McSweeney’s Moves

It certainly appears that David McSweeney is getting a leg up on his competition to take on Melissa Bean. He’s gotten both Peter Fitzgerald’s endorsement and Ray LaHood’s and appears to be getting support from the NRCC according to this Washington Post article.

What made it different from the dozens of other meet and greets on Capitol Hill is that it was hosted by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the International Association of Fire Fighters — two major players in organized labor. It was the first such event for a Republican challenger the groups have hosted since the November election.

Bean’s vote in support of the Central American Free Trade Agreement in July enraged many in the labor movement and was the catalyst for this get- even event. Although McSweeney also supported CAFTA, the unions are willing to try to find common ground with him on the issue, given their animosity toward Bean, said a person in attendance.

McSweeney appears to be running a smart campaign and has DC support which matters a lot on the Republican side fo the aisle. While I’d prefer Bean face him instead of a more moderate Bartel, I am concerned at how well he seems to be doing.

I’m baffled by the anger at the CAFTA vote. For the unions I understand some disappointment given their position on the issue, but overall, how is David McSweeney supporting Tom DeLay and Denny Hastert do more to advance their agenda than Nancy Pelosi would?

The first question should be does McSweeney support the Administration’s efforts to suspend Davis-Bacon for Hurricane Katrina recovery-an act only invoked once before for a natural disaster—Hurricane Andrew. At the same time that companies getting reconstruction contracts will be doing well, why the hell should individuals working for them not be paid the prevailing wage? Is there some reason that people working recovery shouldn’t get a decent wage? And isn’t a decent wage critical to bringing back the local economies in those areas?

Melissa Bean is already a co-sponsor of George Miller’s bill to repeal the Administration’s suspension.

Would Dave McSweeney do that too? And if not, which is more important?

CAFTA was a mediocre trade agreement that was loaded down with handouts making it virtually a wash and so I have sympathies with those on both sides of the issue, though I’d come down for it. My time (limited admittedly) in Nicaragua impressed upon me the importance of trade and bring capital to underdeveloped economies. But let’s be clear CAFTA only makes the inevitable come a bit quicker. Whether it could have been better structured is an open question, but I cannot imagine how CAFTA is more important than Davis-Bacon.

Free trade has long been an issue that many Democrats supported–especially from districts like IL-8. CAFTA’s problems overrode a lot of that kind of support, but it’s hardly unreasonable to expect her to split on the issue. To throw support to McSweeney for labor is incredibly self-defeating.