Friday Fodder: Pro-Union Edition

• Bruce Raynor, president of Unite Here and the uncle of one of my childhood friends, makes the case in the L.A. Times that the true goal of those who opposed the auto bailout was to bust the UAW. He also suggests that foreign car manufacturers' long-term plan for their U.S. plants involves the demise of UAW in particular and the continuing decline of American unions in general. This is why the Employee Free Choice Act is so "controversial." It would probably result in the resurgence of unions and the return of some fairness to relations between American industry, broadly defined, and labor.
• You can read here about yet another Southern embarrassment.
• E.J. Dionne argues in favor of Obama's selection of Arne Duncan to head the Department of Education. He sees the pick as an attempt to change the terms of the education debate. "To declare that the only test of a politician's commitment to reform is a willingness to break with unions creates a no-win choice for Democrats," he writes. "They must either betray long-standing allies or face condemnation as the captives of special interests." For an alternative and far less sunny view of Duncan, check out this piece by Henry A. Giroux and Kenneth Saltman. I find their rejection of any private sector involvement in public education naive, but their account does raise some questions about Duncan's view of public schools.
• TNR's Damon Linker makes a solid case for the inclusion of Rick Warren in Obama's inauguration ceremony. Tapped's Tim Fernholz sees it differently. Though I'm certainly sympathetic to those who find Warren repugnant because of his support for Proposition 8, I tend to like Obama's deicision to invite him to take part. Bringing Warren into the tent, I would argue, is about appealing to young evangelicals, who are, believe it or not, in certain respects progressive. Specifically, many young envangelicals tend to believe in protecting the environment and are more moderate than their parents on issues like gay rights and, to some extent, abortion. What Obama is trying to do here is pull a reverse Reagan. By appealing to conservative but reasonable Americans, he can create an opening for progressive ideals like real health care reform and movement on climate change.
• Don't look now, but Al Franken is poised to become a member of the U.S. Senate.
• MOVIE OF THE WEEK: Watched "Judgment at Nuremberg" for the first time earlier this week and thought it was outstanding. It's a very interesting exploration of post-war Germany that is as much about the German reaction to the war as the atrocities of the war itself. The film succeeds in being moral without being moralistic. The incredibly fine cast includes Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland, and, bizarrely, a pre-Star Trek William Shatner.