The Grander Bargain: Hmmm. The SEIU, a major proponent of "card check" labor law revision, has also been attacking moderate Dems on health care :    

In recent weeks, liberal bloggers and grass-roots groups such as MoveOn.org, Democracy for America, Service Employees International Union and Progressive Change Campaign Committee have targeted Democratic   Sens. Ben Nelson (Neb.),   Mary Landrieu (La.),   Arlen Specter (Pa.),   Ron Wyden (Ore.) and Dianne Feinstein (Calif.).  [E.A.]

Does this hurt the SEIU's "card check" push by annoying the very moderate Dem Senators they must convince in order to get a pro-labor compromise passed? Or does it help the union, which can now say "Sen. Landrieu--if you vote for card check we'll give you a pass on health care and stop attacking you"? It's a form of leverage, after all. And it's leverage that's unavailable to the SEIU on the "card check" issue itself: It's not as if the union could run an ad attacking moderate Dems for failing to embrace "card check," which is hard to defend in public. ....

Bonus question: Does the possibility of trading some health care provisions for card check in some sort of gruesome grand bargain help or hurt Obama , assuming he cares a lot more about health care than card check? ... I guess if you think left-wing pressure for a public plan is hurting his health care effort, then it arguably helps --the unions and "progressive" Senators can be bought off with card check, freeing up moderate senators to vote for, say, a health bill with a weak public option without fear of provoking serious (non-Kabuki) opposition . ....If you think the left wing union and grass roots pressure is helping Obama, because he really wants to push the "moderates" into a plan they might not otherwise like, then arguably it will hurt him , because if the SEIU gets mollified on card check the pressure on health care will let up. ... Of course there may be other, more important factors at work, like the extent to which unions are enabled to organize in the new, more heavily regulated health care sector.  ... [ Thanks to reader J. ]  5:48 P.M.

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Whippersnappers Over the Hill: A new publication promises to be like "The Awl with a younger focus." Ha. Choire Sicha is already past it . ... Next, Ezra Klein takes WaPo early retirement. ... Update: Sicha emails: "Dude, I am 37! I am TOTALLY OLD." Who knew? Keep rockin' ...  5:46 P.M.

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