Yet another example in an increasingly long list of issues where former DNC Chairman Tim Kaine says one thing while doing another. Literally one day after the AFL-CIO, which proudly endorsed Kaine last month, bragged to the New York Times that they intend to spend upwards of $400 million in an effort to influence the 2012 elections, Tim Kaine – seemingly with a straight face – brazenly touted the importance of “transparency” in politics, while decrying “secret money” in political campaigns.
Notably, the eye-popping $400 million figure touted by the AFL-CIO not only exceeds what American Crossroads, a Republican super PAC, has said they intend to raise and spend, but the reality is that this is money that will come from the hard-earned wages of workers who still have absolutely no choice in determining how Tim Kaine’s friends in Washington spend their money.
“If Tim Kaine is truly serious about restoring transparency and accountability in our campaign finance laws, why does he support a mandatory union donation system in which hard-working men and women in Virginia have money stripped from their paychecks every month without their say? Of course the reality is that Kaine supports the AFL-CIO’s $400 million campaign machine – because he is benefitting greatly from it,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Brian Walsh said today.
“Virginians deserve better than this sort of shameless hypocrisy from Tim Kaine, and Virginia workers deserve a U.S. Senator who will stand up for them, and not the Big Labor union bosses in Washington who are backing Kaine’s campaign,” Walsh concluded.
BACKGROUND…
- Supreme Court Decision on Citizens’ United Also Aided Big Labor. As the A.F.L.-C.I.O. prepares to endorse President Obama on Tuesday, labor leaders say they will mount their biggest campaign effort, with far more union members than ever before — at least 400,000, they say — knocking on voters’ doors to counter the well-endowed “super PACs” backing Republicans. The same Supreme Court ruling in 2010 that set the stage for these political action committees to accept unlimited donations also allowed unions to send their foot soldiers to visit not just union members at home, but also voters who do not belong to unions — a move expected to increase labor’s political clout significantly in this year’s elections. (Steven Greenhouse, Labor Leaders Plan to Apply New Clout in Effort for Obama, New York Times, 3/14/2012)
- Big Labor To Spend Over $400 Million In The 2012 Elections. Labor leaders say they expect unions to spend $400 million this year on national, state and local elections — including $100 million by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — but they say their ground troops, not money, is labor’s signal contribution. Union officials assert that the elections this November, at the national and state levels, are vital to labor’s future because Republicans have made repeated efforts to undermine unions, whether through Wisconsin’s legislation to curb public sector collective bargaining, Indiana’s “right to work” law or Congressional efforts to weaken the National Labor Relations Board. (Steven Greenhouse, Labor Leaders Plan to Apply New Clout in Effort for Obama, New York Times, 3/14/2012)
Additional Background: Tim Kaine & Big Labor – A Long Love Affair
Labor Supported Kaine’s Past Campaigns And His Senate Campaign
At A Labor Rally In 2008, Kaine Said He Was “Here With Great Friends In Labor,” And Added That Labor Helped Him Win Elections As Lieutenant Governor And Governor. Kaine: “I am here with great friends in labor, in Jim and in Doris and Larry and the other labor leaders who are here. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. I was an official in Richmond, started to work with labor when I was mayor, and I ran as an underdog in a primary for lieutenant governor, you helped me win. I ran as an underdog in a general election for lieutenant governor, you put me over the top. I ran as an underdog for governor of Virginia, labor put me over the top. We’ve been through some battles.” (Tim Kaine At GOTV Rally, www.youtube.com, Posted 10/29/08)
“Kaine Doesn’t Have A Primary Challenger Yet And Labor Doesn’t Want To Give Him One. ‘We Feel That Kaine Would Be An Advocate,’ Says [Virginia AFL-CIO President] Crouse-Mays.” (Caitlin Huey-Burns, “Labor Battle At Center Of Virginia Senate Race,” Real Clear Politics, www.realclearpolitics.com, 7/7/11)
January 2012: Virginia AFL-CIO Announced Their Endorsement Of Kaine For United States Senator. (Virginia AFL-CIO, “Virginia AFL-CIO Announces Endorsement Of Tim Kaine For United States Senator,” Virginia AFL-CIO Blog, www.virginiaaflcio.com, Posted 1/29/12)
“Today, The Virginia AFL-CIO Announced The Unanimous Endorsement Of Tim Kaine For U.S. Senate.” (Virginia AFL-CIO, “Virginia AFL-CIO Announces Endorsement Of Tim Kaine For United States Senator,” Virginia AFL-CIO Blog, www.virginiaaflcio.com, Posted 1/29/12)
Kaine Nominated The Former Head Of Virginia AFL-CIO For Secretary Of The Commonwealth
“[Daniel G.] LeBlanc, Former President Of The Virginia AFL-CIO, The State’s Largest Labor Organization, Is Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s Choice For Secretary Of The Commonwealth.” (Tyler Whitley, “Republicans on House panel grill Kaine appointee LeBlanc,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2/8/06)
- “As Secretary Of The Commonwealth, LeBlanc Would Be In Charge Of Appointments To Hundreds Of State Boards And Commissions, Including The Governing Bodies Of Universities And Other High-Profile Institutions.” (Tyler Whitley, “Kaine Gets More Time To Fight For LeBlanc,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2/16/06)
“As President Of The Virginia AFL-CIO For Almost 15 Years, LeBlanc Was Critical Of The Right-To-Work Law, calling it at one point ‘the right to work for less.’” (Tyler Whitley, “Kaine Cabinet Nomination Opposed,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2/11/06)
Kaine’s Nominee Once “Derided . . . [The Right-To-Work-Law] As The ‘Right To Pay Low Wages.’” “The right-to-work law, once derided by LeBlanc as the ‘right to pay low wages,’ is an article of faith among most Virginia politicians as well as a proven economic-development tool.” (Jeff E. Schapiro, Op-Ed, “Labor Goodie,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 1/8/06)
2011: Kaine Directed Astroturfing Efforts To Support Big Labor In Wisconsin
“The Political Efforts On Behalf Of The Union Workers In Wisconsin Were Undertaken At The Direction Of Tim Kaine, The D.N.C. Chairman, According To Officials At The Party.” (Michael D. Shear, “Politics Of Wisconsin Labor Fight Spread To Washington,” The New York Times’ The Caucus Blog, www.nytimes.com, Posted 2/18/11)
“The White House Political Operation, Organizing For America, Got Involved Monday, After Democratic National Committee Chairman Timothy M. Kaine, A Former Virginia Governor, Spoke To Union Leaders In Madison, A Party Official Said.” (Brady Dennis and Peter Wallsten, “Obama Joins Wisconsin’s Budget Battle, Opposing Republican Anti-Union Bill,” The Washington Post, 2/18/11)
O.F.A. Helped Build Crowds And Organized Rapid-Response Phone Banks Throughout Wisconsin. “In addition to helping build crowds for two rallies in Madison this week, O.F.A. organized 15 ‘rapid-response phone banks’ aimed at getting supporters to call state lawmakers. The effort covered 10 cities in Wisconsin, officials said.” (Michael D. Shear, “Politics Of Wisconsin Labor Fight Spread To Washington,” The New York Times’ The Caucus Blog, www.nytimes.com, Posted 2/18/11)
