I don't know Tarpanian, nor the history of CP/Hoffa relations. I might note that some pro-IBT locals endorsed the Labor Party (as well some anti-Hoffa ones), so one ought not to make generalizations about the pro-Hoffa rank and file.
My point was not that the IBT was now the greatest thing since sliced bread, nor was it to endorse the Tarpanian article, which did seem a bit breathless at face value. My point was that the Hoffa ascendance was no big thing in the context of the 'new' AFL. There were fears of some lurch back to Lane Kirklandism or worse.
I have a lot of sympathy for TDU and the Carey campaign, and we all do what we gotta do, but the fact is their financial actions were a major boo-boo and, at the very least, gave away any relative advantage they might have been able to claim with respect to the Hoffa forces on the issue of corruption.
I do think there are elements of heightened political militancy in the Hoffa regime compared to some other Internationals, since it is less subservient to the Democratic Party. Hoffa made the Dems a bit uncomfortable (as did the UAW) by refusing to roll over and endorse Gore immediately. Maybe Carey would have been as good in this regard, but in light of how his campaign was financed, I doubt it.
The IBT has been aggressive on trade as well. These postures don't sit well with Dem liberals and free-trade marxists, respectively, but it is in the tradition of populist U.S. labor. Dem liberals and radicals in general are afraid of white men who don't have college degrees.
This tradition has negative elements, as did the IBT posture re: Buchanan, but on the whole I feel it is more positive than negative.
I agree that Hoffa deserves full scrutiny, as do other union bigs. None deserves the benefit of a doubt. I can't resist mentioning that some of the unfair prejudice applied to the IBT is also applied to your own august institution, and for similar reasons.
mbs
I know that this e-mail will create some controversy, but I think that it is a political issue that needs a full airing.
In the last few weeks on LBO-Talk, someone made a comment, in passing, that suggested that Hoffa had not been such a bad leader of the Teamsters. . .