Yesterday, syndicated columnist George Will eyed the 2008 election race, and happened to mention to the ever-present problem of ending secret ballot elections for working Americans:

If the election were today, Democrats probably would gain at least a dozen House seats. Then in 2010 there will be the census, followed by redistricting. So if the weakness of the national Republican brand seeps down the ballot to state legislative candidates, the Republicans’ trek back to majority status will be steep.

Still, Republican leaders, noting that this remains a center-right country and that theirs is the center-right party, rejoice that some freshman Democrats who are not secure in their seats have had to cast awkward votes. For example, of the 61 Democrats who represent House districts that George W. Bush carried in 2004, 21 are freshmen, all of whom did organized labor’s bidding by voting for the “card check” process of organizing employers, which abolishes workers’ right to a secret ballot. That pleases unions but horrifies, and mobilizes, small-business owners.