A group of fed-up liberals and labor leaders have taken political matters in Raleigh, North Carolina into their own hands - filing a petition to create a third party for the upcoming Congressional election. The third-party rebellion is being orchestrated in response to 'no' votes on health care reform from three North Carolinian Democratic congressmen. The party, North Carolina First, is being funded by the State Employees Association of North Carolina, represented by the parent group Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Outgoing SEIU president Andy Stern is treating the party creation as a priority, hoping that it will say to Democrats that they will not receive blind support simply for being Democrats if they continue to shut down health care reform. The effort will be difficult - 85,000 signatures by June 1, then one month to declare a candidate (none have been named), but Democratic incumbents are 'keeping watch.'
See "North Carolina Democrats' votes against health care push labor to form party", Philip Rucker, The Washington Post, April 18, 2010