SENATOR BIDEN ACCIDENTALLY MAKES POINT AGAINST CARD-CHECK

Presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) should by now be used to opening his mouth and saying shocking, controverisal and/or foolish things. But late last week, in an apparent effort to promote the Employee Free Choice Act, the Senator used an analogy that pointed out the very undemocratic nature of the big labor payback bill.

A Miami Herald article reported the Senator's visit to a pipefitters' union hall, noting that the AFL-CIO says it plans to beat the $46 million spending record it set in the last presidential race. (A recent Fortune magazine piece on candidate John Edwards noted the same treasure trove being dangled before Democrats by labor special interest groups.) While discussing the E.F.C.A., Senator Biden stated:

“‘If the most cherished right a country can give a citizen is the ability to vote … all you got to do is walk in and sign your name and be registered to vote … Why should it be any different to organize a union?”

It is astounding that a longtime Senator and Presidential candidate cannot see that it isn't any different... NOW. Under the current law, thirty percent of the employees in a workplace simply need to "sign [their] name[s]" on authorization cards for presentation to the National Labor Relations Board. Then they get a secret ballot election, run by the government, where everyone affected gets "the cherished...ability to vote" to determine the issue.

The offensive legislation supported by the Senator -- as well as all his fellow Democratic candidates for the presidency -- would take that cherished ability to vote away from employees.