Ben Smith with Politico reported that a White House official called to tell him, "Organized labor just flushed $10 million down the toilet on a pointless exercise." in trying to beat Blanche Lincoln, Obama's candidate, in Arkansas. AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale responded, that, "labor isn't an arm of the Democratic Party," pointing out that they represent working people, period, and so will continue to support candidates who support working people over monopoly corporate interests. While trashing organized labor, the White House also just gave billionaires 25 billion by letting the estate tax lapse for 2010. A Texas pipeline tycoon, Dan L. Duncan, who died recently could be the first American billionaire to pass his fortune to his children and grandchildren tax-free. Forbes magazine estimated his worth at $9 billion and he would have been subject to a federal tax of at least 45 percent. Instead, because Congress allowed the tax to lapse for one year and gave all estates a free pass ...nada. Welcome to the land of the landed gentry and the multigenerational dynasty. Not exactly what the Founders envisioned.

Arkansas Senator Blanch Lincoln (D) grabbed a narrow victory in a hard-fought campaign from Lt. Governor Bill Halter. Many credit President Clinton's and President Obama's campaigning for her as the reason for her win, which means the idea that this is a "win for women" is pretty easily set aside. More often, Lincoln's victory by the same margin the polls showed she'd lose by is being called a win for the establishment, but that's only true if "establishment" means transnational monopoly corporations and big money. And apparently the Obama White House, with their call to Politico's Ben Stein trashing organized labor, is signaling just that. Similarly, Whitman's and Fiorino's wins aren't wins for women, but wins for millionaires and billionaires.