MICHAEL MULLOWNEY, of Newton MA?
J RICHARD and CAROL MUNRO, of New Canaan CT?
LEE MURDOCH, of Medford OR?
JOHN S MURK, of Cardiff by the Sea CA?
RICHARD MURPHEY, of Columbus OH?
CHARLES D MURPHY III, of Lafayette and Sea Ranch CA?
DONALD MURPHY of St Louis and Kirkwood MO?
HARRY L MURPHY, of Pacific Grove CA?
LINDA MYERS, of Sapulpa OK?
JOEL MUST, of Bloomfield Hills MI?
CARL MURRAY, of Indianapolis IN?
DAVID MURTON, of La Mesa CA?

You noticed these names all start with 'M'? Remarkable! Observant citizens such as yourselves are the lifeblood of representative democracy!

Here's another thing they have in common: all made FEC reportable contributions of $200 or more to John McCain's 2000 presidential primary campaign. But wait! There's more!!!

There's more...

Matt had a piece a few days ago in which, inspired by the coincidence of EFCA reaching the House floor, he flagged an episode from the fascinating history of US labor organization.

On the thread, I mentioned the 30s and 40s as a particularly interesting period in the history of unions and labor legislation.

Rummaging through my shedload of PDFs, I come up with an excellent way in to the period, The Southern Imposition: Congress and Labor in the New Deal and Fair Deal.

The title shows the angle that the authors take in their paper. But there's solid coverage of legislative histories and some on the effect the legislation had on the unions.

Cliff Notes: in the 30s, most Southern MCs supported pro-labor legislation: there was heavy support for the New Deal (including labor reform) in the South; union density in the South was low; Southern MCs got exemptions from both the Wagner Act and the FLSA for employers in agriculture (the main sector of Negro employment).

In the 40s, they changed their stance, joined the GOP and reversed a good deal of the legislative gains for labor: the war saw big growth in industrialization and a doubling in union numbers in the South; Negroes were moving out of agriculture; unions (in Operation Dixie, for instance) were making particular efforts to unionize the South.

There's more...