Former AFL-CIO president George Meany routinely met with newly-elected democratic members of Congress, telling them "we hope you will be with us when times get tough." The legendary labor leader once chided a freshman congressman who assured Meany he would be there when his constituents and the country were with them, declaring "Son, we don't need you when everyone is with us; we need you when everyone isn't with us, when everyone is against us!" Those words are even more true today as right wing extremists are waging an unprecedented war to undo over 75 years of labor law. Indeed, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka made headlines last spring when he announced they would no longer blindly support democrats, emphasizing that trade unionists need to be assured that elected officials they support will be true champions of organized labor, not fair weather friends who willingly throw them under the bus when the going gets tough. In order to form this bond of trust, we need leaders who tell us the truth. Upon examination of Tarryl Clark's record, some serious questions have arisen as to whether or not she is worthy of that trust.
Perhaps the most disturbing for trade unionists is the revelation of her history as a republican and her support of a union-busting president. Clark admitted in a 2009 interview that she was indeed a republican prior to moving to heavily democratic Minnesota in 1988 and had in fact voted for President Ronald Reagan in 1980 and again 1984, after he broke the air traffic controller union (PATCO). The MinnPost reports
Of that 1984 vote for Reagan, Clark says: “If I could take that back, I would. He [Reagan] was kind of the nail in the coffin” of her Republican sympathies.
Interestingly, Clark did not say she regrets the vote that put Reagan in office, giving him the opportunity to fire our union brothers and sisters. Voting against organized labor's friend Walter Mondale and for Reagan after watching him break PATCO in 1981 seems unconscionable for one who promises to represent the interests of organized labor and it demands an explanation.
Unfortunately, this is not the only inconsistency in Clark's record. In recent months, Clark has rankled party activists in the 8th congressional district for refusing to abide by the DFL endorsement. And it clearly contradicts her statement, emailed to democrats in the 6th congressional district, about the endorsement process in 2010 when announcing her run against Michele Bachmann:
I'm proud to have earned the DFL endorsement in each of my campaigns, and this campaign will be no different: I will seek and abide by the DFL endorsement, and I will not challenge the endorsement in a primary. The future of those in the 6th District is too important to let party politics get in the way.
You will notice the video in the linked article has been removed by Clark.
Clark also made it crystal clear that she felt a primary would help the republican incumbent and was thankful that Maureen Reed decided to endorse her instead of challenging her in a primary:
Clark called Reed a "spirited competitor" and said a unified DFL team has a better chance to defeat Bachmann. "I am honored by and thankful for Maureen Reed's endorsement," she said.
Clark has not offered the citizens of the 8th congressional district an explanation of her dramatic about-face on this issue and or of her removal of this tape.
Questions still linger about Clark's residency as well. In May 2011, it was widely reported in the media that she and her husband had purchased a condo in Duluth. From the
Duluth News-Tribune
Over the weekend, Clark told the News Tribune she and her husband bought the condominium, a purchase that allows Clark to claim residency in the 8th Congressional District, even if just technically...She and her husband plan to keep their home in St. Cloud, Minn., where Doug Clark works and where they've lived for at least 20 years.
Yet as of 31 October 2011, a search of the St Louis County property records shows no record of either Clark or her husband owning or paying taxes on any property in the county. A search of the auditors internal records also yielded no results. In addition, an abstract and torrens search by the county recorder found no record of a purchase by either Tarryl or Doug Clark. According to the tax department, even the purchase of a foreclosure should show up in county records. Stearns County records do verify that they have maintained their residence in St Cloud.
According to Albert Einstein, "Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either." So, can Tarryl Clark be trusted to defend trade unions against this unprecedented assault on workers rights or will she be simply another fair weather friend like Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo who led other democratic leaders in passing a bill to strip workers of their collective bargaining rights for healthcare? Her record of inconsistencies speaks for itself. Clark needs to either show the record is incorrect or offer a credible explanation for her actions.