In a February 1 column, The Denver Post's David Harsanyi suggested that to understand Democrats' support for a Colorado labor bill favored by unions (Colorado House Bill 1072), “we should follow the money.” Harsanyi then listed several prominent Democrats who received significant campaign contributions in 2006 from labor unions. Harsanyi included in his list Rep. Bernie Buescher (D-Grand Junction), but failed to note that Buescher voted against HB 1072. Harsanyi also failed to note that the House sponsor of the bill, Rep. Michael Garcia (D-Aurora), received more campaign contributions from business than organized labor and that the Senate sponsor, Sen. Jennifer Veiga (D-Denver), received no union contributions.

As Colorado Media Matters has noted, HB 1072 would revise the Colorado Labor Peace Act to strike provisions regarding procedures under which workers preparing to negotiate a union contract can obtain necessary authority to make the contract an all-union agreement. Such an agreement requires all workers covered under the contract -- whether they are union members or not -- to contribute money to the union, through dues or fees. The bill passed the Colorado House of Representatives on January 22.

In his column, Harsanyi cited the National Institute on Money in State Politics (NIMSP) to prove his assertion that “many Democrats owe their political existence to unions”:

Colorado Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald's top 12 contributions were all from labor unions -- around 32 percent of all her special-interest money.

Rep. Jim Riesberg's top 11 contributions all came from labor unions -- over 37 percent of his total.

Ten of Rep. Bernie Buescher's top 13 contributions were from unions.

Eleven of Rep. Randy Fischer's top 13 donors were unions. (The other two were Randy Fischer).

How generous.

Rep. Mike Merrifield's top 11 contributors were labor unions; all told, almost 30 percent of his “economic interest” contributions. (This guy might as well take a paycheck from the teachers unions and get it over with.)

Fifteen of Rep. Judy Solano's top 20 contributions were from labor unions.

Of Sen. Betty Boyd's 20 top donors, 15 were unions. And so on...

However, as The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction reported on February 2, despite receiving union campaign contributions, Buescher opposed HB 1072 when the full House voted on it in January:

When the bill came to a full House vote last month, Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction, joined his Republican colleagues in opposition. Nonetheless, the bill passed 35-29.

Buescher's vote against the bill came despite receiving more than $20,000 in union contributions to his 2006 election campaign.

Another example of Harsanyi's dubious sampling of Democrats who have received campaign contributions from labor unions was his omission of entries for the House and Senate sponsors of the legislation in question, Garcia and Veiga. According to the NIMSP, Garcia received roughly 9 percent of his contributions from labor unions and roughly 31 percent from business. NIMSP records show that Veiga received roughly 73 percent of her contributions from business and none from labor unions.

From Harsanyi's column “Union cash talks via Dems' bill” in the February 1 edition of The Denver Post:

In Colorado, unions represent only 8.3 percent of workers -- and a large portion of those union jobs are in public-sector monopolies.

So if only a small minority of Colorado's workforce has any association with unions, why is this anti-business bill being rushed to the governor's desk by top Democrats?

You know, I remember a lot of campaign promises about schools and health care. Nothing about saving unions.

Guess we should follow the money.

The National Institute on Money in State Politics is a nonpartisan organization that tracks campaign finances. There you'll find that many Democrats owe their political existence to unions.