Commentary: The ‘Structural Advantages’ of Democrats

American Federation of Teachers

A few weeks ago, Congressman Richard Hudson, Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said something in a television interview that has to be the biggest understatement ever made in the context of national politics today. In regards to the work he is doing with the committee to grow the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, he said that the Democrats enjoy several “structural advantages.” It was a short interview, and Chairman Hudson didn’t have time to elaborate. But his statement is true in so many ways and carries with it such profound implications for our future that elaboration is called for.

One of the most significant structural advantages of Democrats is the fact that government unions, heavily involved in politics at every level, invariably favor Democrats. While business interests have collective power much greater than these unions, they have no inherent party preference. They support the politicians who win because those are the politicians who will regulate them. Moreover, there is no monolithic “business community.” Businesses either occupy different sectors of the economy with completely different political priorities or, if not, they are often in direct competition with each other.

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Pennsylvania Government Union Political Spending Skyrockets Even as Membership Declines

Even as Pennsylvania’s public-sector unions suffer net losses of members and dues, these groups continue to ramp up political donations, according to a new analysis by the Harrisburg-based Commonwealth Foundation (CF). 

According to the free-market nonprofit, spending from Keystone State government unions like the Pennsylvania State Education Association and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 13 totaled $6.34 million in the 2011-12 campaign cycle. That amount steadily rose over all gubernatorial and presidential cycles and reached a record $20.2 million in 2021-22. 

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