Senator Michael Bennet has come out against card check. With a straight face, Greg Sargent pens:

Now, it’s true that Bennet is talking about the bill as is, which leaves room for compromise. But Bennet is framing EFCA as a potential impediment to getting health care reform done. The danger for labor is that this type of claim could give cover to Dems who want to oppose the measure for other reasons, just as the state of the economy has done.

Well, the “danger” to Big Labor is that since the defection of Arlen Specter they haven’t had a prayer of passing this. Now, they must convince Democrats and Republicans alike that they are so formidable as to warrant a compromise.

As Mickey Kaus has written, there are many reforms that might be appropriate in the arena of federal labor law — but those reforms run both ways. To the extent that Big Labor wants to open up the entire topic, those who oppose card check may want to start talking about labor corruption.

As a general observation, it is interesting to note that despite its huge investment in the 2008 election cycle, Big Labor is unable to secure its top priority. Some ideas are so bad — abolishing the secret ballot, for one — that even Congress won’t approve.