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Pro-Clinton Unions Continue Full-Steam Ahead

May 12, 2008 4:18 PM

Officials from four labor unions that endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, say they will continue to lobby for her candidacy regardless of the daunting delegate math. One union is even hoping Clinton takes her battle against Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, all the way to the floor of the Democratic National Convention in August.

Rick Sloan, communications director for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers says the union is rallying its members to support Clinton in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Oregon.

"We're not slackening off at all -- this is full speed ahead for us," he says. "We deal with really high tolerances building jets. Usually when we reach those tolerances we say, 'This is terrific, this is quite a piece of work.'"

Sloan was a member of the platform committee and an at-large delegate for Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., on the floor of the 1980 Democratic convention, the last time there was a convention fight.

"Only 979 delegates separated (then-President Jimmy) Carter and Kennedy," Sloan says. So the smaller number separating Clinton and Obama -- right this second a rough ABC Count has a 180-delegate lead for Obama -- "isn't a big swing. And none of these delegates are legally bound. She has 17 million votes, he has 17 million votes. The proper place to decide this is the convention."

ABC News contacted the four unions today to assess whether they would continue to spend union dues on a campaign many in the punditocracy have pointed towards a statue of St. Jude.

"We continue to support Sen. Clinton," says AFSCME's Gregory King. "We're going to continue to campaign full-steam ahead."

AFSCME had about 100 people each campaigning for Clinton in Pennsylvania and Indiana going door to door. "I presume we're just continuing with that," King says. "As long as she's the candidate our union is committed to supporting her."

Chuck Porcari of the American Federation of Teachers says "we're running our program in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Oregon as we speak, member-to-member phone and mail, and door-knocking."

Tim Stricker, political director of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades says his union is quite active in West Virginia and Kentucky, and will be in Oregon. "Of the other three remaining states," he says of Puerto Rico, Montana, and South Dakota, "we have practically no membership there."

Sticker says the IUPAT staffing isn't as big in West Virginia and Kentucky as it was in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, but that's only because "her numbers in both states make it safe enough we didn't have to go full-bore. If we're asked by the campaign to send some people in, we will, though right now I haven't been asked by the campaign to do that."

"She's our candidate and we're with her until Barack is officially the candidate or if she releases us," he says. "I'm sure there's a lot of our members who think it's a lost cause. I'm sure if you polled it there'd be a number who said you're wasting your time and efforts and money." But between 16,000 and 20,000 members of the IUPAT voted for Clinton by ballot, by a margin of four-to-one, so the union will stay with the date that brung them to the dance.

"Does it look like it's an extreme long shot right now?" Stricker asks. "Yes. But stranger things have happened. One thing I've learned in the short time I've been in Washington, DC, is never count out the Clintons."

- jpt

May 12, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (87)

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Why is ok for Obama to continue to get away with a racist campaign?? And these comments are only the tip of the iceberg...and we all know it. If Clinton is not the nominee I will be voting republican for the first time in my life. And I suspect I am not alone. I am stunned by the black flight away from the Clintons and to Obama – people who have stood by their cause for many years – simply because of skin color. And I intend to show my disgust the best way I know how…WITH MY VOTE. And again, I suspect I am not alone…

JUST WATCH

Posted by: Jack | May 30, 2008 6:18:39 PM

edit: 60% of the remaining superdelegates

Posted by: Clancy | May 20, 2008 2:17:46 PM

Do the math people, check the numbers, there is NO WAY Hilary can possibly win. Even if she win's every primary from today on by 75% to Obama's 25% and she gained 60% of the remaining delegates Obama would still pass the finish line before her, albeit the gap would be much closer then it is now. Would this lead to a super delegate vote at the convention, I don't know, I don't think the superdelegates should decide the fate of an entire nation because that ruins democracy. But either way you spin it, Obama has the pledged delegates and Obama has the superdelegates.

I wonder if she'll cry when she loses??

Posted by: Clancy | May 20, 2008 2:16:05 PM

I have never been so engaged in a political race in my life. I resent the notion that B. H. Obama has the black vote all tied up as much as I resent the the methodology of Hilliary supporters being painted as low wage illiterates. I had hopes that Obama would be a strong vice for hilliary however the vetting has opened my eyes to areas beyond not knowing very much about him. History would be made with a black president but the disaster of his socialist and very far to the left policies could negatively change the US as we know it. I have hopes of a black person one day being President but please let him have the experience and strength of character to succeed. I believe Hilliary Clinton is the strongest candidate. The super delegates are suppose to be aware of all the aspects of the campaign before they are aired on the nightly news but they have turned a blind eye to the dishonesty and negative strategery the Obama camp is spinning and acting as though their hands are as white as snow. We must do all that we can to help Hilliary because the stakes are too high... First time political blogger!

Posted by: Jennifer | May 17, 2008 3:39:14 PM

Jennifer,

Please stop posting the smears propagated by Larry Sinclair, who claimed that he gave a blowjob to Barack Obama while the two smoked crack cocaine. Larry Sinclair took a polygraph and failed miserably. Multiple polygraph experts, using standard equipment and techniques agreed that Larry Sinclair was "practicing deception" when asked directly about his claims. The results were not borderline. He failed miserably.

Posted by: hesingswithfrogs | May 15, 2008 10:41:29 PM

I support both Hillary and Barack, not John.

There are too many absolutist statements that are simply incorrect. None of the candidates can be classified as "the most divisive candidate in history". The progressive/left wing of the democratic party is not "dangerous". Barack is not running his campaign on funding from "billionaire liberals" - if anything, Hillary is clearly running her campaign on one millionaire family - the clintons... Just look at the campaign contributions.

Barack has not "disparaged" Hillary, nor has Hillary done the same to Barack. There are not "so many ugly truths about Obama and inconsistencies about his life and record" relative to Hillary or McCain - any number of us could list 20 things we do not like about each candidate, that come from things they each said or did in the past.

I recommend taking a measured approach here, way too much hot air going on.

Posted by: yo | May 14, 2008 6:38:39 PM

Bless you United....you've got it all right. What are the millions of disenfranchised Hillary supporters to do? I hope there is an organized groundswell that rushes out in protest of how this thing has been manipulated and gone down....sort of how Obama will go down in Nov.

Posted by: Debra | May 13, 2008 4:49:23 PM

Carol in Alabama....I'm with you, as are millions of Hillary supporters. The Democratic leaders will be begging Hillary to encourage us to put our support behind BO...I say NO. I want to see the largest defecting number of Democrats since Reagan!!!! Hillary is centrist and had the greatest chance to win against McCain. Thank God she still has her staunch supporters. I live in L.A. and will be making calls to Oregonians in the next couple of days because we are not giving up.
Why has Rev. Wright not come out to play?....I know he's writing his book, and threatened to publish it in Oct. and come after Obama if he EVER makes it to the WH. BO cannot skirt this, however hard he tries. TWENTY YEARS?
You didn't "vet" your pastor? JUDGEMENT, IDEOLOGY, C'mon!

Posted by: Debra | May 13, 2008 4:30:01 PM

Phony clintons are building bases for the scandal on Convention.

This is their goal and no other options they consider.
They are Monsters and will act Just like that.

Monsters, that should be stopped by common sense of this Nation.

Posted by: LINDA,FL | May 13, 2008 4:25:15 PM

I am a Hillary supporter and I am a so unhappy about how the media has portrayed Hillary and Bill Clinton in such a horrible way. Bill Clinton was and still is the champion for the blacks and they have effectively turned their backs on him by almost 100%! If I was Bill, I would never lend my support to blacks again. I am a black woman and I can see how all of this will play out in the end if Obama is the nominee. So far he has not made any promises to the black community to help them in any way and still they go blindly into his corner. I say that Hillary is the best hope that we have running for president and seeing how her own democratic party has turned their backs on her and her husband, I am hoping that she will run as an independent and beat them both! There are so many ugly truths about Obama and inconsistencies about his life and record that there is no way that the media and his 'hope' campaign can hope to surpass John Mccain in the general election and if the media does not even bother to report about Larry Sinclair and his connection with Donald Young the republicans will not bother to look the other way but the democrats will be doomed and stuck with another unelectable candidate that with this bad economy and Bush's approval rating this low should win easily. I am done with the democratic party!

Posted by: JENNIFER | May 13, 2008 2:32:37 PM

Thanks so much for your posts, Mr. Tapper. You aer one of the few journalists I trust these days.

Posted by: Tricia | May 13, 2008 1:19:07 PM

God Bless The Unions!! I continue to support Hillary. I continue to send her money, and if she is not the nominee, this typical, middle aged white woman will vote for McCain.

Posted by: Carol in Alabama` | May 13, 2008 1:11:22 PM

Bretta,

Do you think that's why he did not pledge at the National Anthem because he has dual citizenship?
Somebody needs to ask him why he did not pledge.
I thought when people are sworn to become US citizen , they have to pledge to National Anthem?

Posted by: blue Irish | May 13, 2008 12:25:43 PM

Hillary Clinton represents more american people for their hard working qualities. BO is just a golden boy put there by some ultra liberal rich people, the medical lobbies who try to prevent the universal health care plan put forth by Hillary Clinton.
She is a much better candidate, she cares more about poor people yet her policy is a centrist one. Where does OB policy stand? between the support of the hedge fund people, the medical lobbies and the far left wing? Beside he is more of a minister and a magician. Shame on the media who try to steal the legitimate fight from Hillary Clinton by pushing her out. The margin is so small and yet not all the states have voted, neither the votes of Florida and Michigan be considered in anyway. And call this a democratic vote?

Posted by: jane | May 13, 2008 12:16:39 PM

I just heard on the view that yesterday Hillary quoted Eleanor Roosevelt saying that "A women is like a tea bag, you never know how strong it is until it's in hot water"

Posted by: vm | May 13, 2008 12:06:22 PM

rrt and Bretta, just noticed your post.
This is something that I find extremely
troubling. That we' have a candidate
who has failed to disclose "dual nation-
ality". He's a US citizen and also one
of Kenya. He became a Kenyan citizen,
on Dec. 12th, 1963, as of the date of the article, never renounced.
HOW CAN IT BE THAT ACROSS THE COUNTRY
WE DON'T KNOW THIS???
With a MSM who seeks to parse every word, make pronouncements what are they
doing? They need to FIND THE TRUTH AND
TELL IT. The voters need it in order to
make an informed choice. The lack of
vetting has brought us to where we are now. We've heard the expression...you
can't tell a book by it's cover. What
would have been the motives to conceal
this from the primary voters?
We need to know.

Posted by: Raven | May 13, 2008 11:46:58 AM

hello!!!

i just wanted to say that i am of the 1 of 2 movement...

it is the percentage of dems who will not be voting obama in november. also, i feel the same about the dnc, the media, and the obama campaign. although i am starting to believe it is even a bigger exodus than that... but that is the safe number which makes a huge impact.

i got so mad when i heard obama is going to florida may 21 and michigan tomorrow to ask for votes from them in november... i hope the hillcrats come out in force with signs and all sorts of gear that says basically that you are a hypocrit - you don't get my vote in november because you don't seem to care about my vote right now when i did not pick you in the primaries.

i just erased all my itunes keith olbermann because i am so mad at him for being so blind. he always seemed like such an intelligent man, but i just don't get it what he sees in obama with no substance... i really don't get it from anyone who supports him unless they can give me an actual reason that is not a brand name like hope TM...

the only two i can stand to listen too because they seem to be more objective are joe scarborough and andrea mitchell.

actually i just got this idea that he is going to michigan and florida so soon to even see if he can win them or if he has totally lost them because of all of this and to see how bad the protest will be because frickin axelrod is trying to argue to the dnc that obama will win florida and michigan. i say he is off his rocker that that is a terrible argument especially since they were the ones who were sticking to the rules, stalling and blocking the votes, not hillary. duh axelrod... that is your dumbest argument and move yet. i hope michigan and florida don't buy it and fight for their votes they cast to count... phew.. i just had to rant sorry. am so upset that dnc is headed for suicide in november and it is their own fault but of course no matter what they will blame hillary...

go hillary. prove them wrong... win all 6 elections left even if by a little and close the gap!!! we love you and our vote only belongs to you.

Posted by: kanani miranda | May 13, 2008 11:37:49 AM

People turning away from BO are not racists, they just don't believe that he shares their values.

They are "typical white people bitterly clinging" to their belief that anyone that can sit in Trinity United Church for 20 years doesn't share their vision for our country.

Posted by: United | May 13, 2008 11:26:02 AM

I don't see any Obama proof coming in.Come on show me your argument. Prove to me why Obama should get my vote.

Posted by: diana | May 13, 2008 11:25:27 AM

Pretty funny to have a "prohibitive favorite" that is losing states by 30+ points. Can you imagine if McCain was losing states by ANY margin, let alone in LANSLIDES!

Posted by: United | May 13, 2008 11:15:34 AM

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