Solidarity is under siege. Austerity has laid waste to the vestiges of labor rights.  That sad fact is no where else more true than in Arizona. As Braham Resnick writes ("Sweeping bills attack public employee unions"):

Arizona's Republican Legislature could virtually wipe out public employee unions in a sweeping new package of legislation far broader than the collective-bargaining bills that shut down Wisconsin's Capitol last spring. The bills would:

-Make it illegal for government bodies to collectively bargain with employee groups. Public safety unions (police officer unions) would be included in the ban.

-End the practice of automatic payroll deductions for union dues.

-Ban compensation of public employees for union work.

In the middle of this anti-labor firestorm, the president of the Scottsdale Fraternal Order of Police, Jim Nolan, thought it wise to provoke and embarrass one of the most powerful men on Earth, and certainly the most powerful Arizona politician in the past 50 years: Sen. John McCain.  

This, of course, happened after Sen McCain's wife tweeted that Sgt. Jason Prostrollo (the unarmed former Marine who Scottsdale Police killed): "RIP Jason Prostrollo. You are a patriot and a veteran." In response to the that tweet, Mr. Nolan wrote a polemic directed at Mrs. McCain; she then deleted that tweet.  

While I have not seen the entire letter, I can only imagine, from the paragraph I did see, that it was hardly diplomatic or refined. And while Mr. Nolan may have won the battle by having Mrs. McCain delete her tweet, how costly was the victory for the bargaining rights of Arizona's workers? 

I agree with almost none of Sen. McCain's politics, but I have no doubt that he loves his wife and his children, and I certainly have no doubt that he is a proud man. Undoubtedly, no one who has accomplished what Sen. McCain has is soft or timid. I was at Sgt. Prostrollo's funeral and Mrs. McCain's eulogy was loving, genuine, and tender. It was as if she lost her own son. Her tears were real. She is now a wounded lioness, and that wrath will almost certainly be redeemed by Sen. McCain one way or the other.  

The best advice I ever received was never yell at a waiter for the simple reason you don't know he will do to your food when you are not looking. Sen. McCain doesn't have to stump in support of Gov. Brewer's anti-labor plan. He can do all the damage he needs to behind the scenes, with a couple of phone calls here and there. He can sway on-the-fence legislatures and none of us will ever know.  

But he's a outspoken Republican so wouldn't he do that anyway? Maybe, but maybe not. The point is not that he was fervent supporter of Solidarity before Sgt. Prostrollo was shot and killed, just that he was silent and seemingly uninterested. Now that could very well change, not because he is more interested in the raw policy implications, but because his wife has been humiliated. He could still stay silent, but behind the scenes be very dangerous to Arizona public collective bargaining rights.

What Mr. Nolan thought he could gain, other than to blast "March of Valkyries" and repeat to himself endlessly "smells like victory", by embarrassing Sen. McCain and his wife, I can't even begin to imagine. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought Mr. Nolan was an agent provocateur planted by the Goldwater Institute.

It may be wise for all union members in Arizona to ask themselves whether Mr. Nolan has the right temperament and judgment for leadership. Is his "bull in a china shop" attitude really such a good idea? Does brow-beating Cindy McCain, whose only sin was to show love for a friend, make even the least bit of sense?  

If you are a Scottsdale Fraternal Order of Police member, ask yourself this question: 20 years from now when you about to retire, what will be more important to you, that Mr. Nolan selfishly stared down Cindy McCain and won, or that you will have a decent pension and health care benefits?  If your pension is more important to you than Mr. Nolan's pride, then maybe its time someone took his place and immediately, while it's not too late, apologized to Mrs. McCain. Maybe that way, the political behemoth that is Sen. McCain will stay on the sidelines.