


One of the most publicized moments of the 2008 campaign was "Joe the Plumber" questioning Barack Obama's proposed tax plan. To his credit, Joe didn't succumb to intense media pressure when asked for whom he would vote. He replied that he, and only he, should know the answer to that question. And rightly so, since casting a ballot in private, free from fear and intimidation, is the very bedrock of our free society.
Think what it would be like without that safeguard, if no curtain were behind you. What if your neighbors, co-workers, and even your enemies knew your choices when pulling the lever? What if that vote allowed your life to become an open record, complete with your name, address, occupation and employer? Common sense tells us this system is anathema to democracy, the end of a free society. Think it can't happen here? Think again.
There's a legislative effort underway to make union organizing a public process, and it's called Card Check. If passed, it would eliminate the secret ballot currently employed in federally-supervised elections.
Instead, a union would be certified as soon as it collected a majority of signed authorization cards. Private decisions would not just become public, but ones made under the watchful eye of organized labor. Based on labor's colorful past - and that's putting it mildly - of coercion, thuggery and intimidation, even the most independent and bravest of souls would be hard-pressed to oppose union leadership.
To date, the Republicans have successfully defeated Card Check, but an Obama presidency, working hand-in-hand with a Democratic Congress, would give the unions a "blank check" on Card Check. The passage of such un-American legislation must be stopped, and there is a two-word solution to do so: John McCain.
(thebulletin.us)