Send to a Friend <% dim printurl printurl = Request.ServerVariables("URL")%> Version

October 11, 2002, 9:00 a.m. Love’s Labor’s Lost Bush is wooing the unions, but guess where their hearts are? By Sam Dealey

ypically when a conservative muckraker calls a Republican press secretary with questions about his squishy boss's support for organized labor, there is a great deal of hemming and hawing. It begins with a drawn-out "We-ell...," then an entreaty to speak on background, and finally a rambling apologia for the member's voting record. Then again, sometimes they just hang up.

But ask Connie Morella's spokesman about her support for the unions, and the answer is as swift as it is definitive. "Absolutely," says Jonathan Dean. The Maryland Republican "absolutely has been good to the unions."

But have the unions been good to Morella?

Since assuming office 22 months ago, President Bush has assiduously courted union bosses such as the Teamsters' Jimmy Hoffa and the Carpenters' Douglas McCarron. With goodies like Air Force One rides, invitations to White House events, and reserved seats at the State of the Union address — not to mention timid steps on policies that might antagonize these mavericks — Bush has irked groups like the National Right to Work Committee in his effort to peel these unions from the Democratic party.

Indeed, as an indication of how well the relationship is blossoming, administration and union aides encourage reporters to look at the unions' political contributions. The Teamsters and Carpenters have given considerably more to Republican candidates this cycle than previous — 16 and 27 percent of total hard money contributions this cycle, respectively, compared to seven and 14 percent in 2000. "That is a very substantial increase from the past couple of years," says Teamsters political director Chuck Harple. "This is something we've been pushing for the last four years — having no party lines, but just basing [contributions] on the individual and their stands."

But tell that to Connie Morella. Despite a strong and faithfully represented union constituency and a voting record that receives higher marks from the liberal Americans for Democratic Action (60 percent in 2000) than the American Conservative Union (29 percent), Morella hasn't received a dime from these unions, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

Why not? Because she's in a tight political race with Democrat Christopher Van Hollen Jr.. In fact, despite their sudden largesse to GOP candidates, a closer look at the numbers shows that the Teamsters and Carpenters have toed the Democratic party line in virtually every tight House and Senate race.

In the 13 Senate races identified by the Rothenberg Political Report as the most competitive, for example, the Teamsters gave Republican candidates no money. Democratic candidates received $85,000.

Similarly the Carpenters contributed $70,750 to Democratic senatorial candidates. Republican candidates did not receive any at all. In fact, only two Republican Senate candidates up for election this cycle have thus far received money from the Carpenters: Nebraska's Chuck Hagel and Alaska's Ted Stevens. Both are considered safe seats.

Meanwhile, in the 22 House races deemed toss-ups or tilting by Rothenberg, the Teamsters have contributed $106,000 in hard money. Only one Republican was cut a check: Illinois's John Shimkus, for $10,000, the maximum allowed.

The Carpenters donated $133,500 to House candidates, but all but $11,000 — to Republicans Jim Nussle of Iowa and Shimkus of Illinois — went to Democratic candidates. And though Shimkus received $1,000 from the union, his Democratic opponent received five times as much.

"To the extent that they're helping other Republicans, it's a Republican that's going to win," says Ken Boehm of the National Legal and Policy Center. "They only give when Republicans have a lock on the seat."

Soft money, often directed by the national parties to tough election races, is similarly skewed. According to the nonpartisan watchdog Center for Responsive Politics, the Teamsters have given $1.8 million in soft-money donations. Eighty-three percent went to Democratic entities, 17 percent to Republican. During the 2000 election cycle, Democrats received 93 percent of the union's soft-money donations.

Of the more than $2.5 million in soft money given by the Carpenters this cycle, just $20,000 went to Republican entities. In the 1998 and 2000 cycles, the union made no soft money donations to Republicans.

So why is Bush coddling Hoffa and McCarron? "The White House doesn't care" about the donations, says an official with the National Republican Congressional Committee. "It just wants the endorsement. At the end of the day they're out for themselves."

The truth is, Hoffa and McCarron need Bush more than the president needs them. Their membership is overwhelmingly middle-aged, heartland males. Those aren't Gore or Lieberman or Daschle voters — they're the backbone to Bush's year-long high approval rating. And judging by their donations in tight congressional races like Morella's, it's doubtful they'd back Bush in a close presidential race.

It's nothing personal; just politics.

— Sam Dealey is a writer in Washington, D.C.