I’m not quite sure how to react to this.
In a shot across the bow of Dems, the labor powerhouse SEIU is starting a new third party in North Carolina that hopes to field its own slate of candidates, part of an effort to make the Democratic Party more reliable on issues important to labor, I’m told.
SEIU officials setting up the new party, called North Carolina First, are currently on the ground collecting signatures to qualify as a state party, SEIU officials tell me, adding that there are around 100 canvassers on the ground right now. The goal: To have the party up and running so candidates can run in this fall’s elections.
It won’t be lost on political observers that three House Dems who voted No on reform are from the state: Heath Shuler, Mike McIntyre, and Larry Kissell.
The new project is an outgrowth of SEIU’s earlier vow to hold House Dems accountable for voting against heatlh reform and against labor’s interests in general. That said, presuming the party qualifies at all, it remains to be seen how much clout it will wield.
For instance, it’s unclear which districts the party might field a candidate in, and what the criteria for picking those districts will be. A lot of these things will be determined by availability of candidates and other local political concerns…
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I’m the first to agree that these cowardly Blue Dogs are not welcome in my cathouse. They have to go! But is this the right way? The political deck is so stacked against third parties that SEIU might be better served to champion opponents in the Democratic party. If they cannot win the elections, as a third party, they will split the Democratic vote and deliver the seats to the Republicans.
4 Responses to “SEIU Starting Third Party In North Carolina”
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I don’t know – I’m hoping they don’t split the Dems, but NC is a pretty red state with a lot of union jobs – it remains to be seen.
I can’t claim any expertise on the local scene, but considering that it’s a barely new blue state, I don’t see how a split could do anything but hand it to the GOP.
I don’t like this at all. I want rightwing third parties, lots of them. The Birther Party, the KKK Party, the South Will Rise Again party, the Teabag Party, and so much more. I want the Republican Party to get fragmented into tiny bits and pieces and then get drowned in a bathtub.
I admire the SEIU, but I want them to hold the Democrats’ feet to the fire, not start their own party.
That’s where I’m coming down on it too, Tom.