Burnt Orange Report

More Than Just Paper

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

By now everyone has probably heard as much as they want to about the twin endorsements of the SEIU and AFSCME. But I found an interesting tidbit today that I hadn't seen in print anywhere else before. Here's a taste.

The SEIU and AFSCME leaders said they hoped their move would be viewed as a sign that Democratic constituencies should coalesce around the Dean campaign.

"We would hope that by what we did today … that maybe this begins to winnow the field," McEntee told reporters.

AFSCME, whose members hold a range of jobs at all levels of government, plans on spending about $7.5 million on an independent campaign to promote Dean's candidacy during the nomination process, including $1 million in Iowa. The union will spend another $3 million on a separate communication to its members, according to political director Larry Scanlon.

The most tangible effect of the union's endorsement may be the sheer number of people it can deliver to the polls. Scanlon said that polling has shown that about 70% of union members have voted for the candidate the union endorses.

In Iowa, AFSCME's 20,000 members include many longtime caucus-goers with familiarity with the process, Scanlon said. "They know how to run the operations when you get to the gymnasium or the church or whatever," he said. "That's a very valuable asset."

In addition, AFSCME will make a rare appeal for political donations and send an e-mail soon to its members asking them to contribute $100 to Dean's campaign, he added.

And the SEIU...

The SEIU, meanwhile, is poised to play a key role for Dean in the opening primary on Jan. 27 in New Hampshire, where it is the largest union with 7,500 members.

The union can also play a critical role in mobilizing voters for the March 2 contests in California and New York, where it represents a combined 880,000 members.

Dean will also get the benefit of the union's organizational skills — many of SEIU's veteran organizers will lend their expertise to the campaign, according to union official Gina Glantz.

Glantz said the union will not directly ask for contributions to Dean from its members, almost half of whom work in the health-care industry. But she said that she expected many would donate on their own.

Located in other news reports is this funny quip...

In other news, the RNC quickly distributed a press release asking if Gephardt was “a miserable failure” for losing out on the SEIU and AFSCME endorsements to Dean.