Download Lou Dobbs did a complete hit piece on Obama, ACORN and the SEIU yesterday and used Rick Berman's right-wing front group, which poses (unconvincingly) as a non-partisan organization to do it. Shame on you, Lou.
Right-wingers are freaked out that after conservatives got trounced in the 2008 election, Americans might want to join unions, so they are spending megabucks to smear them, including SEIU. UnionFacts.org ran this smear ad in the NY Times that Dobbs, who loves to descrtibe himself as a "populist," used in the above segment.
Lou called them a "union watchdog group":
Dobbs: There are new questions tonight about possible ties between President-elect Obama's campaign and Governor Blagojevich's office. A union watchdog group says Blagojevich's largest contributor, the Service Employees International Union, also donated millions of dollars to the Obama campaign. Bill Tucker has our report.
So Dobbs is doing what almost every other media outlet is doing: Trying to smear Obama with Blags, and using idiotic examples to do it.
Dobbs willingly used the Center for Union Facts -- which is another word for "smear" -- to make these farcical claims. CNN should be ashamed of itself.
TUCKER: Now Employee Free Choice Act is strongly opposed by a number of groups including the Union Facts Organization. Obama and the Democratic leadership, Lou, have made it very clear that they publicly support the Employee Free Choice Act.
DOBBS: A number of people have said you know they will support the Free Choice Act if the United States Congress starts doing all of its caucusing in public. It's -- this is a very difficult issue here.
Tucker fails to name any groups that oppose EFCA except a wingnut front group that he fails to identify. Have you noticed how CNN has changed their graphics? They could have easily given viewers some facts about the group. And what does Congress caucusing in public view have to do with unionizing?
If you've never heard of the "Center for Union Facts," here's a little info:
The Center is the latest public relations campaign and front group devised by “notorious D.C. lobbyist”1 and veteran spin doctor Richard “Rick” Berman with his firm, Berman and Company.
The Center for Union Facts is a front group focused on damaging the public image of unions, depressing workers’ rights, pushing legislation that would make it more difficult for workers to join unions, and furthering an anti-union business climate.
Berman earned his status as one of The Hill’s top lobbyists, along with Jack Abramoff,2 by working on behalf of unpopular clients like the tobacco, alcohol, and fast food industries. Berman’s campaigns have attempted to relax drunk driving laws, argue obesity is not a public health issue, prevent increases in the federal or state minimum wage, and attack advocacy groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
They were created in 2006 and ran full page ads in the NY Times and the Washington Post attacking unions.
The group, the Center for Union Facts, ran full-page advertisements in national newspapers yesterday and started a Web site, UnionFacts.com, asserting that many unions are corrupt and have hurt airlines, steel makers and automakers.
{snip}
The Center for Union Facts shot onto the public stage yesterday by running full-page ads in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
And guess what the creation of the bogus "UnionFacts" was for? I'll give you a hint...It's two words...."Card Check" That's right. the right wing is terrified that American workers might want to join a union.
Dobbs mimics the above ad that Union Facts bought in the NY Times which tries to link Obama to disgraced Illinois Gov Blagojevich by saying that since the SEIU gave campaign contributions to both they are all guilty of something. Typical Republican branding.In Dobbs mind these campaign donations somehow link Obama and SEIU to Blagojevich's possible corruption by the usual Republican mantra. Guilt by Association. Give me a freaking break. I know the media is looking for anything they can use to smear Obama with on Blags, but get real... Nowhere in this segment does Dobbs tell his audience anything about this front group for CEO's and misleads the audience completely.
It's bad enough that Dobbs doesn't even know what Employee Free Choice Act is, but to then use a wingnut front group to attack it means either a couple of things. He knows they are a CEO-backed front group. He is lying to his audience or he is completely ignorant of the entire story. Which then begs the question: Why the heck would he run such garbage knowingly? Lou, the "independent populist," either got willingly played for a fool by corporate shills, or hates union workers, or both. You tell me.
I'd debate Lou anytime if he'd like on this topic. What do you say, Lou?
More about Berman here.
Full transcript via CNN below the fold:
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This full-page ad in "The New York Times" doesn't hesitate to connect Illinois' scandal- ridden Governor Rod Blagojevich, ACORN and corrupt Chicago politics. The ad was paid for by the self-described union watchdog group the Center for Union Facts.
The ad draws attention near the Service Employee International Union. The SEIU was Governor Blagojevich's largest contributor in his last campaign in 2006, donating almost a million dollars. The next year, 2007, the governor signed the first-ever contract with the SEIU local 880, made up of state childcare workers, increasing union membership by 49,000 members. The Center for Union Facts says the connection is more Chicago-style politics on open display.
JUSTIN WILSON, CENTER FOR UNION FACTS: These people really and truly are pushing around politicians with money and power and influence. And in a lot of ways they try to control the public debate about issues and use a lot of misinformation to steer constituents, to contact their voters or contact their congressmen.
TUCKER: ACORN though denies any connection with SEIU as a union. The Center for Union Facts points out that the SEIU was the first union to publicly endorse Obama's candidacy and it spent more than $13 million on ads supporting him.
The SEIU calls the ad a quote, "distraction". And without responding directly to the charges made in the ad, the union released the following statement. Quote, "the SEIU will continue working with President-elect Obama, the new Congress, and activists all around this country to help bring change that works to America." Part of that change would be the Employee Free Choice Act, which would eliminate secret ballots and union organizing efforts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: Now Employee Free Choice Act is strongly opposed by a number of groups including the Union Facts Organization. Obama and the Democratic leadership, Lou, have made it very clear that they publicly support the Employee Free Choice Act.
DOBBS: A number of people have said you know they will support the Free Choice Act if the United States Congress starts doing all of its caucusing in public. It's -- this is a very difficult issue here.
TUCKER: It is.
DOBBS: Appreciate it. Thank you very much -- Bill Tucker.
What people would that be Lou? Don't you hate these lame brain assertions? What does Congress caucusing have to do with unions?
