Elected officials from different parties frequently represent different voters and different interests.
What makes democracy work for everyone in America is when all those people sit down and figure out how they can come to an agreement that takes into account the legitimate interests of all sides.
In a democracy, the idea is not that when one party or the other gains power by winning, say, 52% of the vote in Wisconsin, the governor has a license to pass laws to crush the other side.
Yet that is exactly what Republican Gov. Scott Walker said he was ready to do when a telephone caller claiming to be billionaire David Koch, one of Walker's largest campaign contributors, urged Walker to "crush these bastards."
Just because Walker, with a Republican majority in the Legislature, has unchecked power to destroy collective bargaining rights that have existed for more than half a century for public employees doesn't make it right.
"My way or the highway" is really the sign of an inept politician.
The most effective Wisconsin Republican governor in our lifetimes was former Gov. Tommy Thompson. When Thompson wanted something, he would get all sides together in a room and wouldn't let anyone come out until he got an agreement.
Dividing people in politics is easy. Bringing them together is hard.
One of the saddest scenes in modern politics was last April when Thompson, desperate for an audience, chose a right-wing tea party rally in Madison to announce he wouldn't run against Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold.
Tea party extremists had not yet backed a candidate. Later they would support Oshkosh businessman Ron Johnson, whose only apparent qualification was that he had once read a novel by Ayn Rand without seeing through its simplistic, right-wing propaganda.
But one thing the angry tea party knew was it wanted no part of Thompson, one of those dreaded professional politicians who believed government should accomplish things for people.
Tea party groups from around the state publicly boycotted the rally because Thompson was allowed to speak.
The same tea party hatred threatens longtime conservative Republicans such as Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch and Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar in 2012 for not being extreme enough.
As conservative as Thompson, Hatch and Lugar are, they have occasionally compromised with Democrats to make government work.
Ruthless Tactics Revealed
Walker, a true tea party governor, doesn't want
government to work. His claim that destroying collective bargaining rights is
necessary to balance the state budget is the most brazen of political lies.
Wisconsin public employees proved that to the nation
when they agreed to give Walker every financial concession he claimed was
necessary to close the state's budget deficit in exchange for retaining
bargaining rights.
Instead of a win-win, Walker says he will settle for
nothing less than, in the words of the fake David Koch, crushing these
bastards.
That sleazy phone conversation in which Walker says
he considered planting phony troublemakers to discredit the citizen rallies
against him and looks forward to being (illegally) flown to California by "Koch"
to be shown a high, old time ("Outstanding!") revealed the real man behind
Walker's fake choir-boy demeanor on national TV.
Walker's ruthless union-busting tactics came out of
the blue after a deceptive election campaign built around an instantly broken
political promise to create 250,000 jobs. Now he's rejecting nearly $200
million in federal funds to create jobs and instead issuing pink slips.
People are asking whether this was the way Walker
ran Milwaukee County as county executive for eight years.
The answer is: not really. But then Walker never
really ran Milwaukee County as county executive. The County Board did.
Walker's political gimmick was to introduce a budget
every year that did not raise taxes from whatever the County Board had budgeted
the year before.
That wasn't hard to do because Walker never worried
about including enough funds to run the county. He counted on the County Board
to be responsible enough to increase his proposed budget to keep the courts
open, allow the district attorney to investigate crimes and keep other county
services operating.
Former state Sen. Jim Sullivan, who unsuccessfully
campaigned to succeed Walker as county executive, blamed the Milwaukee County
Board for Walker's election as governor.
Sullivan said if the County Board had just once been
irresponsible enough to pass the budget submitted by Walker, the ensuing
governmental disaster would have been so devastating Walker could never have
won another election.
Here's the scary part: With both Republican houses
of the Legislature refusing to compromise with Democrats and ready to pass
whatever irresponsible legislation Walker sends them, the devastation this time
could ravage public education, community safety and every other government
function throughout the entire state.
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Our state treasury is under attack. For nearly 60 years the union has raided the state treasury over paying state workers and providing benefits as well. This is like a gang coming into a business and just taking money from the cash register because the owner bargained collectively with the gang members. All those protest signs you see, that is just gang graffiti. Unfortunatley a lot of good hearted people have gotten caught up in all of this because they have been provided make-work do nothing jobs, or given full time salaries for a 180 day teaching contract. Well they kind of got used to the free mana falling from the ski. They developed s false sense of self-worth because the unions conviced them they were worth all this money. The only people that are going to be laid off are those with no meaningful value. Like the people in Wisconsin Shares who's job it is to hand out money to women for simply babysitting each others kids. Or to issue racing licenses to greyhound owners even though there are no greyhound tracks. Walker is just standing up to these union thugs. The people being laid off will finally be able to wean themselve off the government dole and get real jobs in our booming capitalist economy. You cannot negotiate with terrorist. A public servant that walks off the job to protest is like a soldier that deserts. We cannot have an army of deserters. We need an army of state workers that follows the direct ordrs of our supreme commander, Gov. Walker. Then if you don't like what he's doing, vote him out in 6 years. Recently I saw a grown man, a state worker, sick and crying over all of this. I wanted to slap the coward and tell him to get back on the front lines and do his duty. There are no room for cowards while we have brave men and women who continue to serve our state without questioning the authority of our Governor. It would be an insult to these brave people to allow the protesting cowards to keep their jobs.
David,
Can you tell me where the jobs are in this "booming capitalist economy?" I am sure there are many people who want to know where you have seen them advertised.
I don't have any benefits or a pension plan and yet I don't feel the rights of workers should be taken away. Mr Walker and his Republican allies have seen fit to buoy up the rich even more by giving them tax cuts and bring everyone else down. Why give tax breaks to those who need it the least? That state worker you saw crying may have had 6 kids to support and be in fear of going into foreclosure with the loss income and benefits he will suffer at the hands of a Governor who has only been in office a few weeks and his henchmen.
It is sad that now there will be even more foreclosures in WI. People will be walking away from homes to move to another state that has more opportunities. So many more people will have a house that is worth less than they owe. What business would want to stay here or move here with all the unrest? We are on a sinking ship and Governor Walker is at the helm.
No one advertises jobs anymore because you get too many nuts applying for them. The biggest complaint I get from clients is they can't find workers. The job pool of people with clean credit, criminal, and driving records along with those that can pass a simple reading, math, drug and lie detector test is very small. Businesses are competing hard for those people. Plus everyone has an opportuntity to be self employed at any time.
A real man is always employed and making lots money all the time. Only cowards stay unemployed for more than a few months.
I know the state worker who was crying. He makes $80k a year, plus benefits, has two kids and bought a house in the suburbs he couldn't afford even if he was making $100k. He's blown it all on the house, cars, toys instead of banking his excess salary. He lives paycheck to paycheck and now he's screwed. He could have saved 30%, lived in an apartment and driven smaller, used vehicles. He could have live on the private sector market rate for his salary and banked the exess. But no, he wanted to be a big shot and buy a big house and drive new SUVs.
"I wanted to slap the coward and tell him to get back on the front lines and do his duty." -- I think you need a hug.
I am so glad that you have not ever had to work a day in your life. You are obviously not intelligent enough to qualify for a full time job. Just reading your post, I can tell you spend your days following the orders of Fox News. I suppose it is easier than thinking for yourself, doing some actual research, and deciding based on facts instead of class-warfare fiction cooked up by the top 1% incomes. By the way, why should we have to wait 6 years to vote Walker out of office when we can do it in one year?
Taxpayer men, taxpayer women, the Tea Party is calling you. The scared party of Capitalism since the beginning of time. The union is using the teachers as muscle against you. And you are left there helpless. What are you going to do it about Mr. Taxpayer? Just sit there. Of course not. You are going to join with us, the members of the American Republican Tea Party. An organization of decent, law abiding, taxpayers, just like you
I pledge the allegiance to Scott Walker, immortal leader of our cause.
And to the order for which he stands. One great cause. Sacred and invincible.
With tax relief and fairness to all.
I meant sacred party --
No, you meant "scared".
Hahah this is hilarious!:
I pledge the allegiance to Scott Walker, immortal leader of our cause.
And to the order for which he stands. One great cause. Sacred and invincible.
With tax relief and fairness to all.
livingston and research are obvisouly the same person and whoever they are should challenge stephen colbert for his job. This stuff is comedy gold.
Yes, indeed; djlresearch and david livingston are the same person, trying to look like kindred souls. Bogus . . . like everything else about him.
When organized crime takes money for protection it is a felony, when organized labor takes money for protection it is a right! Where did we go so wrong?