Today in the Washington Examiner October 4, 2010

Byron York - At 'One Nation' rally, a unionized show of unity



The union presence was so ubiquitous and so organized that it made for a kind of color coding in the crowd. Looking around, there were large groups of people bunched into separate areas, all wearing the same color T-shirts to mark their union affiliation. There were groups wearing the purple SEIU shirt, others wearing the red CWA shirt, others wearing the blue AFT shirt, and still others wearing green shirts and yellow shirts and so on. There were long rows of tables where union workers sat waiting to get people connected to their groups and their buses. There were thousands of union-printed signs.


Organizers will deny that the march was a total union job, compared to the more grassroots character of tea party gatherings. And it's true that union allies like the NAACP also played a big part in staging "One Nation Working Together." But it's safe to say the rally would have been nothing without labor's money and organizing strength.


Michael Barone - Pelosi's vote to adjourn could be her last hurrah


Pelosi had effectively lost control of the House. So she decided to shut it down and let Democrats go home and try to salvage their seats.


She and they will come back to a lame duck session after the election, which seems likely but not certain to produce a Republican majority in the House that will take office Jan. 3.


Pelosi is not the first House speaker whose career ended with abrupt defeat.


Video: Proud socialists march at left-wing protest in DC


Who was at the march for unity yesterday? Why an entire group of socialists of course. . . Americans for Prosperity documented some of the more radical groups that marched on the mall yesterday for unity. Watch the video below.




Julie Mason - Rally highlights schism among Democrats


The tens of thousands who gathered at the Lincoln Memorial demanding more federal funding for jobs, schools and justice included some of the bedrock constituencies of the Democratic Party.


But much like the tea party movement they seek to counterpoint, the liberal groups on The Mall represent a schism within their party, and a persistent unhappiness with Washington leadership.



Examiner Editorial: Get Government Motors out of politics


General Motors' political action committee has resumed giving money to politicians, and it does so under a huge cloud. Our government owns 61 percent of GM. An additional 12 percent is owned by the governments of Canada and the province of Ontario. This "Government Motors" arrangement is unlikely to change soon. Even as the post-bankruptcy GM strives to make an initial public offering of its stock, the U.S. government reportedly plans to sell off no more than 20 percent of its shares.


Special Report: 'Waiting for Superman:' Can a documentary save our schools?


The much-anticipated documentary "Waiting for 'Superman,' " which opens in Washington-area theaters Friday, highlights the District's poorly performing public schools and its reformist Chancellor Michelle Rhee while making an urgent case for improving the nation's failing education system.