Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
I have already written three posts about Governor Scott Walker, his budget repair bill, and the protesters in Wisconsin. People have been interested in
the Wisconsin story and have left nearly 1,800 comments at my three posts. I’ve even received requests to write up another post so that we could continue the discussion on the subject. I think there are others like me who believe the Wisconsin/Walker story is not over yet.
As I did last week, I’m posting links to some articles on the subject for you—as well as excerpts from some of the articles.
Democrats immediately file suit to halt challenges (Journal Sentinel)
By Jason Stein, Don Walker, and Patrick Marley
Excerpt: Wisconsin is now among the vanguard of Midwestern states embarking on a new era with their rules for public unions. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican, signed an executive order in 2005 to eliminate collective bargaining for state employees. Ohio is working on a measure to rewrite its collective bargaining law with public-sector unions.
But the fight in Wisconsin isn’t over – Democrats and unions are already filing lawsuits against the proposal and recall actions against GOP senators who approved it.
“It’s just the beginning,” said Sen. Bob Jauch (D-Poplar). “This is the civil rights issue of this century.”
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Wisconsin’s Legacy of Labor Battles (New York Times)
By Kate Zernike
Excerpt: In her book, “Radical Unionism in the Midwest, 1900-1950,” Professor Feurer recounts how companies in the electrical industry in St. Louis started a network known as the Metal Trades Association in the first part of the 20th century to fight union organizing. The association had been alarmed by union protests that erupted violently with the Haymarket Square riot in 1886 and the demands for an eight-hour day, which started with the 1894 Pullman strike in Illinois — an early effort by Eugene V. Debs, the former Indiana legislator and future Socialist Party candidate for president.
“That left a legacy of the 1930s and ’40s for employers to form deep right-wing networks,” Professor Feurer said.
That network, she argues, was the precursor to the Midwestern groups that have now been assisting the fight against the unions in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana: the Bradley Foundation, based in Milwaukee, and Koch Industries, based in Wichita, Kan. David H. and Charles G. Koch, the billionaire brothers behind the energy and manufacturing conglomerate that bears their name, have been large donors to Mr. Walker in Wisconsin, as has their advocacy group, Americans for Prosperity, which first opened an office in Wisconsin in 2005.
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By Ryan Haggerty and Michael Muskal
Excerpt: Even as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Friday signed into law a bill that sharply curbs collective bargaining for most public employees, his opponents were preparing for more demonstrations, court battles and political infighting over what has become a national test of labor’s power.
Organizers were hoping to attract tens of thousands protesters to the Capitol on Saturday for a rally featuring the return of Democratic lawmakers who fled the state on Feb. 17 in an effort to block the measure from passing. Along with the rally, Democrats are planning to ask the courts to overturn the new law and they have begun circulating petitions to recall some lawmakers. GOP supporters are circulating their own recall petitions, directed at the Democrats.
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Op-Ed: The GOP’s costly Wisconsin Koch binge is a wake-up call (Digital Journal)
The Big Shakedown: Wisconsin and the GOP’s Vision for America’s Future (Common Dreams)
Dane County sues state to block budget bill (The Cap Times)
Union Bill Is Law, but Debate Is Far from Over (New York Times)
My Previous Posts
Scott Walker: A Fiscally Responsible Governor or a Politician Who Is Playing Favorites?
Is the Scott Walker Story Just the Tip of the Koch Brothers’ Political Iceberg?
Wisconsin, Scott Walker, and Protesting Workers: The Story Continues
Elaine,
Ah … Dan Quayle … haven’t thought of that poor boy in a long time. I think he was slated to take the reins from George Sr. but lost out thanks to Clinton. I’ve always suspected Bush Jr. was Dan Quayle’s replacement.
Elaine M.
“Stamford Liberal,
Watch what you say about MY people. Remember…I’m one of them now!”
Lol – please accept my apologizes for my temporary lapse of reason!
——————————————–
rafflaw,
“You are correct that part of the Teapublican plan is to stifle government at every level.”
Except when it comes to two things – Remember the teabaggers battle cry, “Keep government out of my Social Security and Medicare!”
Stamford,
You are correct that part of the Teapublican plan is to stifle government at every level.
Stamford Liberal,
Watch what you say about MY people. Remember…I’m one of them now!
🙂
Blouise,
To paraphrase Dan Quayle: What a waste it is to lose one’s head.
😉
OS,
“since experienced workers are being replaced by newbies, efficiency will go down, problems will go up, and the wingers will gleefully point out that “government does not work.”
Point, game and match. That is exactly what the GOP is doing. I stated on another thread to rafflaw yesterday that the GOP is doing everything in its power to ensure that government doesn’t work so they can crow, “See? Told ya so. Government doesn’t work.”
re: link Elains’s 4:45p post
I’m sure the teabagger republican leaders of FitzWalkerstan have only backed away from the sanctions because they are planning a beheading party …
Wisconsin public service employees are jamming retirement plan offices. Who knows what this will mean in the long run. On of the commenters in the linked article pointed out that since experienced workers are being replaced by newbies, efficiency will go down, problems will go up, and the wingers will gleefully point out that “government does not work.”
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/03/15/956637/-Retirement-Blowback-in-Wisconsin
Elaine M,
“Wis. GOPers Restore Voting Rights To Senate Dems, Lift Fines”
How mighty white of them …
you guys just don’t get what’s really happening here, do you?
Gov. Paul LePage (R-ME) … pure, unadulterated greed … the citizens of Maine now know all they need to know about this jerk … recall
TPMDC
Wis. GOPers Restore Voting Rights To Senate Dems, Lift Fines
Eric Kleefeld | March 15, 2011, 3:27PM
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/wis-gopers-restore-voting-rights-to-senate-dems-lift-fines.php?ref=fpb
Excerpt:
The Wisconsin state Senate Republicans backed away Tuesday afternoon from a controversial sanction they handed down against state Senate Democrats, who had fled the state in an attempt to block passage of Gov. Scott Walker’s anti-public employee union proposals. As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Senate President Mike Ellis will not enforce the contempt declaration handed down against the Dems — which, as Fitzgerald said Monday, stripped the Dems of the right to vote in committee proceedings.
In addition, Republicans will not enforce the fines, of $100 for each additional missed session day, that they handed down late during the Dems’ absence,
Elaine M,
I thought that would put a smile on your face!
Actually, what LaPage is doing doesn’t surprise me. GOP MO – Do as I say, not as I do. Far be it from him to lump himself in with the little people …
Let’s not forget about the Republican governor of Arizona–Jan Brewer:
From Think Progress (3/14/2011)
Despite Budget Crisis, Arizona Lawmakers Propose Generous Tax Breaks For Subprime Schools
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2011/03/15/arizona-subprime-break/
Excerpt:
For several months, Arizona has been grappling with a budget crisis, with its deficit for this year projected to be $825 million and next year’s standing at $1.4 billion. Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ) used the budget shortfall to cut off urgent transplant funding for sick Arizonans, some of whom died without their access to critical medical care.
Brewer has also proposed putting a dent in her budget gap by cutting funding for state universities by 20 percent and cutting half of the state’s funding for community colleges. However, not all education providers are feeling the pain of Arizona’s budget woes. The for-profit college industry, in fact, could receive a new tax break worth millions of dollars:
State lawmakers, who have to close a major budget gap, are considering a bill that would give University of Phoenix’s parent company as well as other companies a tax break worth millions, according to some estimates…Arizona Department of Revenue estimates that the new bill could cost Arizona $33.2 million annually in tax revenue.
The main beneficiary of the tax break would be the Apollo Group, which owns the University of Phoenix, one of the largest for-profit colleges. As we’ve been documenting, these subprime schools make the vast majority of their revenue from the federal government, pay their CEOs huge salaries, but leave their students with crippling debt and bleak job prospects. They use intimidation and fear to recruit students, while posting profits margins of more than 30 percent.
The tale of another newly elected Republican governor:
From Think Progress (3/15/2011)
Maine Gov. LePage Asks For ‘Shared Sacrifice,’ But Is Exempt From His Own Pension Changes
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/15/lepage-pension/
Excerpt:
Gov. Paul LePage (R-ME) has called for “shared sacrifice” when it comes to balancing his state’s budget. “If you want prosperity, you have got to make sacrifices,” LePage said. However, as Zaid Jilani pointed out, LePage’s proposed budget asks the middle-class and public employees to bear the brunt of filling the state’s budget gap, while cutting taxes for the state’s wealthiest residents.
As part of his budget, LePage proposed raising the retirement age for public employees and freezing their cost-of-living adjustments. He also increased the amount that public employees are required to pay into their pension fund from 7.65 percent to 9.65 percent, which constitutes a cut in take-home pay for these employees. However, as Mike Tipping at the Kennebec Journal reported, the change doesn’t apply to LePage’s own compensation:
One public employee currently paying 7.65 percent, however, won’t see an increase.
The governor has exempted himself…If LePage faced the same increase as state employees, it would cost him $5,880 over his term.
LePage, upon leaving office, will be eligible for a $26,000 annual pension. A Maine teacher has to work for 25 years to receive the same benefit. Adding insult to injury, the money raised from increased employee contributions won’t even go towards immediately shoring up the state’s pension system, but “will instead pay for other budget priorities, including $203 million in tax cuts.”
Stamford Liberal,
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!
Elaine M,
You are going to positively love this:
“The wife of Wisconsin state Sen. Randy Hopper (R) has signed a recall petition against him after Hopper left her to live with his 25-year-old mistress outside his legislative district. His maid had already joined the recall effort and Hopper may be in violation of state law by living in another district.”
Progress Report
Elaine M,
“Okay, I guess you can blame me now for helping out the the Republican party and the conservative movement in this country. I’m trying to figure out how I did that.”
My guess? They are desperately trying to up their membership numbers due to the bodies lost to the teabaggers and are reaching out to all humans who are still breathing. 😀
File this under “Too Funny for Words”:
Guess what I just got in the mail today? A Republican Senate Leadership Survey. Go figure. I’m a registered Democrat.
Here’s how the letter that came with survey begins:
Dear Fellow American,
Your immediate attention is required on a confidential and time-sensitive matter.
Because of your vital role in the resurgence of the Republican Party and the conservative movement, you have been selected to represent your local voting district in the Republican Leadership Survey.
**********
Okay, I guess you can blame me now for helping out the the Republican party and the conservative movement in this country. I’m trying to figure out how I did that.
From The Nation
Greetings From Fitzwalkerstan: Wisconsin GOP Denies Legislative Democrats Voting Rights
John Nichols
March 15, 2011
http://www.thenation.com/blog/159232/greetings-fitzwalkerstan-wisconsin-gop-denies-legislative-democrats-voting-rights
Excerpt:
On Monday afternoon, (Scott) Fitzgerald, who has publicly admitted that he and other Republicans advanced the anti-labor legislation in order to strengten the position of the GOP in 2012 elections, sent a letter to senators that read: “Dear Members: With the return of the Senate Democrats this weekend, questions have arisen regarding Democrat members’ participation in Senate standing committee public hearings and executive sessions. Please note that all 14 Democrat senators are still in contempt of the Senate. Therefore, when taking roll call votes on amendments and bills during executive sessions, Senate Democrats’ votes will not be reflected in the Records of Committee Proceedings or the Senate Journal. They are free to attend hearings, listen to testimony, debate legislation, introduce amendments, and cast votes to signal their support/opposition, but those votes will not count, and will not be recorded.”
In other words, the fourteen Democrats who refused to go along with legislative moves that have sparked multiple lawsuits and raised serious constitutional questions will now be denied their ability to represent 2.2. million Wisconsinites who live in their districts.
This was the latest authoritarian move by Fitzgerald, who last week spoke of having the Democrats arrested and openly discussed expelling them from the Senate as punishment for their dissents. The majority leader’s over-the-top actions have led one senior legislator, state Representative Mark Pocan, D-Madison, to begin referring to the Wisconsin as a “third world junta” state that he calls “Fitzwalkerstan.”
While that line gets a laugh, the assaults on representative democracy are serious.
“Senator Scott Fitzgerald isn’t content with illegally passing a bill which takes away the rights of 175,000 working Wisconsinites and now has expanded his attacks to disenfranchise the voices of 2.2 million more Wisconsin residents and taxpayers,” declared Scot Ross, the executive director of the One Wisconsin Now advocacy group, who referred to Fitzgerald’s latest move as a “tantrum.”
“Considering how the Republicans plan to slash $900 million from our public schools, cut healthcare for 1 million Wisconsinites, raise prescription drug costs for countless seniors, raise taxes on the working poor by $51 million while at the same time handing $200 million in tax breaks for the wealthy and corporate special interests,” said Ross. “Senator Fitzgerald might better spend his time convincing his fractured caucus that Governor Walker isn’t sacrificing their majority in pursuit of higher office.”
State Senator Fred Risser, a Madison Democrat who is the senior member of the legislature, was aghast at what Fitzgerald had done.
“Who does Senator Fitzgerald think he is? Just because his brother is the speaker of the Assembly and his best friend is the governor of Wisconsin does not give him the power to decide who can and cannot vote in the State Senate,” said Risser, whose Senate service began before Fitzgerald was born. “His statement that Senate Democrats can no longer vote in committee is the height of arrogance. In my tenure in the legislature, I have never seen any attempt to deny duly elected legislators their right to vote.”