Huffington Post
Dave Jamieson
WASHINGTON -- With fresh Capitol Hill budget battles on the horizon,
the head of the leading labor federation planned to issue a blistering
warning to unions' Democratic allies on Monday, saying the AFL-CIO would
"never stop working" to end the political careers of Democrats who cut
entitlement programs.
"No politician … I don’t care the political party … will get away
with cutting Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits. Don’t try
it," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said, according to prepared
remarks for a speech in Las Vegas, Nev.
According to the draft, which was supplied to HuffPost by the
AFL-CIO, Trumka stressed his point for Democrats who may be wobbly on
the issue.
"This warning goes double for Democrats," he said. "We will never
forget. We will never forgive. And we will never stop working to end
your career."
The AFL-CIO has long opposed any cuts
to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid, and the labor federation has
suggested in the past that it would consider pulling support from
Democrats who help make those cuts happen. But Trumka's remarks on the
issue Monday amounted to a far more aggressive threat: That the AFL-CIO
would actively use its war chest to unseat Democrats on the other side
of the issue.
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