It's becoming clear that Republicans are going to make their valiant Last Stand around the Employee Free Choice Act, even though it's becoming clear their talking points fall apart readily and the facts are not on their side.

The biggest indicator: Even though Hilda Solis was nominated to become the new Labor Secretary on Dec. 19, and the thinly veiled obstruction of her confirmation became clear shortly after Obama's inauguration, Republicans continue to block her -- this time raising the phony issue of her husband's back taxes to cause a delay.

John Nichols in The Nation observes:

Hilda Solis has had experiences that are very different from most of the people with whom she would serve in Barack Obama's cabinet. But her experiences are not so very different from those of working Americans, including the small business owners who struggle to get by on main streets in cities and towns across this country--communities that look and feel a lot more like Irwindale than Washington. That is what makes Hilda Solis such an attractive nominee.

In fact, far from disqualifying Solis, the minor tax troubles related to her husband's small business confirm the congresswoman as a more attractive nominee than most of those advanced by Obama. Those members of the Senate who fail to recognize this fact--and their amen corner in the media--are merely confirming the extent to which they are dramatically disconnected with the experience of working Americans.

Barack Obama made the right pick when he chose Hilda Solis to serve as his secretary of labor. The president should not be dissuaded by the silly spin that would equate the circumstances of a Tom Daschle with those of Hilda Solis. Obama and his allies in the Senate need to inject a measure of perspective--along with realism--into the Washington discourse by demanding that this worthy nominee be confirmed before the week is done.

Change to Win has created at FreeHilda.com site, which has a a petition you can sign.

Here's SEIU's Andy Stern:

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Oh the horror! Lou Dobbs has his pants in a bunch over the potential appointment of a pro-union Secretary of Labor in the choice of Hilda Solis.

He brings into the Labor Department Congresswoman Hilda Solis. Good appointment or bad?

[.....]

I really don't care whether labor's ecstatic. You know I saw business get ecstatic with Elaine Chao for the last eight years. I don't want to hear a constituency group. Is she a good choice?

[.....]

And uh adios Elaine and hello Hilda. I don't know whether or not, who's going to be best served here but one thing you can be sure of. Again we're going to have a Labor Secretary at the bidding of one of the constituent interest groups. It's always good to have this opportunity every four years isn't it?

(full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)

Controller John Chiang is standing up to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- refusing to comply with the devastating Executive Order the Governor signed last Thursday -- despite 28,016 petitions Courage Campaign, CREDO Mobile and True Majority members sent to his office.

The Executive Order fired over 22,000 seasonal, temporary and student workers and directed Chiang to reduce over 200,000 state workers' pay to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour.

But, Controller Chiang is holding his ground, daring the Governor to take him to court.

This is part of Controller Chiang's official response to Governor Schwarzenegger:

To the extent that the Order attempts to govern the constitutional duties for which I was independently elected to perform and, because it is based on faulty legal and factual premises, I will not comply with the Order.

Today Chiang announced that there is no way the state's computer systems are capable of actually processing the cuts for at least another six months of reprogramming.

John Chiang is, simply put, a hero. To thank him for his courage, the Courage Campaign is teaming up with CREDO Mobile to host a special conference call with Controller Chiang and our good friend Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Los Angeles), the lead author of a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger condemning the wage cuts signed by 27 California members of Congress. Also joining us will be Yvonne Walker, President of SEIU Local 1000, whose members account for 95,000 of those cut to minimum wage.

Please join us on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT for this Courage Campaign Conversation with Controller Chiang, Rep. Solis and Yvonne Walker, co-sponsored by CREDO Mobile. Click here to RSVP for the call.