Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is frustrated over the political standoff over his legislation to strip away collective bargaining from most public employees.
Walker’s frustration comes, in part, from recent polls showing the Wisconsin citizenry siding with public employees. The most recent poll comes from the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute:
Bargaining rights: […] Exactly half of the respondents (50 percent) say that public employees are willing to compromise on pensions and benefits but limiting bargaining rights does nothing to balance the state’s budget situation and is really just an attempt to get rid of public employee unions. Forty-three percent say the proposed changes are a necessary reform because they will give local governments greater flexibility to control their budgets over several years.
[…]Walker: Slightly more than half (53 percent) of the respondents have a somewhat or strongly unfavorable opinion of Walker while 43 percent have a somewhat or strongly favorable opinion of him. In a November WPRI poll shortly after Walker was elected, a slightly higher percentage (45 percent) had a somewhat or strongly favorable opinion of him while 35 percent had a somewhat or strongly unfavorable opinion of him and 20 percent either didn’t know or had never heard of him.
Almost two-thirds of respondents (65 percent) say he should compromise with Democrats and public employee unions while one-third (33 percent) say he should stand strong no matter how long protests last.
Other bad news for Walker is the relatively pro-worker sentiment expressed by a majority of those polled:
Laying off State workers: Two thirds (66 percent) are somewhat or strongly opposed while 30 percent are somewhat or strongly in favor. […]
Public employee unions: In the most recent poll, almost six out of ten respondents (59 percent) had a somewhat or strongly favorable opinion of public employee unions. Thirty-four percent had a somewhat or strongly unfavorable opinion.
Little wonder that Walker is frustrated. He thought he could cram his extremist anti-worker legislation through the legislative process without anyone really noticing. Instead, his actions have placed him in the ideological spotlight. The recent polls tell us that Wisconsinites don’t like what they see.
Walker held a press conference today, and tried to take his frustration out on Mark Miller (D), the Senate Minority Leader and de facto leader of the self-exiled Senators:
[…] Walker wielded Sunday night’s report from the Wall Street Journal, which reported Miller as saying the Dems would come back — and which Miller and the Dems quickly distanced themselves from — as evidence that Miller had misled people.
[…]On multiple occasions, Walker said that Miller was in effect following the word of labor union leaders — and he imagined that there might have been some sort of secret phone calls.
Later in the conference, Walker said that Miller “appears to be listening more to the labor union bosses in Washington than he does to members of his own caucus.” He again maintained that Miller had told the Wall Street Journal that he would come home, “and then after he got the phone call from labor unions in Washington or whatever it was,” had changed his tune.
Wait…he “imagines” a “secret phone call?” From out of state? Calling the shots?
That’s rich stuff, coming from a guy who actually took a phone call from out-of-state billionaire David Koch! At least, that’s who Walker thought he was talking to on the phone.
Yes…this is classic Wingnut projection: Whatever we actually do, we will accuse the Democrats of doing and hope nobody notices.
Walker also later said: “I’m not sure, I can only speculate. But I have to assume that some of those labor leaders who have invested millions and millions into this state got on the phone with Sen. Miller and told him, you cannot budge.”
See what I mean?
cherry-picking dumbass darryl
why not include this from the same poll?
need to vote on the legislation and make this a legitimate campaign issue in future elections. otherwise, if the dems someday win back the governors mansion and the house, but the R’s have 14 senate seats, they will be justified in leaving.
hardly a reasonable precedent, is it. emotional reaction to being in the minority and running away from a vote will continue to work against the dems the more time passes.
Lying is the mainstay of rightwing political posturing. Always has been, always will be.
@1 A wingnut bitching about Democrats behaving like Republicans is like Gary Ridgeway complaining about the murder rate in his neighborhood.
We need more, not less, Republican-like behavior from our Democratic electeds.
@1: They already do it. Look at the Oregon House in 2007. This is an ideological tactic Republicans are intimately familiar with, and in Oregon’s case they did it to avoid having to vote on a tobacco tax that would have funded children’s healthcare. So, Republicans use this tactic to protect tobacco companies at the cost of children’s health, while Democrats use it to try to prevent Republicans from breaking the middle class anymore than they’ve already been able to do.
Who has the moral high ground here?
@4
Republicans use it relentlessly in the US Senate. It’s called the anonymous hold and the filibuster. The only difference is that the poor guys in Wisconsin had to physically remove themselves in order to protect their constituents. The sucky Republicans in the US Senate get to obstruct needed legislation from the comfort of their offices and condos and brothels.
I know this is off-topic but looks like you can use some commentary. Goldy’s boss is in the news at the Washington Monthly. They think he’s the new Ann Landers. here’s a comment I left.
Dan Savage was an enthusiastic supporter of the invasion if Iraq. In arguing for that war he made this point:
“War may be bad for children and other living things, but there are times when peace is worse for children and other living things, and this is one of those times.”
And this:
“In the meantime, invading and rebuilding Iraq will not only free the Iraqi people, it will also make the Saudis aware of the consequences they face if they continue to oppress their own people while exporting terrorism and terrorists. The War on Iraq will make it clear to our friends and enemies in the Middle East (and elsewhere) that we mean business: Free your people, reform your societies, liberalize, and democratize… or we’re going to come over there, remove you from power, free your people, and reform your societies for ourselves.”
Read the entire bloodthirsty piece here:
http://www.thestranger.com/sea.....?oid=12237
Millions of Iraqis displaced from their homes; tens of thousands killed and injured; thousands of Americans killed and injured; trillions of dollars wasted, and Dan Savage, like Bush and Cheney and Cantwell, is still treated with respect. AMAZING!
The WI Senate Democrats leaving town was an extreme tactic no doubt..
If the shoe was on the foot, Dem-leaning folk would not like it – no doubt.
Bottom line: let the people of Wisconsin judge at election time if the tactic was extreme or appropriate.
Judging by the gathering steam for a recall effort I think I can call that just about right now.
John or “Jon” @ 6
You dope. People are entitled to their opinion good or bad. Little thing called the first ammendment.
IIRC Savage’s opinions on foreign policy don’t carry all that much weight as compared to say his views on gay civil rights or sex advice.
I believe Saddam’s regime EXECUTED gays and lesbians so that in part might have driven his views on the regime.
I’m wondering what the Republicans in Wisconsin are going to do now. Their strategy there has failed, and it’s having considerable negative consequences for the Republicans elsewhere.
It’s not just that Walker’s campaign to de-certify the unions failed in the face of fierce union opposition. That would have been a salvageable situation. But because Walker chose to double-down and keep throwing the dice, the he’s taking a lot more with it.
1) Walker’s lie that the elimination of union collective bargaining is necessary due to budget problems has been laid bare, the budget problems were entirely of his own creation, and the unions agreed to the cuts anyway. Now Walker’s got zero credibility in the press, the broadcast media, and among most Wisconsin voters – and he’s barely two months into his term of office.
2) The telephone call from the blogger, pretending to be David Koch, was devesatating – it showed who was clearly calling the shots in Wisconsin (and it’s not the governor).
3) In the face of Walker’s intransegience, workers around the country are becoming more organized and informed than ever before, and their public approval rating has soard – exactly the opposite effect than what Walker intended.
4) The Republican noise machine, especially Fox News, is suffering hits due to it’s anti-worker stance and obvious lies. It’s become the laughing stock, with a reporter crying about being hit by a protester (someone tapped him on the shoulder) and using footage of someplace with palm trees to show “union violence” among the protesters in Wisconsin.
You would think that Walker would take his lumps and execute a strategic retreat, saying that he would drop the bill to de-certify the unions if they would agree to the budget cuts, and then step back and wait for another day. But no, Walker seems incapable of making anything which might appear to be a concession.
‘…the Budget Repair Bill.”
Who could have known that Walker could be capable of such dry irony.
By the way, even George Will was lamenting in Sunday’s column (printed in the Seattle Times) about how the Republicans need to dial down their “crazy” if they want to run in 2012. He specifically discussed Mike Huckabee’s recent attempts to portray Obama as a Kenyan anti-British imperialist.
@9 Walker’s strategy hasn’t failed, in fact, it’s likely to succeed, because even now the Democratic senators are talking about returning to the state. They’re making noises about how they can’t hold out forever, and even if the bill passes, they’ll “stand with” the demonstrators, etc. Walker is playing a game of chicken and he holds the trump cards — and knows it. Yeah, he may lose a recall election … if Republicans can’t keep Democrats from voting. See next comment.
They’re Baaaaaack …
“New Hampshire’s new Republican state House speaker is clear about what he thinks of college students and how they vote. They’re ‘foolish,’ Speaker William O’Brien said in a recent speech to a tea-party group. ‘Voting as a liberal. That’s what kids do,’ he added, his comments taped by a state Democratic Party staffer and posted on YouTube. Students lack ‘life experience,’ and ‘they just vote their feelings.’
“As a result, New Hampshire House Republicans are pushing for new laws that would prohibit many college students from voting in the state — and effectively keep some from voting at all.”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....ote07.html
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Although union-busting is getting the attention, Republicans throughout the nation also are pushing hard to disenfranchise voters they don’t like — the young, the elderly, the poor, and minorities.
They may want to be careful about what they wish for, though. If they pass laws to keep “foolish” people from voting, any court putting a reasonable interpretation on such a law would say no Republican is eligible to vote.
Republicans don’t believe in democracy. Their idea of an election emulates Cuba or the former Soviet Union.
@1…
Walker is epitomizes the scum that are republican officeholders.
You know pally, anybody can comment here…but as stupid as you are, your ass will be thoroughly kicked.
@1,
sure. The polling indicates that voters somewhat disapprove of Dem Senate obstruction.
But that doesn’t really change the fact that it happens to be obstruction of legislation they really disapprove of.
So play it out electorally in your own mind. Who wins and who loses?
-A stubbornly unwilling-to-compromise, blindly partisan Governor who locks down the capitol with armed police and threatens to send in the National Guard to impose the pet legislation of billionaires that most voters in Wisconsin hate?
-Or the handful of Dem Senators who stand up to him in order to defend teachers and nurses?
Just like Walker (and David Koch) you are missing the point. You go right ahead arguing the polling nuances, while you and the rest of the GOP are losing whatever brief advantage you enjoyed at the turn of the Congress. This shit is turning purple states blue, and blue states bluer. It makes Republicans look like assholes. And most folks won’t voter for assholes.
Wait.
You know what? Ignore all that.
You fuckers keep right on keeping on.
Please.
@15 What I want to know is how much the Koch brothers are paying Jimbo to cut his own balls off by supporting those thieves. Does he get $10 a month from them?
When even Forbes Magazine is saying a Republican screwed the pooch, you know they’ve really screwed the pooch.
Also, Walker’s bill sells off the power plants and cripples the state medicare and guts funding for public transportation system across the state.
At least when the Dems step on their own dicks they usually do it for principled reasons that ultimately serve the broad public interest.
What kills me about the GOP is how consistently they squander political advantage for no good reasons other than blind greed and fear. In a functional democracy it would be easy to exploit that weakness to defeat these folks. But I suppose that’s why conservatives continue to run these kinds of crazy political risks. They understand this is no longer a functional democracy. And once in a while their gambles pay off. Probably not this time, though.
And the walker bill kills puppies!
http://www.postcrescent.com/ar.....dyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
(Well technically, WI can already kill puppies, but the walker bill expands it.)
And Rick SCott in Florida is cutting 1.6 B from schools to . . . give tax breaks to corporations! Plus a little property tax relief.
Such fiscally responsible Republicans these days . . .
I laugh at how many progtards refuse to see the c onflict of interest that public employee unions have in their dealings with elected officials about collective bargaining.
A union donates large sums to an elected official’s campaign and then sits down with the same official to bargain for pay raises for the union members who report to that official. That stinks and taxpayers get the shaft.
Then again, shafting the taxpayer is a regular function of Democrat officials.
# 21:
…A union corporation donates large sums to an elected official’s campaign and then sits down with the same official to bargain for pay raises tax credits, no-bid contracts, or sale of public assetts at a nominal price for the union members who report to that official corporation. That stinks and taxpayers get the shaft.
Then again, shafting the taxpayer is a regular function of DemocratRepublican officials.
There. I fixed it for you.
By the way, the elected officials are supposed to represent all interests of the public, including their status as taxpayers and their need for competent public services in general. Balancing these interests is why he have a republican (small “r”) form of government, rather than a direct democracy where every small issue is put up for a vote. We do need public officials who will exercise leadership and be willing to draw the line where needed, either in telling the public that they need to loosen their purse strings a bit, or telling the public employee unions that there’s simply not enough to meet all their desires.
But comparing the “conflict of interest” between the influence of the public employee unions and the corporate donations (especially in the post-Citizens United world), is like comparing the influence of a mouse with that of an elephant. The amount of money invested by corporations to compel their agenda, nation-wide, is several orders of magnitude greater than anything the unions can put together.
(Note: hope the strike-through feature works).
Nope, it didn’t work. I can’t tell when we can get away with Hyperlink on this site, and when we can’t. I wish Goldy would include a strike-through button among his editing features.
@22: What’s laughable is that you have a problem with an association of middle class people having influence over politicians through political donations while having no problem with multi-billion dollar corporations owned primarily by the wealthier having more influence over politicians through exponentially larger donations. Which is worse–bargaining for family-wage jobs, or lobbying for million- and billion-dollar tax cuts, or gutting of safety regulations, or eliminating environmental regulations that prevent a company from dumping toxic waste in your backyard?
Logically consistent, you ain’t.
If there were no union everyone would be making $5.00 an hour. Tell Mr. Walker and his $500.00 silk socks and tie friends, that we need to cut their retirement plan, not middle America. Next we will have to move to China to get a job. Then maybe we should work 7 days a week. Blah, Blah, Maybe next we should take away family leave when a family member is ill, oh yes and Mr. Walker if you can read this
thank a teacher that spends around $1,500 a year on teaching supplies, Oh I forgot my 45,000.00 a year is equal to your earning package.
@26 “If there were no union everyone would be making $5.00”
If there were no unions, we should be so lucky…but the price of gas would still be marching boldly through $4.00 a gallon on the way to the stratosphere.