Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Last week I wrote up a post titled Scott Walker: A Fiscally Responsible Governor or a Politician Who Is Playing Favorites?. Judging from the number of comments left at that post, it appears that people are very interested in what’s been going on in the state of Wisconsin. I think many people may believe that as Wisconsin goes—so goes the nation…and probably the life expectancy of labor unions and collective bargaining.
What got a lot of press attention was the story of the prank phone call that Governor Walker received from gonzo journalist Ian Murphy. Murphy pretended to be billionaire industrialist David Koch. He talked to Walker for twenty minutes. Murphy reportedly told the Associated Press he made the prank phone call in order to show how candid Walker would be in a conversation with Koch at a time when Democrats claim the governor was refusing to return their calls.
The prank phone call appears to show a cozy relationship between Walker and Koch, a top campaign donor who may have a financial interest in fighting unions. Union workers protesting in Wisconsin have already made monetary concessions to help with Wisconsin’s budget shortfall. One has to wonder what is really behind the governor’s demand that public employee unions be stripped of their right to bargain collectively. Is it all part of an agenda to “take unions out at the knees”—a strategy suggested by Scott Hagerstrom at the annual conference of the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC)? Hagerstrom is the Executive Director of Michigan’s chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP).
In a Mother Jones article, Andy Kroll writes: Walker’s plan to eviscerate collective bargaining rights for public employees is right out of the Koch brothers’ playbook. Koch-backed groups like Americans for Prosperity, the Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the Reason Foundation have long taken a very antagonistic view toward public-sector unions.
And who is Americans for Prosperity? Felicia Sonmez has written that AFP is really two groups—both of which were founded by David Koch in 2004: Americans for Prosperity, a 501(c)4 and the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, is a 501(c)3.
Somnez says that both groups are considered “not-for-profit” organizations under the Internal Revenue Service code—and that they do not have to disclose the identity of their donors or the contributions made by those donors. She added that David Koch is believed to be one of the group’s top donors.
In a New Yorker article titled Covert Operations: The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama, Jane Mayer wrote about Peggy Venable, the Texas State Director of AFP: She (Peggy Venable) explained that the role of Americans for Prosperity was to help “educate” Tea Party activists on policy details, and to give them “next-step training” after their rallies, so that their political energy could be channelled “more effectively.” And she noted that Americans for Prosperity had provided Tea Party activists with lists of elected officials to target. She said of the Kochs, “They’re certainly our people. David’s the chairman of our board. I’ve certainly met with them, and I’m very appreciative of what they do.”
In August 2009, ThinkProgress said that it had obtained an exclusive memo from a Tea Party group that is supported by Koch’s Americans for Prosperity.
From Think Progress: “The memo outlined various ways for Tea Party activists to intimidate Democratic lawmakers and disrupt their town hall meetings on health reform. ThinkProgress published half a dozen articles exposing the role of Koch-funded groups like “Patients United” in encouraging opposition to health reform. For instance, in Virginia, a Koch-funded operative Ben Marchi assisted a birther who followed Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) around, yelling at him at town hall meetings.”
That’s all I’ve got for now, folks. Talk amongst yourselves. I need a break!
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Sources
Covert Operations: The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama. (New Yorker)
Who is “Americans for Prosperity”? (Washington Post)
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: Funded by the Koch Bros. (Mother Jones)
Why did Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker take a call from ‘David Koch’? (Christian Science Monitor)
Billionaire Brothers’ Money Plays Role in Wisconsin Dispute (New York Times)
On prank call, Wis. governor discusses strategy (Yahoo)
Koch Front Group Americans For Prosperity: ‘Take The Unions Out At The Knees’ (Think Progress)
Union Busting: The Real Call from the Koch Brothers (Huffington Post)
Charles And David Koch Exposed For Insidious Role In Crafting The Modern Right (Think Progress)
For Further Reading
Koch-Powered Tea Party Pushes Climate Denial Bill In New Hampshire (Think Progress)
Commentary: Koch brothers and the union-busting Kansas House (The Kansas City Star)
I had to take a blog break for a while.
Otteray, it’s funny that you mention Gov. Walker’s resemblance to Mortimer Snerd. I had the same thought the other day and almost posted a youtube video of Snerd.
Lottakatz,
The bill will become law in Ohio … once the republicans who were going to vote against it in committee were removed and only 6 were gathered to vote against the bill instead of 7 … the game was up. It will be law which means one has to fight it with law … i.e the Ballot Initiative and other such things.
This was understood from the very beginning and plans were made accordingly.
This is a Republican Party declared war against American women and against the American middle class and every weapon in our arsenal will be used or readied for use. The strike is a weapon that tends to result in “friendly-fire” casualties but, if wielded properly, it can be most effective.
Blouise, In a state like Wisconsin where you have the Senate Democrats solidly behind you as well as the public, to maintain their support is paramount, there is a chance to stop the legislation. That will depend on the W14 staying absent and the simultaneous political pressure of their recall petitions and public support.
Once the deed is done though, as may well be the case soon in Ohio, then it becomes IMO, how do you deal with a bully? If all services continue, the non-immediately affected supporters are as likely as not to start wondering what the big deal was about, everything still works just fine for them. Ohio is different from Wisconsin (possibly) and I am not of the mind that the same tactics are applicable to both.
Lottakatz,
Wisconsin is a different kettle of fish … a rolling strike might actually work there. Walker, the Koch Whore, is desperately trying to man-up … something whores have difficulty doing properly. One can just hear his advisors telling him to get tough, be aggressive, be a man. As a result he’s making some incredibly stupid moves … much like Bush and Iraq.
Ohio is different and we have different legal options open to us that can permanently defeat this bill and ruin Kasich. Here the goal is not to limit the damage but to completely remove the damage … for good.
Elaine,
I would like to echo Blouise,s comments. Well done!
Lotta,
Kasich is as crazy as Walker so it will get interesting in Ohio.
Blouise, It’s not about smart, it’s about ideology and the bottom line for the corporate masters. Doesn’t the Wisconsin bill have an expansion of the school voucher system to cover all families regardless of income? Isn’t it about privatizing education and redistributing the wealth upwards? This is a blatant grab for even more money to the wealthy. The gravy train has to end sometime, it looks to me like the thieves are grabbing at the picture frames and candle sticks as they run out the door.
Lottakatz,
Although I love strikes and negotiated a few of them in my day … that is not the answer here. To do so would lose public support (rather like going into Iraq)and would cost each worker far too much in lost wages.
The answer is the slow but steady fight that is the Ballot Initiative and recall petitions in vulnerable republican districts. That and continued demonstrations which will be based around the Ballot Initiative and recall petitions will keep Kasich and his buddies very busy.
If the Ballot Initiative succeeds then this bill is history and Kasich is a complete failure which eliminates any future hopes he has for federal office. This is important as the man is nothing more than a Corporate shill and has no business serving in any governmental post anywhere in a democracy.
A Ballot Initiative on the Nov. 2012 ballot will destroy the republicans … have patience … 🙂
Moar, Have you as yet written or called any House Republicans that voted to preserve the tax subsidies to the 5 biggest energy/oil companies? You know, as being traitors to the free market model of economics. You do seem to have time for posting so I’m guessing you also have time to email these traitors to conservative economic values. Just wondering.
Somewhere on this thread someone mentioned the proclivity of public service workers to vote republican … especially police and fire.
That is very true here in Ohio and I was rather amazed that Kasich would abandon life-time, loyal party members simply to push through this rather lame bill.
What he has done is convince these here-to-fore loyal republicans that their party will betray them in an instant in order to serve a Corporate Master.
These men and women are gone for good as are their families.
Incredibly stupid move.
WoW, I’m sorry I’ve been out of the lop for a couple of days, this thread has been exciting as has real life.
How to get the Wisconsin Legislators back? Bounty hunters. Once in the state the state police can arrest and present them at the capitol building. Walker is nuts, he just might send out bounty hunters IMO. That would be an interesting showdown on the capitol steps.
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Beginning tomorrow the court has directed that all doors to the capitol building are to be opened and as long as business is conducted the capitol building is to be left open. Democrats are deciding if they can do some work late into the night to meet the requirement of business being conducted and keep the building open most or all of the night. That from MSNBC, one of the night-time news shows tonight.
Update on the Ed Show just now: The building is to be closed and cleaned for 48 hours and then be opened in accordance with the order. That would be Sunday morning it should be opened if any business is being conducted.
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If Ohio’s House passes HB5 and the Governor signs the bill I think all affected employees, 360,000 of them, should strike. If the state wishes to cripple it’s employees with what amounts to a nuclear option against workers then the concept of MAD should be on the table as a response.
Elaine,
I wish to take this opportunity, before the weekend guest blogger articles hit, to sincerely thank you for the incredible job you have done with the Walker threads over the last two weeks.
These two threads have well over a thousand hits to their credit and have been chocked full of good and continually updated information which has kept us well informed and facilitated some amazing discussions.
I deeply appreciate the amount of work you have put into this endeavor and thank you from the bottom of my little liberal heart!
Maor, et al,
Just because you claim that progressives are akin to Marxists doesn’t make it true. You missed the boat because you built the boat on a fabrication or a misunderstanding. Free markets that are regulated are not Marxist. Unregulated markets are the reason the economy tanked during the Bush regime.
Elaine, it occurs to me that if you are rich enough, like the Koch crime family, it might just be possible to BUY a state. However, it would help if your appointed CEO did not look like a bad clone of Mortimer Snerd and was just a bit brighter.
And send out better quality trolls than the D-list types we have infesting this thread.
From the Los Angeles Times (3/3/2011)
Limiting unions just part of Wisconsin governor’s agenda
Republican Gov. Scott Walker has set about reorganizing government in a way critics say is more about power than fiscal prudence.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-wisconsin-budget-20110304,0,238145.story
Excerpt:
Reporting from Madison, Wis. Even before new Republican Gov. Scott Walker set off a national firestorm by proposing to strip most Wisconsin government workers of their collective bargaining rights, he had hit the ground running.
He pushed $117 million in business tax cuts through the GOP-run statehouse, aggravating the state’s deficit in hopes of creating jobs. Then he got the Legislature to agree to a measure requiring a two-thirds majority to raise taxes in the future, leaving fewer options to close the shortfall.
This week, he proposed a two-year budget to close the projected $3.6-billion deficit. It included big cuts in state aid to local governments — and would bar those cities and counties from raising property taxes to avoid having to make their own reductions.
Most notably, Walker used a small gap in the current fiscal year to fast-track a bill that would give his administration unprecedented powers — not only to weaken public sector unions, but to appoint dozens of powerful new bureaucrats and to determine who gets to stay in the state’s Medicaid program.
Democrats contend that Walker seems to be more interested in changing Wisconsin’s political dynamics than in financial stewardship. Even outside observers are starting to agree.
“What you’ve got is a governor who’s come in with a great appetite for achieving his ends,” said Norman J. Ornstein, a scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. “This is far more about power than it is about money.”
Walker’s office did not respond to requests for an interview, but the governor’s supporters said Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly backed him and his party in November when they ran on a platform of cutting spending and helping businesses create jobs.
rafflaw:
I am all ears on how you come to that conclusion. It seems that is where your economics comes from. You [pl] seem to see things in fine shades of grey. To me there is not much difference between them.
The end result is a limitation on freedom whichever way you cut it. But please tell me where I have missed the boat. This should be enjoyable.
Ottie Scribble:
I expect nothing more from people like you, thanks for confirming my bias.
Rafflaw, this story is bad enough, but my evil twin speculates as to what the fallout would have looked like had the police officer/patient died due to the delay.
Given the propensity for unforeseen events to shape history, I have a bad feeling that there is no way this episode in Madison is going to end with a whimper.
Interesting story OS. Walker and his cabal are digging themselves a deep hole.
Moar,
You might want to read up on Marxism. It has nothing in common with the progressive movement.
Latest from Madison. Firefighters on an emergency call were denied access to the Capitol building by police guarding the doors. In a karmic twist of fate, the emergency patient was a police officer in an elevator.
Lower than pond scum? This is to the point of insulting ordinary hard-working pond scum.
“…Trainor (one of the firefighters) said he did not believe police officers would have mistaken the crew for protesters because they were hauling equipment, carrying radios and had arrived in a firetruck.”
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/117349798.html
Moar, or whatever sockpuppet name you are using. I just have one thing to say.
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/youare