Labor & Employment Law

Lincoln Parked on Wall Street, Working Families Drive Halter Bid

By Mike Hall

One week from today, Arkansas voters will have a choice between two-term incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln and her long record of corporate coziness or Lt. Gov. Bill Halter and his progressive agenda based on the interests of working families.

The June 8 U.S. Senate Democratic primary run-off is firing up working families and union voters across the state. These are the same voters who mobilized and turned what was supposed to a Lincoln slam-dunk in the Senate primary to a near dead heat race and ultimate run-off election.

Lincoln lost working family support over her votes to send jobs overseas and support bad trade deals. She also has been strongly funded by corporate cash and reversed her support for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Union voters, members of the Arkansas AFL-CIO, the Alliance for Retired Americans and the AFL-CIO community affiliate, Working America, and other progressive groups are propelling Halter’s surge. In the primary, the Arkansas union-member-to-union-member voter mobilization distributed more than 172,000 worksite fliers and made more than 30,000 volunteer phone calls to union voters. Some 200 local unions contacted their members twice by mail, the Alliance for Retired Americans mobilized their 20,000 Arkansas members and Working America mobilized its 20,000 as well.

Who’s behind Lincoln? A recent Associated Press story starkly paints the difference between Halter’s camp and Lincoln’s backers.

In an interview with Skip Rutherford, who runs the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, the AP reports he was stunned at Halter’s deep grassroots support. At the candidates’ debate, Halter’s backers outnumbered Lincoln’s 100-10.

“I knew all 10 of Lincoln’s people,” he said, “and not a single one of Halter’s people. Who are they? What’s going on?”

What about Lincoln’s cadre? During the AP interview with Rutherford at a popular Little Rock lunch spot, Arkansas business leaders debated “how to save Lincoln’s candidacy,” the AP writes.

The heads of the state and city chambers of commerce join an executive with Stephens Inc., an investment banking firm known as much for its political king-making (and king-breaking) as its business acumen.

“We’re just trying to figure this race out,” said Randy Zook, president and CEO of the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce.

Maybe they should take a look at a recent flier from Working America that outlines Lincoln’s record of “voting for unfair, job-killing trade deals that sent 3.4 million jobs to China and Mexico.” It also notes she

voted with the insurance companies 13 times against hard-working Arkansans…Blanche Lincoln: Representing Wall Street and Washington, not us.

Lincoln’s close ties to Wall Street also are exemplified by the more than $1 million she’s received in contributions from Wall Street banks, commercial banks, executives and other less than working family sources. There’s more on the way?with a twist?according to the AP.

Unrelated to this gathering at the bar?or so they say?two business-oriented organizations are spending heavily to help Lincoln, possibly on the assumption that she would be easier for Republicans to beat this fall.

Early voting starts today and by Tuesday night, June 8, we’ll know if working family support beats corporate cash. For more on the race, check out these two Arkansas blogs, the Blue Hog Report and Blue Arkansas.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on June 01, 2010 (boomark / email).