Norquist Urges Senate Hearing on Labor Board Nominee, Craig Becker

From Brian M Johnson on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 10:19 AM

Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist sent a letter to Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-WY), of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee urging them to ask for a full Senate hearing for Obama’s nomination for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Craig Becker.

Norquist sites Becker’s ties to ACORN, his position at the SEIU and connections to former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) as reasons for a full public hearing. The letter states:

As associate general for the SEIU, Mr. Becker kept precarious relationships with ACORN and former Governor Rod Blagojevich. Mr. Becker was involved in numerous legal actions involving SEIU locals tied to ACORN and won praise from ACORN co-founder, Wade Rathke. Mr. Rathke said of Becker, “For my money, Craig’s signal contribution has been his work in crafting and executing the legal strategies and protections which have allowed the effective organization of informal workers, and by this I mean home health-care workers.” It is unfair to levy partially substantiated guilt-by-association charges against Mr. Becker but his lack candor is troubling and deserves all full Senate hearing.

“If an immediate ‘red flag’ doesn’t go up when you have the co-founder of ACORN praising someone’s character, you may want to re-think your approach,” said Norquist. “If there is one group on the entire planet you do not want giving your ‘legal strategies’ accolades, it’s ACORN!”

Click here for a PDF of ATR's press release on this matter.

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