Strange Bedfellows

I have been crossing a picket line lately, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. My home state of Rhode Island gave me plenty of examples of bad union behavior: nepotism, corruption, shoddy work. I developed a deep feeling that although they may have been good at one point in history, they had outgrown and outlasted that point. They were a victim of their own success. Now that laws protected workers and wages, there wasn’t much more for them to fight over except ever higher wages and even more benefits. So it wasn’t a big deal to me that when a local company had a lockout, that I worked a position that was available. (The company’s contract offer wasn’t sweet enough for the union. Never mind that most people in the country are getting fired or reduced wages, the union wanted higher wages and better benefits... see the first paragraph). The wages are among the highest I’ve ever had, and the benefits are more generous than anything else I’ve heard of. So it is a good opportunity for me. So what is the problem? Republicans. I’m Independent, but lean Democrat. Mostly Republicans make my skin crawl. But when they announced a war on unions, it wasn’t a big deal to me. Let them, I thought. What inspired them to make teachers, police, and fire fighters their first targets? Those are good, helpful people. That’s who they think are ruining the country? I can’t support that sort of narrow-minded anti-intellectualism. So that's the problem. Do I continue to support busting a union, even though it looks as though I support the Republicans’ broader platform?