This is simple enough: Joe The Plumber gets asked about the Employee Free Choice Act — the piece of legislation he is on tour rallying against, for a corporation — and does not know what it is. He tells the cameraman here, “Drop it, brother, drop it. I never said I was an expert, man.” Yeah man he’s just an average guy and stuff. But he is “for America” though, which is better than any of you dirty fucking hippies can say. [Greg Sargent]

On Tuesday, Arlen Specter shocked America’s unions by switching sides on the Employee Free Choice Act and promising he would vote “no” if it ever came to a vote, on which he may have been the filibuster-breaking vote, thereby most likely killing the legislation for at least this year. In response, Joe the Plumber has organized a “grassroots” tour across Pennsylvania next week in which he will demand Arlen Specter promise to vote “no” on the Employee Free Choice Act. It’s almost as if Joe the Plumber does not follow the news! ALMOST. MORE »

• SO MUCH FOR THAT ONE: Sen. Arlen Specter has flipped his long-held stance siding with unions on the Employee Free Choice Act and will now vote against invoking cloture on the measure, which is kind of important, because he very well may have been the deciding vote over a filibuster. It may have been to help him win back some conservatives in Pennsylvania, where he will still probably get trounced in the closed Republican primary next year since he voted for the Communist’s stimulus package. And the EFCA is probably done for this legislative session. Take that, remaining people in America who still actually make things! The Fat Cats shall dine on the finest of steaks and potatoes tonight. [National Journal]

OK here is the problem with labor/union disputes: they are invariably very complicated and sort of dull to the uninitiated. The articles about these disputes are fiendishly unskimmable, and they often discuss legislation that doesn’t at first glance favor one side or the other until you look into it and realize they are PURE GOOD/EVIL. Thus it is with some trepidation that we even attempt to wade into the Hilda Solis debacle. MORE »