SEIU endorsement of Dean would derail "anti-black" charges [View All]

[CMT]

The charge by Rev. Al Sharpton that Howard Dean is "anti-black" and the coordinated effort of several campaigns to label Dean's comments regarding wanting to expand the base of the Democratic party to include Southern White males who drive pick ups with confederate flags on it would be derailed by one act this week.

No, not the formal endorsement of Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. as welcome as that will be especially when he is campaigning with Dean in South Carolina churches. Not even the endorsement of Rep. John Conyers of Michigan (and one of the most respected African-American leaders in congress) who escorted Dean to two African-American churches in Detroit just a couple of weekends ago and is expected sometime in the coming weeks to formally come out for Dean.

This "anti-black" charge will be demolished if Dean receives the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) endorsement. This union is one of the largest in the AFL-CIO with 1.6 million members. They have been polling members and the news has been good for Dean. A straw-poll of SEIU members in New Hampshire last weekend had Dean winning 3-1 over nearest challenger Dick Gephardt.

The SEIU is also one of the most racially and ethically diverse unions in this country. It represents janitors, healthcare workers, and other service employees. African-Americans and Latinos make a huge percentage of their members.

The word is that SEIU will either endorse Dean or nobody. The coordinated efforts of the Kerry, Gephardt, and Edwards team to keep this endorsment of Dean from occuring demonstrates how important this union endorsment would be.