on the longer liberal interset group wish-list which will sail through if an Obama presidency is combined with a compliant Democratic Congress. Had Obama demonstrated any propensity to buck his own party, voters might rest easy. But if we have learned anything about Obama it is that in his choice of associations and voting record he has always demonstrated fidelity to the most extreme wing of his party — be it in on labor, judges, abortion, gun control, regulation, taxes or foreign policy. Not just conservatives, but all voters, had better buckle their seatbelts — it could be a very bumpy ride.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 at 2:39 PM and is filed under Contentions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.