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Nearly every time I heard a Democratic candidate speak to a progressive audience last year, there was a line about how "We need to once again have a Labor Department that is actually pro-labor," which was typically met with thunderous applause. Well, it looks like Obama has granted progressives' wishes. The left is absolutely ecstatic over  Obama's choice of California Rep. Hilda Solis as Labor Secretary. "Hilda Solis is great," the American Prospect's Harold Meyerson beams in a fawning post. SEIU president Andy Stern has declared the pick "extraordinary," noting that she has stood with big labor on every important issue. And based on her voting record, she has received pristine ratings from virtually every major union, which isn't surprising, because she owes her Congressional seat to union backing. As Jim wrote in our print edition last year, the Labor Department has been one of the few conservative success stories in the Bush administration, and now it's looking like it will be a long four to eight years for the business community.

For a taste of what's to come, here's a speech she gave in favor of card check legislation that is making the rounds on liberal blogs,in which she discusses coming from a union family: