Kathleen Parker's Conspiracy

OK, 'conspiracy' might be a bit harsh.  But in today's WaPo column, she's basically Glenn Beck, only using an indoor voice:

Screenwriters, poise your pens. Just for fun, keep this name in mind: Rod Blagojevich.

Now picture a triangle. One point is ACORN; another point is the SEIU; the third point is the taxpayer. Now picture arrows flowing back and forth, representing the exchange of greenbacks and services.

The triangle's supposed to show that:

it appears likely that American taxpayers indirectly have been helping to underwrite unionizing activities and advance political goals through the commingling of Rathke's various interests. 

The key arrow in supporting this allegation, then, would be the one from ACORN to SIEU.  If nothing's flowing along that arrow, she's got nothing. 

Here's what she's got:

ACORN under Rathke created SEIU Local 100...and SEIU Local 880.

That's it. No, really.  That's the sum total of the evidence she provides that ACORN effectively billed the taxpayers for union organizing.

And the Blago connection?  SEIU unionizes health care workers, which is what you'd expect a service employees' union to do.  Blago, Parker tells us, signed an executive order allowing collective bargaining on the part of health care workers.  SIEU contributed serious money to his campaigns.  Oh, and Blago turned out to be extremely corrupt.

Blago's name is always good for a laugh, but this attempt at guilt by association is on a par with suggesting that anyone who's ever given money to Sen. Vitter is into being spanked by prostitutes while wearing diapers.

Kathleen Parker, for your next column, I've got 27 8x10 glossies with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one.  Give me a call anytime, and I'll give you the goods.

Comments

[Sir Charles]

l-t c,

Kathleen Parker is stupid and dishonest. I guess it never occurred to her that community organizing and union organizing are completely in sync -- that if one seeks to lift people out of poverty, getting them a job that pays a half decent wage and benefits is about the best route I can think of.

As for the Blago angle, the only thing he could have done is sign an order allowing state employees to collectively bargain. (Governors do not have any control over private sector unionizing -- it's strictly a federal function.) This is a routine act for Democratic governors in any northern state. It is hardly indicative of corruption.

[Eric Wilde]

I don't get the reference to 27 8x10 glossies. What's that about?

[low-tech cyclist]

Eric - it's from Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant."

They was taking plaster tire tracks, foot prints, dog smelling prints, and they took twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us.