Democrats woo union voters at AFSCME forum

Several Democratic presidential candidates wooed union voters Tuesday at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) leadership forum.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who spoke first, told the crowd he would “nominate a union person to be secretary of labor.”

Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) later responded to the suggestion, saying it is a “great idea.”

{mosads}All morning, candidates tried to outdo each other in a show of support for unions.

“Don’t you think it’s about time to have a president of the United States who will actually walk out on the White House lawn and explain to the American people why unions matter in America?” former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) asked.

Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) said he wants a “Department of Labor that actually understands it’s the Department of Labor and not the Department of Management.”

Clinton declined to weigh in on whether she would criticize President Bush for pardoning former Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby.

“I would think there would be enough to be said about this without me adding to it,” Clinton responded to a question posed by moderator Chris Matthews of MSNBC.

When Matthews pressed her, he was shouted down by several members of the audience, who asked for a “real question.”
Clinton added: “A question that’s really about the people in this audience.”