Likelihood of Success

Mickey Kaus asks, regarding Barak Obama’s patent shill to the unions that still make up the rank and file of Democratic Party operatives and”volunteers”:

The idea of requiring a union, without a secret ballot election, if labor organizers can obtain a majority of “cards” from employees seems like both a big idea and a bad idea. (See below.) If Republicans were smart and confident, wouldn’t they make a big deal of this–drag the debate in Congress out to give it more prominence, highlighting Obama’s support?

Kaus kids, of course. He teases us lovingly. No, of course they aren’t confident, that’s for sure. They can’t line up fast enough to move to the left, reading tea leaves by pouring the water out and banging the cup upside down in the dish drain. And smart? If they were so smart — well, really, what’s the point of discussing that?

What’s really interesting is the question, Which “Republicans”? By all indications today’s “Republicans, ” whether they work in the Capitol or the White House, can’t tie their own shows politically. Rudy Giuliani, the front-runner, is smart. He’s confident. For Rudy, those aren’t the questions, though. The question is, Can anyone who has served as mayor of New York City — which, because of unions and union-driven wage-inflation legislation is the most expensive place to do anything in the hemisphere — even one who managed to annoy unions during his time in office — possibly find it with himself to go to town on an issue like this?

Only if he wants to win. Rudy, I think, does.