Day: February 25, 2011

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Politics United States Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

Koch Brothers To Liberals – We Will Not Step Back

Earlier this week, when a blogger called Wisconsin’s governor Scott Walker, pretending to be David Koch and talking to the governor for about 20 minutes, the joke apparently did not go down too well in the Koch compound. In an interview with National Review Online, Mark Holden, the general council for Koch Industries said the call was “fraudulent” ;

“There are serious fiscal issues at play in Wisconsin. Yet our opponents are interjecting us falsely into this story. But our Wisconsin story is about bringing and keeping good manufacturing jobs in the state. It is disturbing that when a blogger calls using the Koch name, it is used as an opportunity to attack the company.”

Mr. Holden wasn’t the only one upset. Richard Fink, the executive vice president of Koch Industries also voiced his displeasure, saying, “We will not step back at all.” He then accused the left of trying to “intimidate” the billionaire brothers empire, saying;

“With the Left trying to intimidate the Koch brothers to back off of their support for freedom and signaling to others that this is what happens if you oppose the administration and its allies, we have no choice but to continue to fight.. We will not step back at all. We firmly believe that economic freedom has benefited the overwhelming majority of society, including workers, who earn higher wages when you have open and free markets. When government grows as it has with the Bush and Obama administrations, that is what destroys prosperity.”

The brothers, whose millions have been used to finance the Teaparty movement –where average Americans are used to protest policies that are in their best interest — feel like their backs are up against the wall and they’re coming out swinging. Mr. Fink states that the attacks on the Koch brothers is not just coming from “left-winged bloggers,” but part of a much bigger scheme constructed by the Obama administration. He continued;

It involves the Obama administration, the Center for American Progress, aligned left-wing groups, and their friends in the media. This is just the latest salvo in their attacks on the Koch brothers and Koch Industries. But it is an escalation — they’re now bringing in some labor groups, which they have not done before. We expect this to be part of an ongoing effort against [Koch Industries] as the 2012 presidential campaign approaches.”

But don’t feel sorry for the multi-billionaire brothers just yet. They are fighters, and if the past is any indication, we can expect to see  hundreds of little old grandmas and grandpas, pushing their walkers and carrying signs along the streets of Wisconsin, demonstrating again for the poor Koch compound.

Read the rest of the interview here.

Categories
Politics Republican Sarah Palin South Carolina United States

Sarah Palin Is Just Folksy Slangs and Bumper-Sticker Generalities

That description is not coming from me, but from her fellow Republicans who question whether she should be nominated for President in 2012, or even if her name should be mentioned as a potential candidate.

Steven Thomma reports;

At a recent gathering in South Carolina, the site of a crucial early presidential primary next year, party activists said the former Alaska governor didn’t have the experience, the knowledge of issues or the ability to get beyond folksy slang and bumper-sticker generalities that they think is needed to win and govern.

Many are shopping for someone else. They’re looking at Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., for example, and seeing what they call a smarter, more experienced candidate who’s equally as conservative.

“Sarah Palin with a brain,” said Gail Moore, a Republican from Columbia.

While national polls show that Palin still would win the support of about one in five Republicans in a national face-off today for the nomination, she no longer can claim the dominant role she enjoyed when she burst out of the 2008 campaign as the undisputed star of the party. She’s also losing ground quickly among independents, who hold the keys to the White House.

“Her major weakness is that she needs to bone up on how the government works,” said Don Long, a retiree from Lake Wylie, S.C. “I don’t know if she’s done as much of that as she needs to.”

Equally funny is their assumption that Michele Bachmann has a brain, or is more electable than Palin is. But these potential nominees exemplifies the Republican conundrum.  When you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, just pray that you’re not claustrophobic!

Read the rest of the report here.

Categories
Barack Obama Featured Soviet Union

Question Asked, “Who Is Going To Shoot Obama?”

According to Republicans, it is now acceptable to bring guns to political events and town halls meetings. And they are even recorded on video saying, “there’s nothing wrong with bringing guns to political events.” So it was just a matter of time before someone stood up and asked, “Who is going to shoot Obama?”

Well that question was asked on Tuesday.

According to the Athens Banner Herald, the question was asked at a town hall meeting held by Republican Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia. The report states;

Broun’s press secretary, Jessica Morris, confirmed that the question was indeed, who is going to shoot Obama? “Obviously, the question was inappropriate, so Congressman Broun moved on,” she said.

But instead of Mr. Broun denouncing the question, he played into it, saying;

“The thing is, I know there’s a lot of frustration with this president. We’re going to have an election next year. Hopefully, we’ll elect somebody that’s going to be a conservative, limited-government president that will take a smaller, who will sign a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.”

Broun’s decision not to denounce the question is not a surprise. As reported by Wiki;

On November 10, 2008, one week after the 2008 presidential election, Broun drew national attention when he criticized President-elect Barack Obama’s call for a civilian national service corps, suggesting that Obama might use it to establish a Marxist dictatorship.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Broun said, “That’s exactly what Hitler did in Nazi Germany and it’s exactly what the Soviet Union did. When he’s proposing to have a national security force that’s answering to him, that is as strong as the U.S. military, he’s showing me signs of being Marxist.” Broun later clarified his statement by saying, “We can’t be lulled into complacency. You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I’m not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I’m saying is there is the potential of going down that road.”

Welcome to civility in America… Republican style.

Categories
Democratic Politics Republican Party (United States) Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

Wisconsin Assembly Approves Anti-Union Bill

Early Friday morning, after three days of a Democratic filibusterer, Wisconsin State Assembly voted and passed the bill stripping union public workers of their collective bargaining rights. The bill still has to be approved in the state’s Senate, where Senate Democrats have been missing in action for over a week now.

State Assembly Democrats are not happy with how the vote was held. According to reporting from Huffington Post, many Democratic members did not even know the vote was being called. The report states;

After more than 60 hours in which Democrats threw out dozens of amendments and delivered rambling speeches, Republicans halted debate early Friday. In a matter of seconds, they had approved the bill. Only a few Democrats realized what was going on and managed to vote before the roll was closed.

The Democrats rose from their seats and rushed at the Republicans shouting, “Shame!” as the Republicans exited the chamber.

“I’m incensed. I’m shocked,” said Rep. John Richards, D-Milwaukee. “What a terrible, terrible day for Wisconsin.”

Republicans refused to speak to reporters, though Majority Leader Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, did issue a written statement.

“The vote we took wasn’t the easy thing to do, but it was the right thing to do,” Suder said.

We are witnessing the dismantling of the constitutionally protected first amendment for Wisconsin public employees, where simply having their union representative sit at a negotiating table and speak on their behalf is slowly being taken away.

Read the report here.

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