Republicans continue to hold up the nomination of Hilda Solis for Labor Secretary, today allegedly over her husband's tax liens.
Now, before we think about those tax liens, let's be clear: The delay in confirming Solis is not about taxes. It is about her support for working people. Specifically, as Trapper John wrote yesterday,
So in a nutshell, Solis's opponents are arguing that the US Secretary of Labor should recuse herself from advocating for passage of the most important labor law reform measure facing the United States. Needless to say this is completely insane -- it's akin to saying that the HHS Secretary shouldn't be involved in the health care debate, or that the Defense Secretary shouldn't talk about Iraq. But it's indicative of just how completely scared the Republican Party and its corporate masters are about the workplace democracy promised by the Employee Free Choice Act. No cabinet appointee other than Solis has been subject to such an assault, and it's because Solis is guilty of the GOP's unforgivable sin -- supporting the right of working people to join together and fight for their share of this country's wealth. And if that kind of opposition from the lackeys of the multinationals isn't a sign to you of how good the Employee Free Choice Act would be for working Americans, I don't know what is.
It's important to remember also that the Republicans so opposed to a Secretary of Labor who has opinions on labor issues were happy enough to confirm Elaine Chao for George W. Bush. In that Labor Department, it was just hunky-dory to have an assistant secretary who
was a partner at Jackson Lewis, a well-known unionbusting law firm that trains companies on "How to Stay Union Free" and issues publications highlighting their corporate clients' success at preventing organizing in the workplace.
But having a Secretary of Labor who had an uncompensated position on the board of an organization in favor of unions and workers' rights? That would be beyond the pale to Senate Republicans.
rest http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/2/6/94920/09365/661/693952
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