Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

The AFL-CIO: Then and Now

Now:

The AFL-CIO said Friday afternoon the GOP presidential ticket should object to the heated rhetoric Republican supporters have been using in attacks on rival nominee Sen. Barack Obama.

Then:

For its part, the AFL-CIO has promised to dispatch thousands of election monitors to battleground states to watch for any hint of trouble at polling places. From the initial reports, they may be the ones for have to be watched as potential troublemakers.

Last week, in Orlando, Fla., approximately 60 union protestors stormed and ransacked the local Bush-Cheney headquarters causing considerable damage and injuring one campaign staffer, who suffered a broken wrist. ...

The AFL-CIO took credit on its Web site for similar demonstrations--apparently all coordinated--in Independence, Mo., Kansas City, Mo., Dearborn, Mich., St. Paul, Minn., and West Allis, Wis. In what could be a related incident, the Bush-Cheney office in Knoxville, Tenn., had its plate-glass windows shattered by gunfire on Tuesday morning before volunteers showed up for work. Another Republican office, in Seattle, was broken into and had computer files stolen.

So I guess we should give the AFL-CIO’s opinion some deference. After all, they’re bringing to the table personal experience with conducting political violence.