If by neutralize, Harkin means have absolutely no effect on, than he’s surely correct. Those objections were based on lies, so why on earth would a change in the actual bill impact their arguments – by they I mean Arlen, Ben Nelson, McGovern and the rest. The problems for EFCA have been because of Democrats. Of course, if the details so hobble the bill that it ceases to have any potential impact, those opponents may let the bill through, but this is their choice – it is not about what arguments they have available to them.

This episode will be the model for the consevadems and their lobbyist allies for all future battles for how to undermine progressive reform.

Step 1 – Let lobbyists and PR people, along with their astroturf organizations and Republicans, lie about what is at stake.

Step 2 – The media and so called centrist Democrats begin concern trolling on the basis of those lies.

Step 3 – Some progressives and their allies, begin to back peddle and tally each Dem Senator that comes out against us (but each individual one won’t matter because we just need them to vote for cloture) and then throw up their hands because we’ve already lost the messaging war.

Step 4 – Make concessions based on falsehoods, which serves to reinforce those falsehoods. Those concessions either undermine progressive values in the details, or just lead to more criticism from opponents, or both.

Even if you don’t care about EFCA, this is a terrible development.

That always seemed like so much corporate propaganda to me. The opposition to EFCA is based on paternalistic assumptions about workers. At least nominally. It’s really based on the realization that making it easier for workers to join a union makes it more likely that unions will form. And Republicans don’t want that.

Everyone’s rights are preserved.

And you could have found out who Rick Berman was either by googling -or much easier- clicking on the link Jane provided.

And she does give him the opportunity to ’square’ things.

BUT really more to the point, he simply isn’t as sharp in mental acuity as he used to be (spoken as a 62 year old).

When he states in his WSJ op-ed in opposition to EFCA that it eliminates secret elections, such simply isn’t true.

When he states “Currently, labor law maintains a careful balance between the rights of businesses, unions and individual employees. While bargaining power differs depending on individual circumstances, the rights of the parties are well balanced. When a union and a business enter negotiations, current law requires that both sides bargain “in good faith.”

he obviously isn’t connected to what happens nowadays.

No diservice to either readers, who have a responsibility to ‘dig’ and just not be ‘told’, nor to Senator McGovern, given his lack of clarity in thought regarding this issue.

“George McGovern was recently dis-invited to the Progressive Magazine’s 100th anniversary event because of his outspoken opposition to the bill on behalf of his good friend Rick Berman. If McGovern is interested in reclaiming his reputation among progressives as something more than the pawn of a right wing astroturfing scumbag, he now has the opportunity to acknowledge that these compromises would satisfy his concern.”

I have no idea of who Rick Berman is, haven’t heard of him so maybe you are right, but I have heard of George McGovern and i will state this without fear of contradiction or misstatement, if George McGovern had defeated Nixon in 1972 the chances are good you’d be living in a much better country today.

McGovern is a man who, in his mid twenties, flew as pilot in command thiry-five combat missions in his bomber at a time in the 2nd world war when bomber pilots had a 75% mortatlity rate. he earned a metal for valor for landing his shot up plane in very difficult circumstances and thereby saving the lives of his crew.

As a Senator he was second to no one in his opposition to the Vietnam War and he has been a stalwart supporter of the working women and men in this country as long as I’ve lived and I’m an old man. I’m a union activist, a shop steward for 20 plus years and while I sorry we don’t have the Senator’s support this time out, I will always honor him for what he has done for us.

To suggest he would act as a pawn of any one is, in my mind, a disservice not just to Mr McGovern but to your readers as well.

Here is my idea for a campaign add by whoever has the guts to run against this scumbag in the Dem primary:

On one side of the screen is a person standing he or she holds a sign either Dem or Republican Specter is in the middle. The Dem or repub states an issue or point of view as he she speaks a slight wind from his her speech seems to blow across Specter and he starts to drift in that direction vis verso for the other side. THey jsut keep going back and forth and fiannly a voice over says…”Arlen Specter whatever way the widn blows!”

And why haven’t any of Specters disgracefull interrogations of Anita Hill surfaced to help discredit him with the women of Pennsylvania?