Hilarious Spin: Why Employee Free Choice Didn’t Matter in Virginia

[Omaha Steve]

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2009/11/04/hilarious-spin-why-employee-free-choice-didnt-matter-in-virginia/

Several links in story.

By: Michael Whitney Wednesday November 4, 2009 2:40 pm

A bit groggy this morning, I scrolled through my email and reader for a good analysis of what happened in yesterday’s election. If I drank coffee, I would’ve spit it all over my screen when I came across some hilarious spin about the Virginia gubernatorial race.

Keeping a straight face, the corporate-funded “Workforce Fairness Institute” blasted a breathless email claiming that the Employee Free Choice Act was the central issue for voters:
Yesterday was a very big day for small businesses and workers, particularly in Virginia. National issues played heavily in The Old Dominion and no issue played more of a role in the debate than the Employee ‘Forced’ Choice Act or EFCA. …

Bob McDonnell made EFCA a central issue in his campaign and as a result, small businesses and workers from across the state decided to stand with him.

WFI fed the same BS to Amanda Carpenter at the Washington Times blog. Carpenter’s studious stenography:
A leading anti-Employee Free Choice Act group hopes Republican Bob McDonnell’s gubernatorial win on Tuesday proves that other candidates must oppose “card check” if they want to win economy voters in the 2010 elections.

46 percent of Virginia voters said the economy and jobs were their number one voting issue, according to exit polls 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.

Yeah, almost. Forget the exit polls that show 71% of voters named health care or the economy as their number one issue – and that there’s no way voters thought “unions” when they said “jobs” – and WFI is right on the money. (Please also ignore that the Employee Free Choice Act wasn’t an issue in any 2008 race, either.)

But let’s consider the source: WFI is an outfit of ex-staffers of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, funded by corporate donors and conservative activists – their idea of “Workforce Freedom” is best described as the Wild West of Labor Law: shoot first, ask questions later, never pay for breaking the law.

Indeed, one ex-Romney and WFI staffer was actually on the ballot in Virginia. Barbara Comstock – previously a spokeswoman for WFI – ran for a seat in Virginia’s House of Delegates and just barely squeaked by with a 316-vote victory. When it comes to anti-Employee Free Choice Act demogoguery, no one does it better than Comstock. If WFI’s spin was close to true, Comstock would’ve sailed past the finish line, instead of ending up in a nail-biter. So where was WFI’s breathless email for Comstock?

FULL story at link.