AFL-CIO offers to support him for re-election if he votes for EFCA. Since that endorsement would be the kiss of death in a Republican primary …
A couple of days ago I speculated, on no evidence whatever, that Arlen Specter might pull a Jim Jeffords, which would get the Democrats to 60 votes once Franken is seated.
Today comes news that the AFL-CIO is offering to support Specter for re-election if he votes for EFCA, which would make sense only in the context of a party-switch. (AFL-CIO backing in a Republican primary is a little bit like Likud backing in a Palestinian election.)
And no, really, I hadn’t heard a thing about this before the news came out. It’s just the sick, twisted way my mind works.
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
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