McEntee's (AFSCME) "big bang" theory for Dean! - WP

[helleborient]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28253-2003Nov11.html

"When Andrew L. Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), arrived at the Washington condominium of Gerald W. McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), on the morning of Nov. 3, he had no idea they were about to transform the battle for the Democratic nomination. "


"It was a radical idea, one that would put the AFL-CIO's two largest -- and among the most politically potent -- unions behind Dean's candidacy, a move Stern later described as McEntee's "big-bang theory" of how the SEIU and AFSCME together could vault Dean above the rest of the Democratic pack in a way that each acting alone might not."


"The SEIU and AFSCME ended up in the same place, but they followed far different paths, each reflecting the union's president. Stern, cerebral and democratic, oversaw a bottom-up process that gave strong voice to union rank and file. McEntee, the first union leader to endorse Bill Clinton in 1992, is a visceral politician who dominates his union. His process was top-down, and over the past nine months his allegiance shifted from Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) to retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark -- whose campaign's mistakes may have cost him AFSCME's support -- and finally to Dean."


Go Dr. Dean!!

[Cha]

1. Let me join you in congratulating Gov Dean

and our campaign~!

"This afternoon at a Washington hotel, McEntee, Stern and Dean are set to formally consummate the deal that was brokered over that Monday morning. For Dean, the endorsements show that, even as he is building support at the grass roots, he is also playing a skillful inside game with some of the Democratic Party's most important power brokers." :kick:

[Larkspur]

2. This is AWESOME!!!

It will blow away the other Dems, including Clark.

We've got our 2 mil plus before the convention. Now we need to get $100 from each. WooHoo!! We Will Beat Bush in 2004!!!

[Padraig18]

3. Not the KO punch, but...

... definitely delivering an eight-count to everyone else in the race!

Go, Governor! :thumbsup::bounce:

[a_lil_wall_fly]

4. DONT COUNT TO EIGHT TO QUICKLY

Gephardt has more union membership. As well, what are the absolute chances that each and every union member will vote based on the leadership of the union management!!!

[MercutioATC]

6. Not an attack, an honest question. What do the numbers look like

"Dean vs. Gephardt" in numbers of union members in the unions that have endorsed them? These two give Dean 3.1M members. I have NO idea what Gephardt's totals look like, but i know he's received quite a few endorsements.

[Zynx]

7. Dean has a total of 3.5 million with TUs and IUPAT, Gep has around 5 mil

[MercutioATC]

8. Thanks, I knew Gephardt had quite a few...

and i thought, probably, more than Dean so far. Thanks again.

[Zynx]

9. One thing I will say is that Gep is nowhere near where he thought he'd be.

He thought he would sweep unions. He isn't even close.

[RevolutionStartsNow]

5. Yes, this is awesome

What a great, great day for Dean! :bounce: