thetruthaboutefca.com | The Truth About The Employee Free Choice Act & Card Check

Virginia is nearly the definition of a political “swing state.” If you don’t believe us, just check out the truthiness of Wikipedia. It has two Democratic Senators and, until, November, a Democratic Governor. But it’s a business-friendly state, too, and has been recognized as the best state in the union for business by CNBC.

So what should it tell political watchers that a swing state elected its new governor in large part on his opposition to policy proposals like card check (via the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act)? There’s no doubt that Governor-elect Bob McDonnell made card check a key of his campaign.

And now the state’s recently elected Attorney General hints that he still views opposition to card check as a political winner. The Washington Times reports:

In the Republican state senator’s acceptance speech after winning the election in November, he promised to fight for Virginians — even if that meant taking on the federal government on controversial issues such as the union organizing system known as card check.

“Normally there is a fight over a bill in Congress, and if it passes it goes to the president and if he signs that bill, that’s typically the end of the fight,” he said. “But I’ve got news for you. If we see an overreaching bill like card check, the president’s signature won’t be the last fight on that bill.”

Political operatives know that card check is a political loser because it violates Americans’ sense of fair play and defense of free enterprise. One would think that our elected leaders — especially those hoping to get re-elected — would want this off their plate ASAP.

Perhaps that’s why the DC corridors continually echo with whispers of a so-called card check compromise. But any talk of such compromise seems to be little more than empty rumor, because you can’t compromise on something that starts out as bad as EFCA.

As we’ve been following, Gov-elect Bob McDonnell won his Virginia race in large part because of his positions on key national issues such as the terrifyingly misnamed Employee Free Choice Act. Since his win, McDonnell has not let up on those issues, reiterating this Sunday:

“Bills like card check, cap-and-trade, some of the unfunded mandates on business and the stimulus bill, some of the other micromanagement of the free enterprise system, significant tax increases, those are the things that I don’t think are good for our citizens or good for our business.”

We were glad the voters of Virginia, in choosing McDonnell, rejected card check and the Employee Free Choice Act. We are even more glad that McDonnell is keeping the heat on the issue — it could serve as a lesson for politicians facing their own battles in 2010.

Card check was the gift that kept on giving for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell.

Amanda Carpenter reports on “EFCA’s role in McDonnell’s win”:

46 percent of Virginia voters said the economy and jobs were their number one voting issue, according to exit polls and the anti-EFCA Workforce Fairness Institute said in post-election memo obtained by the Washington Times that Mr. McDonnell’s willingness to speak out against EFCA was a key factor in convincing Virginia voters he’d be able to create more jobs than Democrat Creigh Deeds.

The Washington Post’s Robert McCartney added, “McDonnell successfully tied Deeds to some policies of the national Democratic party that independent voters didn’t like — cap-and-trade, union card check, health reform.”

Clearly, the health of Virginia’s relatively strong economy was a priority for its voters. Equally clear is that the misnamed, anti-democratic Employee Free Choice Act and its card check provision don’t fit in with the view of a healthy and flexible workforce.

Voters 1, Card Check 0. UPDATE: A reader points out, it should be Voters 2, Card Check 0

Will more politicians listen as their numbers come up in 2010?

Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell again raised the issue of card check in his state when he gave the GOP’s weekly radio address this weekend. Saying ” We must do everything we can to keep and grow jobs in Virginia and in every state in our country,” McDonnell added “That’s why we have fought against the job-killing ‘card check’ legislation that is being pushed by big national labor unions and Democrats in Congress.”

We’ve been following Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell’s references to card check and right to work laws to distinguish himself from his potential opponents. It seems to be working. After all, one of his opponents downright resents being forced to take a stand.

Luckily, the issue continues to catch the interest of reporters. The latest to notice is Reid Wilson of The Hill, who writes: “At a time when Virginia, like the rest of the nation, is hemorrhaging jobs, McDonnell casts card check as bad for businesses that need all the help they can get to begin rehiring employees.”

Read the rest here.

We’ve noted that Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell has made his opposition to the federal Employee Free Choice Act and its card check provisions a part of his campaign. It must be having some effect in his race, since a Democratic opponent’s temper seems to have flared over having to talk about the issue:

“I resent the heck out of Bob McDonnell and others making this, trying to make this a state issue,” said Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds, adding that the bill is not something a Virginia governor will ever have to take action on.

Ha! Imagine that. A would-be governor wanting to avoid talking about issues that would have a significant impact over those he governs. This is yet another sign that moderate politicians want desperately to avoid this unpopular issue.