Let's get one thing straight when talking about the Democratic Presidential primary. Endorsements aren't a numbers game. It doesn't matter if Hillary is endorsed by 7 unions and Edwards by 8. What matters is the value behind those endorsements. It's about the size of a union (which is a qualifier as to its strength as a political organization), the quality of the endorsement, or the power of an individual. Endorsements matter when they influence voting decisions. No, it's not a numbers game. So let's hope the media stops treating it as such.
Today was clearly a good day for Hillary Clinton. Her Presidential campaign was endorsed by both Evan Bayh and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, a 100,000 member labor union. These are both strong endorsements, one from a former Presidential candidate and Senator/former Governor in a Midwestern state and the other from a medium sized union. So hats off to the Clinton campaign.
This is a victory alright, but let's see how the media is treating the issue;
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two of the leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination each announced a union endorsement Monday and one received the backing of a senior member of Congress.
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Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama speaks after being endorsed by a New York correction officers' union
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, announced the backing of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, an organization that boasts a membership of 100,000 "skilled masonry-trowel trades craftworkers."
Later in the day, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Indiana, endorsed Clinton for president.
"I believe that the next president of the United States must be experienced and seasoned, must be smart and must be tough," said Bayh, who once considered a presidential run. "And I believe that Hillary Clinton is all of these things and more." Video Watch Sen. Bayh praise Clinton »
Clinton unveiled her union endorsement soon after news leaked that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, would head to Clinton's home turf to reveal his own union endorsement.
The Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, a New York City union that represents 9,000 jail workers, announced they are backing him at a late morning news conference.
Also Monday, veteran Iowa Democratic operative Gordon Fischer announced he is throwing his support behind Obama's White House bid -- a key endorsement for the senator in the early caucus state that places a premium on campaign organization.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/...
Ok, let me get this straight. The endorsements of a campaign strategist and a 9,000 person union has the same value as a Senator and a 100,000 person union? By placing the issues right next to each other, that's the sense most readers will get. Just quickly compare the two endorsements from each side, and I think we can all make a judgment call about their value.
My point in this diary is I think it's demeaning to organized labor to treat them as simply numerical equations to a campaign where each union is equal to another. Unions are strong because of their numbers in solidarity. Their endorsements matter because of the number of activists that a campaign gains in such an endorsement. 9,000 does not equal 100,000 and should not be treated as such.
Full disclosure: I support John Edwards for President.