Big Labor's Buddy: Jim Webb

Yesterday, Senator-elect Jim Webb said this of his first days in Washington: "I look forward to joining Senator Schumer very soon in voting to increase the minimum wage," he said. Earlier, we have earlier discussed why this is bad policy.

Labor unions spent an unprecedented amount of money in this year's midterm elections. The AFL-CIO alone spent $40 million to influence the election and through grassroots outreach, contacted 13.4 million voters. Along with Tennessee, Virginia was one of the state's in the crosshairs of labor.

Now comes payback time. The labor bosses want an anti-business agenda pushed through the Congress. Jimmy Hoffa - President of the Teamsters - wrote a post-election Op-Ed attacking free trade agreements like NAFTA, calling for an increase in the minimum wage and universal-socialized healthcare.

And how does Virginia's new junior senator respond?: At his victory rally, he said:

"I am indebted to you and I will not forget my loyalties," Webb told a crowd of about 400 cheering supporters in a plaza near Arlington's courthouse.

And just today, Senator-elect Webb heeded Mr. Hoffa's call for protectionism:

In the age of globalization and outsourcing, and with a vast underground labor pool from illegal immigration, the average American worker is seeing a different life and a troubling future.