Tag: Scott Walker

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Democratic Politics Republican Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

Did Little Scottie Walker Add To The Bill After Votes Were Held?

News coming out of Wisconsin suggests that Scott Walker added more language to the union busting bill after the votes were held, but before signing it into law. The news states that two items not mentioned in the vote on March 9th, were miraculously found in the bill on March 10th.

Thursday, the fiscal bureau was forced to correct its memo describing the bill, after unearthing some more buried treasure.  Seems there were a few things the original memo forgot to mention:

There are two items in the LFB’s March 10 document that are not reflected in the March 9 document.

1. The March 10 document includes a provision of the substitute amendment on the Earned Income Tax Credit (page 3, #1).

2. The March 10 document includes a provision of the substitute amendment on the Sale and Contractual Operation of State-Owned Power Plants (page 20, #1).

The lies of Mr. Walker are amazingly transparent. He introduced the original package stating that the very future of Wisconsin depended on passing this bill. After Wisconsin Democratic senators refused to show up for the vote, Walker and his Republican cohorts created a “nuclear” option by removing what they called, the “non-financial” part of the bill – the union busting measure – and held the vote.

And now that the two provisions were snuck into law as part of the “non-financial” union busting measure, it reeks illegality all around. Walker and his Republican congress should be tried in a court of law and let the justice system have its way.

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Collective bargaining Democratic democrats Politics Republican United States Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

When The People Don’t Vote, The People Lose

After over 3 weeks of protests, sleep ins and push backs by the people of Wisconsin against a bill by Republican governor Scott Walker where the rights of union members were at stake, the fight abruptly came to an end tonight, when Walker and his Republican allys voted and passed the bill without any Democrat consensus.

In the beginning, the bill was presented as part of a package aimed at reducing Wisconsin’s deficit. Governor Walker, in his daily press conferences said, “we are broke! We are broke!” Mr. Walker claimed that busting the bargaining rights of the unions would fill the state’s $137 million deficit and will fix a projected $3.6 billion shortfall in the upcoming 2011-13 budget. The state’s Democrats however, saw the bill as something geared towards de-funding the unions – groups that give heavily to Democratic campaigns, – and they all fled the state. The people of Wisconsin supported the Democratic position and “kill the bill” chants became the daily slogan. The public opinion for the Republicans fell to an all time low.

Tonight however , given a chance to restore their positive standings with the people, and presented with the opportunity to give Wisconsinites what they have been protesting for all this time, Republicans took another path. They removed the union busting part of the bill from the rest of the package then held a vote on that  measure alone – a move that caused the Democratic Assembly leader to yell “illegal! Illegal!,” as the roll call was happening.

With no Democrats present to register their vote, the union busting part of the bill passed.  It now goes to the State’s assembly, where another Republican body controls the agenda and another vote will be held. Passage in the Assembly puts the bill on Walker’s desk where it will be signed into law.

Yes America, voting is important and when you don’t vote, you lose your rights. There is now a conscience effort by Republican governors all over America, to silence the negotiating rights of the working middle class American.

After hearing what Scott Walker had done tonight, I tweeted the following:

I received this reply:

So true that is. When the people don’t vote, the people lose!

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Featured Republican United States Wisconsin Union Bashing

Republican Wisconsin Town Hall Meeting Reduced to Shame!

Remember the health care debate when the Teaparty, under the leadership of FOX NEWS and conservative radio commentators, went to Democratic town hall meetings with the goal of disrupting the meetings to portray America’s dismay with reform? Well, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin earlier this week, real Americans expressed their real frustrations at Republicans and Scott Walker’s proposed union busting bill.

The town hall meeting was held for Republican State Senator Leah Vukmir. Also in attendance was US Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner. Evidently, the real feelings of these Americans were too much for the Republican congressmen, and they abruptly called an end to the meeting and exited to stage to the chants of “Shame! Shame! Shame!”

Scott Walker would dedicate 20 minutes of his “busy” schedule to a prank call he thought was coming from David Koch, but answering the concerns of their constituents is just too much to ask of these Republicans.

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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.

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Politics Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

Wisconsin’s Governor To Be Investigated For Violating State Law

Seems dismantling the unions of Wisconsin is not the only thing giving Governor Scott Walker a headache these days. CREW – Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a non-partisan watchdog group – has ordered an investigation of  Mr. Walker’s use of state troopers to visit the home of Democratic Senate Leader, Mitt Miller.

According to CREW;

Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a  non-partisan government watchdog group, asked the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board to investigate whether Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker violated state law by sending the Wisconsin State Patrol (WSP) to the home of Democratic Senate Leader Matt Miller. CREW also submitted open records requests to the Office of the Governor, Office of the Senate Majority Leader and the WSP seeking records regarding the use of the troopers.

“Governor Walker has many tools at his disposal to fight the state’s public employees, but using troopers to track down a political opponent crosses the line,” said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan. Sloan continued, “The governor’s conduct is especially egregious in light of a Wisconsin law specifically barring troopers from taking part in any dispute between an employer and employee over wages, hours, labor, or working conditions — the subject of the governor’s bill.”

I guess paying attention to existing laws to protect American citizens is not Scott Walker’s strong point. Trying to dismantle them seems to be what he’s more concerned about.

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Featured Indiana Indiana Attorney General Wisconsin Union Bashing

Stupid Attorney General Fired For Stupid Dumb Tweet

Regardless of your political leanings, no one should ever advocate the killing of American citizens exercising their right to peaceful assembly and free speech. But that is exactly what an Indiana Deputy Attorney General suggested as a way to clear the masses protesting in Wisconsin against Governor Scott Walker’s attempt to silence the unions in his state.

“Use live ammunition” was the tweet of Attorney General Jeff Cox, who also said that the demonstrators were “political enemies” and “thugs!” Well, just hours after the news of this tweeting fool broke, appropriate action was taken in Indiana, and Mr. Cox is now on the unemployment line. According to reports from IndyStar;

Earlier today, the attorney general’s office said it was investigating whether Cox had sent the tweet and said it was a serious matter.

This afternoon, the office issued a statement saying Cox was no longer employed there. The office said it had conducted “a thorough and expeditious review” after it learned of the Mother Jones article.

“Civility and courtesy toward all members of the public are very important to the Indiana Attorney General’s office. We respect individual’s First Amendment right to express their personal views on private online forums, but as public servants we are held by the public to a higher standard, and we should strive for civility,” the office said in a statement.

Read the full report here

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Featured Indiana Republican twitter Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

Republican Attorney General Advises Use of Deadly Force on Wisconsin Protesters

Classic that it should come down to this. Like all dictators who can’t control the opposing masses, an attorney general in Indiana is advising that Republican Wisconsin governor Scott Walker to use deadly force against his  citizens. His exact words, “use live ammunition.”

Mother Jones reports:

On Saturday night, when Mother Jones staffers tweeted a report that riot police might soon sweep demonstrators out of the Wisconsin capitol building—something that didn’t end up happening—one Twitter user sent out a chilling public response: “Use live ammunition.”

From my own Twitter account, I confronted the user, JCCentCom. He tweeted back that the demonstrators were “political enemies” and “thugs” who were “physically threatening legally elected officials.” In response to such behavior, he said, “You’re damned right I advocate deadly force.” He later called me a “typical leftist,” adding, “liberals hate police.”

Only later did we realize that JCCentCom was a deputy attorney general for the state of Indiana.

The freedom of speech and assembly granted in the constitution means absolutely nothing to these Republicans. But advocating use of deadly force against United States citizens is another low no one would have ever expected. But then again, we are talking about elected officials who have  put corporations above human lives.

Read the Mother Jones report here.

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Democratic Politics Republican Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

Elections Do Have Consequences, As Seen In Wisconsin

Elections have consequences, and the people of Wisconsin are dealing with the consequences of electing a Republican governor, along with Republican majorities in both the Wisconsin Senate and House Assembly. The mid-term election started the ball rolling, and it is culminating in massive rallies by the people of that state, demanding a recall of the governor, Mr. Scott Walker.

The governor however, along with his Republican majority in both chambers are choosing not to listen to the will of the people and are going forward with their plans to pass a bill geared towards taking away the power from the working Wisconsinite.

What’s all the fuss about?  Unions

Unions are despised by Republicans for a number of reasons – the main ones being;

  • Unions represent a large section of the average middle class working American. A representation that includes negotiating with business owners, Corporations and government officials to secure better working conditions, better pay, holiday allotments, health care packages and in some cases, retirement options for their members. The very nature of these negotiations are to benefit the union member, thus, it is considered by most Republican as putting the business owners, Corporations or government officials at a disadvantage.
  • It is common knowledge that Unions represent the working middle class. Therefore, they support political candidates who look out for the best interest of their members. Almost all the time, those political candidates would be from the Democratic party.

The struggle by Republicans to silence Unions in this country and take away their negotiating privileges has been going on for decades, and now, what’s happening in Wisconsin is the envy of other Republican governors and state legislatures across this nation. Today, in a final vote that is expected to pass the Republican controlled government, Unions will in essence, be silenced.

What’s in the Bill?

The bill – which passed the Legislature Budget committee on Wednesday with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats voting against it – will, among other things,  require public workers to pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage. It will also take away the collective bargaining rights of the unions representing these workers.

“I think the taxpayers will support this idea,” Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald had the nerve to say. But taxpayers seem to feel a different way. Over the last 3 days, thousands have gathered in opposition of the measure.

Yahoo News Reports;

“I’m sad. Scared. Disappointed,” said Kelly Dzurick, a 31-year-old fifth-grade teacher in Elkhorn, who came to the Capitol on Wednesday night. “Nobody’s listening to what people say.”

Democrats have been powerless to stop the bill.

“The story around the world is the rush to democracy,” said Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar. “The story in Wisconsin is the end of the democratic process.”

Yes, elections do have consequences, and what’s happening in Wisconsin is just the beginning of a dangerously empowered Republican party.

UPDATE:  Where Are The Democrats?

In a shocking turn of events, Wisconsin congressional Democrats have all disappeared, causing the final vote on this controversial bill by Republicans to be post-poned. The NY Times reports;

By noon, Ted Blazel, the sergeant-at-arms, began making his way through the Capitol building, packed with chanting protesters (elated at the development), in search of a Democrat — in offices, under desks, in corridors. “Nothing yet,” he said, his forehead drenched in sweat.

If none of the lawmakers were found in the building, the Wisconsin State Patrol would be assigned to begin searching for them elsewhere, said a Senate official.

Inside the Capitol, speculation swirled: Were the Democrats together somewhere, maybe even in another state by now?

The presumed reason for their disappearance is that Democrats — and thousands of teachers, state workers and students — vigorously oppose the Republican-backed bill that would sharply curtail the collective bargaining rights and slash benefits for most public sector workers, including teachers, in the state. Republicans control the Senate by a 19-to-14 margin, but 20 senators — and thus, at least one Democrat — are needed to vote on a bill.

At the time this post was written, the Democrats were found – all of them – in a neighboring state of Rockford Illinois. They have since disappeared again in an effort to give more time to the demonstrators to pressure Republicans into listening to the demands of the Wisconsin people.

Stay tuned…

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