Were unions sacrificed at the altar of Obamacare?

March 10 (Bloomberg) — Unite Here, a union that represents service industry workers, has released a pretty blistering report condemning Obamacare. The report itself is not particularly interesting; its economic analysis is a mishmash of dubious claims and complaints about giving money to insurers but not to unions. On the other hand, the existence of this report is very interesting indeed — the miracle is not how well the bear dances but that it dances at all. The spectacle tells you a lot about the politics of the Affordable Care Act and the modern Democratic Party.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that my father oversaw labor negotiations for years in his role as the head of a construction trade association, and I believe he still sits on the pension board of a union. I have learned a lot about multiemployer plans from him over the years. However, I did not consult him about this post. From which you may infer that I should call my father more often, and right you are. Sorry, Dad.