Police and Firefighters Support My Opponents ... Gail Heriot

Remember when the candidate who could say, "Police and Firefighters Support Me," would be the law-and-order candidate?  That was a long time ago.  Now the slogan ought to be roughly translated this way:  "I'm in the pocket of the public employees union, so watch your wallets, ladies and gentlemen."

Evidently, not everybody realizes that yet.  I took a walk around my neighborhood this morning and saw a number of lawn signs proudly announcing the support of police and firefighters.  The endorsed candidates were almost always the politics-as-usual candidates.  They may not know much about how to govern a city effectively, but they know which side of their bread is buttered.  And they evidently know to play upon the average citizen's ignorance of the politics surrounding union endorsements.

I doubt very much that an endorsement from the police and fire fighter unions means that the rank and file members of the union endorse that candidate.  For the union leadership, the paramount issue is whether a candidate will ensure them a good contract, since that will determine not only their income, but how they will be judged by their fellow police officers and fire fighters.  The whole point of being a union leader is to secure a good contract.  But for the rank and file union member, there are lots of other issues that might loom as large or larger.  Witness the fact that organized labor overwhelmingly supports Democratic candidates, while rank and file union members often support Republicans.