OPINION/ANALYSIS:
When he became governor of Arkansas in the mid-1990s, Mike Huckabee set up a large frame in his reception area, with rotating pictures of ordinary Arkansans and the inscription, “Our Boss.” A firefighter, for example, greeted visitors for a while. It was Mr. Huckabee’s way of reminding the staff whom they — and he — worked for: Regular folks, everyday working people.
I thought of this during last year’s presidential primaries, as Mr. Huckabee came from nowhere to capture Iowa and seven other states, besting multimillionaire Mitt Romney and “America’s Mayor” Rudolph W. Giuliani to break from the pack along with eventual nominee John McCain. And I think of it now, as the Republican Party tries to rebuild. There are lessons in the way Mr. Huckabee appealed to working people, including many who belonged — heaven forbid — to those alien entities known as labor unions.
Republicans make a big mistake by paying so little attention to workers’ issues and to the 25 percent of the vote — more in industrial battlegrounds like Ohio and Pennsylvania — from union households. It’s a mistake that will only grow in consequence, given the bread-and-butter struggles facing middle-class families and an uptick the past two years in union numbers.
The Republican vilification of labor, which includes name-calling — “union thugs,” “labor bosses” — seems based both on free-market ideology and politics. But what is the philosophical justification for castigating the institutions workers form to better their lot in life, especially when globalization, corporate concentration, vanishing jobs and stagnant income have left ordinary folks reeling? They’re supposed to do what, exactly? Plead their case as individuals, hat in hand, hoping to catch the boss on a good day?
Is it truly conservative to cheer the undoing of an industrial relations system that for decades has balanced management and labor, thereby promoting prosperity and stability? Sure, some unions have overreached or experienced corruption — as have some business executives. How would it reflect on Democrats if they routinely spoke of “management thieves” or “corporate bullies”?
Politically, union leaders clearly have fanned the flames by consistently supporting Democratic candidates. But Republicans won’t alter that by ignoring legitimate issues. As a war hero and maverick, Mr. McCain was well-positioned to attract blue-collar Democrats in places like Ohio — but he seemed oddly distant from their economic concerns. When I asked his advisers about tax-and-trade policies that spurred job exports, they evinced a complete lack of thought on what was a red-hot issue to millions of American workers.
Republicans fool themselves if they think they fool anyone else by praising working people and then demonizing the unions those workers create to bargain with their employers. Are the patriotic men and women in Pittsburgh who join a steelworkers local and fight to keep jobs in America really the enemy? Are the toughened Appalachian miners who for a century have banded together to feed their families and protect their safety as they meet the nation’s energy needs really out to destroy capitalism?
Though the media pushed the narrative of a Southern Baptist minister relying on votes from worshipful followers, Mr. Huckabee’s showing was fueled importantly by his appeal to hard-working folks worried about paying the bills. He told me recently that at a Republican presidential debate early last year in Michigan, he felt like he was listening to “RNC talking points” as each candidate extolled the economy. At his turn, he countered that things might be going swimmingly for people in the corner suites, but not so good for those on the loading docks. Elsewhere, he spoke of the “Washington to Wall Street axis” and of a GOP grown “oblivious to the working-class people.”
For such comments, he says, elites “dismissed me as some kind of populist, a Republican version of John Edwards.”
Undeterred, Mr. Huckabee met with Machinists Union officials and landed their first-ever GOP primary endorsement.
“He was the only Republican candidate who would come and speak to (us) about economic issues, and we appreciated it,” a union spokesman told me. “He understood that the loss of pensions and the loss of jobs was a critical issue for us. Also, it was important for us to reach out to our own members. Thirty to 40 percent are Republicans, and it was important to get them involved in the process.”
Mr. Huckabee was the first Republican presidential contender ever to address a National Education Association convention - getting several standing ovations and the New Hampshire NEA’s endorsement. At the same time, he urged labor to abandon its “monolithic” support of Democrats and let both parties earn its support.
Republicans have a choice heading into 2010 and 2012. They can try to bridge the gap, or they can miss a golden opportunity. For the untold little secret is that more and more, trade unionists wonder what they’ve received for their enormous efforts last year for Democrats. Where, they’re asking - if still quietly - are the jobs, renegotiated trade pacts or promised labor law reform? If they’re politically astute, Republican candidates will speak to these folks and their issues - and leave the insults behind.
• Philip Dine, author of “State of the Unions: How Labor Can Strengthen the Middle Class, Improve Our Economy, and Regain Political Influence,” is a Washington-based journalist and a frequent speaker on labor issues.
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