James Richardson, in Human Events, has more:
The divergent paths of the White House and labor groups in the Arkansas nominating contest is symptomatic of a long-developing schism in the Democratic Party-organized labor coalition. For all the talk of a Tea Party-induced conservative schism, the movement has, largely, coalesced behind the Republican Party. The case is not so with frustrated labor organizers, as even loyal Democrats have difficulty swallowing the 21st Century union agenda.And Halter lost that race, which was a big defeat for labor.
The first shot of the war came from the Carolinas, where labor powerhouse Service Employees International Union (SEIU) laid the foundation for a new state-centric party, North Carolina First. The brazen move was an escalation of earlier overtures to whip Democratic lawmakers on issues of importance to labor, presenting three convenient targets, all of whom voted against President Barack Obama's union-endorsed healthcare overhaul: Representatives Mike McIntrye, Heath Shuler and Larry Kissell.
The effort to unseat the three Bluedogs fizzled, thanks in large part to the group's failure to convince voters that a third, more progressive party was necessary. But the moral of the experience was not lost on ego-bruised organizers: Augment only the efforts of already-institutionalized progressive candidates. After all, why use the hammer when the scalpel was so much more precise and effective?
Union support for the Arkansas lieutenant governor was predicated on his adherence to labor's policy goals—namely, card check and public option initiatives. And thus began the multi-million campaign to send Halter to the United States Senate.
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