Wrestlin' in Wisconsin

Finally, our conversation on the subject to date reveals only a closed and unquestioning mind excessively prone to categorical judgements and intolerant of conflicting perspectives. I exhibit some of those qualities too, but I have the scars & track record to merit it.

QUOTE OF THE DAY.... I guess the post-Tucson grace period really is over. Here's House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), appearing on radical TV preacher Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network, reflecting on his party's anti-union efforts.

Quote:

"It's not just Wisconsin. It's Ohio. It's Indiana. You're going to see these types of actions taken in a lot of states because the states are broke and over the last couple of years the Obama administration, the Democrat [sic] controlled Congress bailed out the states where they could avoid making the tough decisions. Well, there are no more bailouts coming from Washington. We're broke. We're broke!

"We don't have money to dish out to the states so all these Governors are trying to find ways to balance their budgets, which they're required to do. In some of these states you've got collective bargaining laws that are so weighted in favor of the public employees that there's almost no bargaining. We've given them a machine gun and put it right at the heads of the local officials and they really have their hands tied."

The right has been a little too eager to characterize pro-labor activists as violent thugs, but with little success. Leave it to the House Speaker, though, to take this a little further, arguing that unions have "a machine gun" pointed at the heads of local officials.

Substantively, there are also a few relevant angles here. First, we're not "broke," and it's ridiculous for Boehner to keep insisting otherwise.

Second, the Speaker is proud of himself for refusing to assist struggling states, but it's a policy that drags down the entire economy, just to satisfy Boehner's ideological preferrances. The Ohio Republican may not understand this, but weaker economic growth is the opposite of he should be aiming for.

And third, states with budget problems will likely have to negotiate with public workers, but stripping employees of their collective bargaining rights doesn't actually save any money. This is a union-busting crusade, not a response to fiscal challenges.

John Boehner, in other words, isn't just using language of questionable taste, he's also demonstrating a striking degree of ignorance. Again.
—Steve Benen 11:20 AM

Finally, our conversation on the subject to date reveals only a closed and unquestioning mind excessively prone to categorical judgements and intolerant of conflicting perspectives. I exhibit some of those qualities too, but I have the scars & track record to merit it.

I don't know the answer either, CI. Gov. Cuomo of NY has said he wants to cap or reduce salaries of school superintendents rather than raise taxes. Do you think he's wrong? Should a public school superintendent making nearly $400K annually have his salary capped or should taxpayers in NY be made to pay more? New York's budget deficit is almost $10B, I think.

Cuomo wants to pay superintendents of small districts $125K/year and give $175K to superintendents of larger districts. He says he can save the schools $15M annually by doing this...without raising taxes or layoffs.

Judge Orders Wisconsin Capitol Re-Opened
Eric Lach | March 1, 2011, 12:05PM

A Dane County, Wisc., judge has issued a temporary restraining order to reopen the Wisconsin Capitol building to the public. Capitol access was restricted over the weekend and again this morning, following days in which the building had been crowded with protesters.

Judge Daniel Moeser ordered the building reopened. Court documents posted online read:

Quote:

Resp. shall open the Wisconsin Capitol to members of the public during business hours and at times when governmental matters, such as hearings, listening sessions and court arguments are being conducted. This ex parte restraining order is in effect until the assigned trial court is able to schedule a hearing on the matter. If resp. wishes to have a hearing with respect to this order one will be scheduled as soon as possible before this court, the duty judge, if the assigned trial court is unable to hear the matter promptly. Pet. shall immediately serve a copy of this order on resp.

The court clerk's office told TPM that no further hearing on the matter has yet been scheduled.

Wisconsin's Department of Administration did not immediately respond to TPM's call asking if it would comply with the judge's order.

Poll: Wisconsin Voters Turn On Gov. Walker, Back State Unions
Jon Terbush | March 1, 2011, 11:58AM

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) is rapidly losing support from his constituents as he continues to push budget proposals that would cut collective bargaining rights and benefits for most of the states public employee unions, according to new data from a PPP poll, a poll whose results TPM first reported on Monday. His support has slipped so much that, after just two months in office, voters are now evenly divided over whether he should be recalled.

A majority of Wisconsin voters now disapprove of Walker's job performance, a reversal from the positive approval rating he enjoyed immediately after election day. Further, most voters support collective bargaining rights for the state's public employee unions, and oppose Walker's proposal to cut those same rights.

In the poll, 57% of respondents said public employees should have the right to collectively bargain, compared to 37% who said they should not. A similar majority, 55%, said the state's unions should have the same amount of rights or more than they already enjoy, a rebuke to Walker's efforts to roll back those rights.

Further, slim majorities said they side with the unions and senate Democrats -- who fled the state to delay a vote on Walker's bill -- over the governor in the dispute.

Walker's job approval has fallen as the budget stalemate drags on. According to PPP, 52% of voters now disapprove of his job performance, while 46% approve of the job he is doing. That split mirrors another finding in the poll that PPP released Monday, which found Walker losing in a hypothetical do-over election against Democrat Tom Barret, 52% to 45%.

Also ominously for the governor, the state is evenly split at 48% over whether he should be recalled. It's unclear how viable that option would be, but the fact that almost half of voters would consider in theory is certainly a bad sign for Walker moving forward.

The PPP poll was conducted February 24-27 among 768 Wisconsin voters. It has a margin of error of 3.5%.

It's only common sense when tax revenues continue to shrink, and more social services are disappearing. They must also agree to sacrifice their high income and benefits for the sake of "everybody else."

This whole thing is turning into a public relations nightmare for Walker.

Does anyone remember when Texas Republicans did the same thing?

Quote:

This whole thing is turning into a public relations nightmare for Walker.

Really? I was just reading a journalism piece that was claiming that Walker has made himself into a GOP hero in record time. I expect that he sleeps fine...

He is only a hero to the GOP splinter group known as the Tea Party.