I've been watching in amazement as the Obama supporters here at dKos, the Obama campaign, and Barack Obama himself all criticize the attempts of organized labor to have a voice in the Democratic nomination race.
The Obama forces are absolutely horrified about the this
TV ad running in Iowa financed by a 527.
Who are these nefarious forces injecting themselves into the nomination race? Well, according to MSNBC, here are the backers:
In who's given to the group, it's mostly SEIU and one contribution from UNITE HERE. Here's how the money breaks down: Ohio SEIU ($122,000), California SEIU ($400,000), local SEIU in Los Angeles ($100,000), local SEIU in Oregon ($60,000), local SEIU in St. Paul ($18,000) and Minneapolis ($36,000), Chicago UNITE HERE board ($100,000), NAGE COPE ($50,000), which is the political education arm of the National Association of Government Employees, which is also SEIU. COPE stands for Committee on Public Education.
SEIU, of course, represents service employees, which means folks like janitors and hospital workers.
The Obama campaign doesn't need money from janitors since they've had such success at gathering "max money" donors to their campaign - wealthy folks who can contribute $2,300 without feeling a financial pinch in their lives.
Which brings me to to the title of this diary.
If you've been following this campaign, you might have noticed that while John Edwards thinks the Bush tax cuts for millionaires should be repealed in 2009, both Clinton and Obama think those Bush tax cuts for millionaires should stick around until 2011.
Don't take my word for it. Listen to the New York Times:
To restore what he considers the right balance, Mr. Edwards would go further than either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama on several economic issues. Mr. Edwards would try to repeal the Bush tax cuts for everyone making at least $200,000 -- not $250,000 -- and he would do so as soon as he took office, not waiting until they expire in 2011.
(Interestingly, the money raised by repealing the Bush tax cuts for millionaires is what allows Edwards to fund his universal healthcare plan. Since Obama doesn't raise that money, he has to leave 15 million Americans without healthcare. And since Clinton doesn't raise that money, she has to fund her healthcare plan with fuzzy math.)
So if you're a millionaire, contribute the $2,300 to Obama or Clinton. The amount you save in taxes will be many times what you've contributed. It's a good investment for the wealthy.
And when working folks like janitors band together to have the same kind of voice in politics that millionaires have, Obama says they ought shut up.
Is Barack Obama running for the nomination of the wrong party?