The Washington Times
December 27, 2009
To be frank

Though most people could ignore his rancorous political narcissism before,
there is no ignoring Sen. Al Franken, Minnesota Democrat, now. The
machinations of the Democratic leadership aside, Mr. Franken is more than an
aberration. He is a vindictive demagogue with a history of doing anything to
get attention.

Indeed, his clumsy disrespect for Sen. Joe Lieberman, Connecticut
independent, while presiding over the chamber by refusing to grant Mr.
Lieberman an extra minute to finish his remarks on the health care debate -
because he, as a senator from Minnesota, objected - is the first sign of Mr.
Franken's inability to contain himself as a senator. He certainly is no
statesman.

The reason most of the liberal media ignored the story is that Mr. Franken
is an embarrassment to them. Not knowing whether they elected a Franken or a
Frankenstein, Minnesota voters undoubtedly will be embarrassed until the end
of his term. Then again, they elected Jesse Ventura as their governor, and
he certainly betrayed them. The question is: When will they learn?

Betrayal: How Union Bosses Shake down Their Members and Corrupt American
Politics
Authors: Linda Chavez, Daniel Gray
Pub. Date: June 2004
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
June 2004

Synopsis

"Simply put, the leftist labor unions have the Democrats in their pockets.
And we're all paying the price."

Linda Chavez, President George W. Bush's original choice for Secretary of
Labor and a former union official, is one of the foremost authorities on
America's labor unions. Now, in the explosive new book Betrayal, she and
fellow union expert Daniel Gray expose the corrupt bargain between the labor
movement and the Democratic Party.

Committed to a far-left political agenda-and to enhancing their own
power-union bosses funnel at least half a billion dollars into Democratic
coffers every year. And they do it, illegally, by using dues money that
workers are forced to pay as a condition of their employment-dues money that
each year brings the unions $17 billion, all of it tax-free.

What do labor bosses get in return? The power to call the shots in
Democratic campaigns and on party policy, extraordinary influence at all
levels of government, billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded federal grants,
and special legal privileges that leave them free to act as they please, no
matter the consequences for the American people. The cycle of corruption is
seemingly endless.

Chavez and Gray name names, exposing the many politicians who are in Big
Labor's pocket-including the leading lights of the Democratic Party.
Betrayal also reveals:

. Big Labor's all-out efforts in the 2004 election, including how just one
local union has launched a $35-million campaign to unseat President Bush

. How corrupt union officials use members' hard-earned money to fund
lavishlifestyles-and how their Democratic supporters let them get away with
it

. How unions flout the law by failing to report any of their political
spending to the IRS

. How a government report uncovered the Democrats' sellout to Big Labor-but
how the unions and the Democrats sued to keep the report from going public

. How the U.S. government lets unions practice legalized terrorism against
American citizens

. How public-employee unions extort concessions from the government and put
Americans at risk by refusing to provide vital services like policing and
firefighting

. How Americans now live under a system of legal apartheid-one set of rules
for labor bosses, another for the rest of us

All of us foot the bill for this corrupt system. Now it's up to us to do
something about it.


Biography

Linda Chavez, President George W. Bush's original choice for Secretary of
Labor and a former union official, is one of the foremost authorities on
America's labor unions. She is a Fox News political analyst, a syndicated
columnist, and the host of a syndicated talk-radio program.

Daniel Gray is a former director of communications for the National Right to
Work Committee and has done work for numerous political organizations and
candidates. He lives in Washington, D.C.