The DFL treats a lot of constituencies like serfs – which is a polite word for “slaves”, although there’s usually not an actual title transfer on the humans involved.

Name ’em – women, blacks, Latinos, Gays, Asians, the DFL expects to get all their votes, in exchange for doing nothing of use for them except try to crank up social spending.

Among them we have to add Private-Sector Unions.  Unlike the government employee unions, AFSCME and MAPE and EdMinn and the SEIU, the private sector unions have to work within the free market to keep working.

And DFL rule is disastrous for them.

Nowhere moreso than in the 8th CD, where the economic slump has hit, as usual, hardest, in what was a former DFL sinecure.  The hits keep coming, of course – the DFL’s environmental lobby – anaemic on the Iron Range, but big and powerful in the Twin Cities – has worked tirelessly to shut down the mining industry and to try to keep it shut down.

But in 2010, Chip Cravaack shocked the world – bringing the hope of some free market reforms, and more importantly jobs, to the Range and the Arrowhead.  Cravaack tipped Jim Oberstar in a hard-fought campaign for a seat that had been held by Democrats continuously since the Truman Administration.

The DFL is telling themselves they smell flip-back.  But Iron Rangers are not better off than they were four years ago – and despite Cravaack’s tireless efforts, the environmental lobby, hooked in as they are with the interventionist Obama and Dayton regulatory sledgehammers, the EPA and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, wants to keep them that way.  Poor, broke and dependent.

The first union has had enough:

The International Union of Operating Engineers announced that it supports GOP Rep. Chip Cravaack’s reelection bid. The move will allow Cravaack to note on signs, in ads and in campaign lit that he’s “Labor Endorsed” in a union friendly district.

The IUOE – better known as “The 49ers” – are a huge force in the district.  And this is an upset; they endorsed Oberstar two years ago:

Earlier this week, the union held open meetings for members in the 8th District to hear from Cravaack and the three DFLers looking to replace him. After meeting with the candidates, “the strong majority voted to endorse Congressman Chip Cravaack,” according to a statement from the union.

Sources familiar with the election say it wasn’t even close – like, 60-40.

Specifically, the union applauded Cravaack for voting against several attempts to dial back prevailing wage laws, as well as his support for construction projects such as the Keystone Pipeline, the Polymet mining project and a new St. Croix River bridge.

“When we took a look at Congressman Cravaack’s term in office, it became clear that he has done a good job of staying away from partisan Washington politics, and really focusing on bread and butter issues that are important to construction workers in his district,” the group said in a statement. “He is not afraid to stand up to his party when he disagrees with their direction, and his votes reflect that.”

If you’re a member of a private sector union, ask yourself – are you better off than you were four years ago?  And if not, how is your union remaining devoted to Barack Obama and the DFL helping you?

It’s not.

You’re just a serf; you’re a source of union dues, and a biennial vote. ;

This entry was posted by by Mitch Berg on Friday, July 13th, 2012 at 12:10 pm and is filed under Campaign '12. 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.