"National Police Union Turns Down Romney and Obama" By Neil King Jr. and Gary Fields at WSJ

[applegrove]

National Police Union Turns Down Romney and Obama

By Neil King Jr. and Gary Fields at WSJ

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/09/07/national-police-union-turns-down-romney/

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The 330,000-member Fraternal Order of Police, the country’s largest police union, announced that it would back no candidate for president this year, the first time the group had passed on an endorsement in its 98-year history. The union backed the Republican nominees in 2000, 2004 and 2008, and backed President Bill Clinton in 1996.

The rebuff came less than three months after Mr. Romney met with the order’s top brass in June seeking the group’s endorsement. “We had a lengthy and comprehensive meeting with Mr. Romney,” said Jim Pasco, the group’s executive director.

“The important challenges faced by our rank-and-file officers, the real issues in public safety, and the problems that our criminal justice system is facing are not the focus of either campaign,” Chuck Canterbury, the group’s president, said in a statement. “It would be irresponsible for us to support either candidate.”

People familiar with the group’s decision said leaders had been disturbed by Mr. Romney’s statements of strong support for several antiunion initiatives, particularly the move in Ohio to restrict the collective-bargaining rights of public-union employees, including police and firefighters. The measure was overturned by voters in Ohio last year.

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