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White House declines to condemn union violence in Michigan
By: Neil Munro
12/11/2012
White House spokesman Jay Carney declined to condemn the increasing violence and threats by union members in Michigan, merely telling reporters Tuesday that the president believes in debate thats civil.
When asked by a reporter about a claim by Michigan state Democrat that there will be blood should Republicans pass a union-choice law in Michigan, Carney professed ignorance and then downplayed the comment.
I havent see those comments, and Im not sure they mean what someone interprets them to mean, he said.
The union violence, which included at least one televised assault on a journalist, followed an Obama rally in Michigan Dec. 10, when he declared that right-to-work laws are a political effort to slash wages.
These so-called right to work laws, they dont have to do with economics; they have everything to do with politics, Obama told workers at an auto factory in Redford, Mich. What theyre really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money, he said.
Obama also suggested that the new law, which gives workers the choice to opt out of unions in their workplace, is designed to provoke conflict for Republican gain.
Weve got to get past this whole situation where we manufacture crises because of politics [that] leads to less certainty, more conflict, and we cant all focus on coming together to grow, Obama claimed.
Most Democrats oppose right-to-work laws because they tend to reduce the flow of workers monthly dues to unions. That financial cut weakens union leaders ability to shape elections and lobby against changes.
Obamas Dec. 10 speech did not call for civil debate, or non-violence.
Obama has usually kept his distance from state-level conflicts.
He played little role in 2011 labor-relations battles in Wisconsin and Ohio, and kept a low profile in the October 2012 teachers strike in Chicago.
However, Carney then choose to shift the subject from Michigans labor dispute by calling on other reports for questions.
White House declines to condemn union violence in Michigan | The Daily Caller