We know what you’re thinking: “Dave, while that may be true, how is it in any way responsible to suggest that the great senator from South Carolina is really to blame for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s failed attempt to blow up a plane and successful attempt at nearly burning himself to death”?
To which we answer: It’s not responsible! It’s also not responsible to hold up the nomination of administrator of the Transportation Security Administration just because you can, or because you don’t want some group to unionize. Here’s the gist, from the Washington Post:
An alleged attempt to blow up a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas would be all-consuming for the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration — if there were one.
Instead, the post remains vacant because Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has held up President Obama’s nominee in an effort to prevent TSA workers from joining a labor union.
DeMint, in a statement, said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s alleged attempted attack in Detroit “is a perfect example of why the Obama administration should not unionize the TSA.”
First, forget that DeMint’s statement doesn’t actually mean anything; it’s just a good soundbite. Second, how is this “attack” a perfect example? Because then a union may make sure you might get competent people who are looking for a career instead of a jobs program?
For now, DeMint said, the TSA has “flexibility to make real-time decisions that allowed it to quickly improve security measures in response to this attempted attack.” He said that if organized labor were involved, union bosses would have the power “to veto or delay future security improvements at our airports.”
Kind of like how DeMint — sans union — is delaying improvements to the TSA by denying it a full-time chief. Thank you, senator, for making sure you don’t offer any evidence for the slow-down you’re suggesting will happen with a union while offering evidence that even without a union progress may…just…halt.
Sigh. Look, we’re not suggesting that unions are perfect. In fact, some of them downright suck. But even when you’re on, say, a film set, watching a Teamster eat a bagel, smoke cigarettes, chug coffee and make cell phone calls to his bookie, you know that when he’s needed to drive an 18-wheel lighting truck with a generator into a space two inches shorter than the length of the truck, he’ll get it done. And he’ll get it done in about 90 seconds. Because he’s a professional truck driver.
DeMint’s objection creates a procedural hurdle that will probably take at least three days of debate and test votes to overcome.
Congratulations, DeMint. You and the party of “No” are making Fat America less safe.
