Michael Barone warns us that Democrats still have a chance to secure a *filibuster-proof 60-vote majority in the U.S. Senate.
What would that mean?
The results in these three races could make an enormous difference in
public policy. With 60 votes in the Senate, Democrats will probably
pass the card check bill designed to abolish secret ballots in
unionization elections. The likely result: a sharp rise in the 8
percent of private-sector employees represented by unions. We can see
the difference this can make by looking at another issue that’s being
debated: the Detroit Three auto bailout backed by Barack Obama and
Democratic congressional leaders (the subject of my forthcoming
Creators Syndicate column). Why are the Detroit Three in such trouble?
Well, the lavish healthcare benefits negotiated
by the companies and the United Auto Workers mean that total
compensation paid workers by the Detroit Three is 52 percent higher
than Toyota’s and 132 percent above the U.S. manufacturing average. Is
this what we want for large swaths of the private-sector economy?
*This assumes the issue facing a filibuster threat would produce no dissenters from the Democratic caucus line. Alternately, Democratic leaders would need to pull over liberal or moderate Republican votes to make up for Democratic defections.
