MLive
Behind most high-level political candidates are kingmakers — people you might not know very well but who shape agendas and wield a great deal of influence in election campaigns.
In Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero’s improbable quest to become Michigan’s next governor, new United Auto Workers President Bob King is deftly playing the role of political power broker.
Behind in the polls just days before the Aug. 3 primary, Bernero captured the Democratic nomination for governor by portraying himself as the champion of the blue-collar worker who was mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.
And stoking Bernero’s “angry mayor” persona was King, who, by some accounts, is now calling many of the shots in the campaign.
Some say this could be the last stand of organized labor, which has seen its membership, cash and political clout dwindle over the past decade.
“Organized labor has an awful lot to lose in this election,” said Craig Ruff, senior policy fellow at Public Sector Consultants in Lansing.
Installed as the UAW’s president in June, King is vowing to revitalize the labor movement, which took a serious hit in the Great Recession.
King’s first public act as president was to lead a march in downtown Detroit, protesting Wall Street greed that he blamed for triggering a financial meltdown that pushed General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC into bankruptcy.
King may have found the perfect candidate in Bernero, who has made Wall Street the bogeyman in his quest for the governor’s seat.
“I will never stand for working people being thrown under the bus while Wall Street makes out like bandits,” Bernero said in his primary election victory speech.
Bernero also railed against government for its enactment of trade policies he said have resulted in the outsourcing of hundreds of thousands of middle-class jobs.
But his main target was “The Man,” greedy corporate interests that have profited mightily from the fruits of working-class labor.
It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that his message resonated with voters and catapulted him into a November match-up against Republican Rick “The Nerd” Snyder.
Michigan lost nearly 1 million jobs during the Great Recession, about one of every four jobs in the state.
Multiply the losses by the number of folks hurt by those lost jobs — spouses, children and extended family — and you have millions of disaffected people in this state.
Bernero’s challenge will be in continuing to capitalize on the frustration of those who lost jobs while showing he can promote the interests of the Michigan employers who shed those jobs.
King faces a similar balancing act.
He struck a conciliatory tone in a recent speech, saying “there is no group of people more committed to the success of the auto industry than the union and our members.”
It will be interesting to see whether Bernero likewise softens his high-decibel rhetoric in the fall campaign. If he does, you can likely attribute it to King’s influence.
In Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero’s improbable quest to become Michigan’s next governor, new United Auto Workers President Bob King is deftly playing the role of political power broker.
Behind in the polls just days before the Aug. 3 primary, Bernero captured the Democratic nomination for governor by portraying himself as the champion of the blue-collar worker who was mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.
And stoking Bernero’s “angry mayor” persona was King, who, by some accounts, is now calling many of the shots in the campaign.
Some say this could be the last stand of organized labor, which has seen its membership, cash and political clout dwindle over the past decade.
“Organized labor has an awful lot to lose in this election,” said Craig Ruff, senior policy fellow at Public Sector Consultants in Lansing.
Installed as the UAW’s president in June, King is vowing to revitalize the labor movement, which took a serious hit in the Great Recession.
King’s first public act as president was to lead a march in downtown Detroit, protesting Wall Street greed that he blamed for triggering a financial meltdown that pushed General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC into bankruptcy.
King may have found the perfect candidate in Bernero, who has made Wall Street the bogeyman in his quest for the governor’s seat.
“I will never stand for working people being thrown under the bus while Wall Street makes out like bandits,” Bernero said in his primary election victory speech.
Bernero also railed against government for its enactment of trade policies he said have resulted in the outsourcing of hundreds of thousands of middle-class jobs.
But his main target was “The Man,” greedy corporate interests that have profited mightily from the fruits of working-class labor.
It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that his message resonated with voters and catapulted him into a November match-up against Republican Rick “The Nerd” Snyder.
Michigan lost nearly 1 million jobs during the Great Recession, about one of every four jobs in the state.
Multiply the losses by the number of folks hurt by those lost jobs — spouses, children and extended family — and you have millions of disaffected people in this state.
Bernero’s challenge will be in continuing to capitalize on the frustration of those who lost jobs while showing he can promote the interests of the Michigan employers who shed those jobs.
King faces a similar balancing act.
He struck a conciliatory tone in a recent speech, saying “there is no group of people more committed to the success of the auto industry than the union and our members.”
It will be interesting to see whether Bernero likewise softens his high-decibel rhetoric in the fall campaign. If he does, you can likely attribute it to King’s influence.
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