When I interviewed Senator Jim DeMint at CPAC, he predicted that Republicans could get three Democratic votes in the Senate to keep the most radical parts of Barack Obama’s agenda from succeeding.  Greg Sargent at the Plum Line blog for the Washington Post says that the same three DeMint named may be shifting to support Card Check, one of the worst pieces of legislation on the Obama agenda.  If so, the Republicans may not be able to block it:

On a conference call with reporters today, AFL-CIO legislative director Bill Samuel made it explicit: The forces fighting to get the Employee Free Choice Act passed are certain that they have the support of three key Senators.

The three: Blanche Lincoln, Mark Pryor, and Mary Landrieu.

If true, this would be a big deal. The pro-business forces opposing Employee Free Choice have been lobbying those three, among others, pretty hard. And people in both camps had agreed that the three are among the fence-sitters.

On the call today, a reporter asked Samuel: “Are you confident that you have Lincoln and
Pryor?”

“Yes, we’re confident,” Samuel replied. Later in the call Samuel was asked the same about Landrieu, and he again replied Yes.

Later, two of the three declined to confirm or deny Samuels’ statement.  Pryor and Landrieu both released statements that claimed they had yet to decide on the issue.  Pryor noted that the bill needed improvement, and that neither side appears to want compromise, which made it sound as though he was inclined against it at the moment; Landrieu just said she would review it.

DeMint and other conservatives had hoped to peel off the three to support a filibuster in defense of the right to a secret ballot in organizing elections.  Republicans nervously wonder what the Porkulus Three in their own caucus will do on Card Check.  If the entire Republican caucus held, the three Democrats wouldn’t be needed to stop Card Check, but as we saw on Porkulus, Specter, Snowe, and Collins aren’t reliable when it comes to stopping big-government legislation.  They need the three Democrats in order to counter the potential loss of the Porkulus Three.

You know what to do:

• Mary Landrieu (D-LA): 202-224-5824
• Blanche Lincoln (D-AR): 202-224-4843
• Mark Pryor (D-AR): 202-224-2353

And why not call the Porkulus Three as well?

• Susan Collins: 202-224-2523
• Olympia Snowe: 202-224-5344
• Arlen Specter: 202-224-4254

Remember to be polite; the people that answer the phones are not political partisans but just working folk.

Previous posts on Card Check:

• Obama tells unions that Card Check will pass this year
• CPAC Interview: Card Check
• Obama moving away from fear-based politics?
• Secret ballots for workers in Mexico, but not the US?
• Will Stern strong-arm unions to join the SEIU?
• Video: Labor officials can’t explain why they need to dump the secret ballot
• Card check a dead letter?
• Audio: Sharpton opposing Card Check?
• Card Check loses a vote? Perhaps
• Video: Blago, SEIU, and Card Check
• DeMint conference call: Card Check, bailouts
• Card Check: A direct pipeline to corruption and abuse
• Can Obama get Democrats to support Card Check?
• Video: The Card Check ad CBS doesn’t want you to see
• Irony escapes the House Democratic Caucus
• Guess who used the secret ballot … again?
• Video: Meet Union Boss Bill
• USA Today: Stop Card Check …
• Video: McGovern on Card Check
• George McGovern to fight Card Check in debate ad
• Video: What if Congress passed Card Check for all elections?
• FRC Action Summit: Barbara Comstock on EFCA
• George McGovern: Stop Card Check
• Where did the SEIU get $150 million for politics?
• Right Online Conference: John Fund
• Maybe this is why they need Card Check?
• Video: “I Hate Heroes”
• Johnny Sac takes on the unions