Gore's Pennsylvania spokesperson has really stirred the pot on this issue---some guy named Piffer(sp) Piefer(sp) something like that.
Here in Ohio it really hasn't become that big of an issue, yet. Now with Labor 2000 stirring the pot it will probably explode. I got the fax this evening from them and the last paragraph will probably blow up or at best the fax/flyer will start a lot of talk about guns. It's also being e-mailed by Labor 2000.
The only hope that Gore may have is that Nader can take enough of the protest vote to prevent a total route.
Tom Lehman
Jeff Walker wrote:
> > Steve Rosenthal the political action director of the AFL-CIO puts the
> union
> > "protest vote" at around 25%; me, I would say a good general election
> guess would
> > put it at around 35% in most elections.
> >
> > So, I will compromise with Rosenthal and say in this election the "protest
> vote"
> > will be around 30% of union voters.
>
> The latest poll I heard about had Gore support among union voters at a
> miserable 57%, and the other 43% aren't voting Nader. One reason for this
> is a split in blue collar union/NRA members who are listenening to Charelton
> Heston more than their union. The AFL is focusing on this group in
> particular in phone banking and plant leaftletings (the latest leaflet
> reads: Al Gore does not want to take your gun, but George W Bush does want
> to take your union).
>
> The one refreshing breeze in the miasma of Gore-mania regarding labor's
> activities is that instead of "loaning" people to the Dems in targeted
> races, Labor 2000 is a completely separate political operation (although at
> this point focused on reaching out to active union members or retirees who
> are registered Dems). While member participation fluctuates from region to
> region and union to union, if we are successful in winning some of the
> targeted races, this could be the beginning of building a
> grassroots-oriented political model outside the Democratic party.
>
> While not many are openly talking of using this process to support third
> party candidates, it certainly could be used in this way, say, in local
> races while continuing to support the lesser of two evils in the White
> House.
>
> Jeff