ANOTHER SELLOUT TO THE LEFT

Union of Lost Souls: Leading Democrats Go AWOL on Overtime Vote (Nikos Valance, July 16 - 22, 2003, Village Voice)

On Thursday, the House of Representatives--with seven Democrats absent, including presidential candidate Richard Gephardt-voted 213 to 210 to approve new regulations that would cut off a universe of Americans--anywhere from 1 million to 8 million-from guaranteed overtime pay. Under the new rules, backed by the Bush administration and campaigned for heavily by business lobbyists, those employees would still have to put in extra hours. They just wouldn't get any extra pay. Instead, some would qualify for comp time--try paying the rent with that--and others would simply be reclassified as executives, even if they wield little managerial authority.

Where were the Democrats? Nowhere to be found. Gephardt was in Iowa getting an endorsement from the International Order of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, promising veterans of the picket line they'd be part of a new American prosperity. Among the leading Democratic contenders, neither Gephardt nor senators John Edwards, John Kerry, or Joe Lieberman returned repeated Voice calls for comment. The office of Representative Dennis Kucinich, a staunch labor supporter who voted against the measure, at least returned a call, as did former Vermont governor Howard Dean's office. Dean spokesperson Tricia Enright says of Gephardt's absence, "It's disgraceful. . . . Don't votes like this keep people off the picket lines?"

It's fine for Dean's people to take a shot at Gephardt on this issue, but the fact of the matter is that none of the presidential candidates made this into a major national issue. Neither did any of the Democrats in Congress. Yet all are counting on support from labor, and they're likely to get it.

Even more mind-boggling is the reaction from organized labor. Bill Samuels, the legislative director of the AFL-CIO said he "was disappointed by the vote in the House." Just disappointed? Is that all? He went on to say the next step was to try to win a vote in the Senate, a vote that hasn't yet been scheduled, and about which labor leaders can only hope. Because if Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman, or Bob Graham decide not to be present, the unions are bound to lose. With such a narrow margin in the Senate-Republicans hold a one-vote majority--the chances of labor winning a vote there are viewed as very slim. And with the House vote sealed, the general consensus is that the new regs are a done deal.

Stinkin' liberal Republicans...what difference do they make?

MORE:
Democrats seek to halt education law if Congress fails to fund it (LIBBY QUAID, Jul. 18, 2003, Associated Press)

The sweeping No Child Left Behind education law is a centerpiece of President Bush's domestic agenda. But Kansas Rep. Dennis Moore says without money to pay for it, the law itself should be left behind.

The point of the No Child Left Behind Act is to improve student and school achievement. The law expands testing, toughens teacher qualifications and checks up annually on student progress. [...]

Josh Holly, a spokesman for the Republican-controlled House Education and the Workforce Committee, called efforts like Moore's "fresh excuses for those who don't want to be accountable for ensuring that America's children learn." [...]

"Anything that's going to weaken high standards and accountability provisions is going to face tough resistance," Holly said. "For the first time, public education is not about money, it's about results. It's not about funding levels, it's about holding schools accountable."

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 18, 2003 8:37 PM