Public Employees Protesting WI Governor

Having given Wisconsin taxpayers' hard-earned money to his corporate buddies, the gov is now assuring the state a rapid acceleration into bankruptcy by attacking the core of it's society, rather than simply ask for the return of the money he gifted.

The silver lining for Oregonians in all this Wisconsin revolt against education melee is one less state to worry about when competing for new businesses to locate here. No major firm is going to set up in a state that young families are leaving by the droves, which is what this will result in. Leaving under-funded school systems/seeking highly-rated school systems is one of the most common reasons young families move here from other states.

That also means more people moving west, which will hurt their real estate values and help ours.

 

Legalizing pot?

 

The governor wants to cut the education budget. I agree this is good news for Oregon because no exec is going to put his children in those schools.

I heard a story about either Google/Intel or someone that hired this guy they really liked for an executive position and asked him to move to Oregon. He refused the job because he didn't want to move his kids into Oregon public schools.

The governor is simply an idiot. Even Christie handled this better. Moreover, the Koch brothers have admitted to fanning the anti-union flame in Wisconsin. This is simply normal politics now. There is no reason for this outside of ideological. It can be handled in a far more popular way.

 

The way this governor has been acting reminds me of this song/book.

[video=youtube;tcS0NzoSJcU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcS0NzoSJcU[/video]

 

The data has shown beyond a doubt that throwing money at education doesn't work. Furthermore, I haven't seen a single poster against the banning of collective bargaining for benefits and health care tell me how we solve the long term entitlement budget problem for these workers. Where does this money come from? What is the solution to handle things "...in a far more popular way"?

Scott Walker and the current crop of WI Republicans have picked up the can that has been kicked down the road for decades by WI politicians, and they should be celebrated for it.

 

Well, the Republicans were screaming "Start over and use common sense!", so maybe that can be the starting point?

This is unpopular, so the governor is pretty much saying that he knows whats best for the people. Why does ending collective bargaining have to be the way to reduce the deficit? Aren't there other ways of doing this that are more in line with the mainstream views of the Wisconsinites?

I just laugh at the "doublethink" or republicans right now. They were just screaming about the president going against the general popular opinion. They were saying start over and lets compromise on a common sense bill.

Difference is, the Democrats in this case would LOVE a compromise, and so would Wisconsinites. Republicans want none if it and are going to any length to get this passed no matter how big the protests are. That is why this is ideological. They are looking at the big picture. And it has nothing to do with the deficit/debt. It has to do with defunding the democratic party one state at a time.

 

Are you intentionally missing the point? I'm serious.

If you can't see how public employee collective bargaining for benefits has increased the future obligations for the taxpayers, if you don't understand the problem with the construct itself, then we can't even have a discussion. At some point, you have to do basic research.

As an aside, I'm amazed at your support for the tactics used when it comes to this debate vs. your stance on Obamacare. I knew I was going to see that abomination go through, but was willing to let the consequences of the 2008 election play out, even after the result in Virginia, even after the result in New Jersey and even after the most liberal commonwealth in the country sent a Republican to stop this legislation. It seems to me you're unwilling to recognize the results of the 2010 election for the people of Wisconsin. Scott Walker was pretty clear on his platform, and so were many of the Republican State Senators and Assemblypeople.

Ask yourself this: If the public employees and unions are so certain of the popularity and the rightness of their position, why aren't they willing to let democracy play out and reverse the decision at a later time? From their statements, it's all but certain that passing this legislation will be the end of the Republican Party in Wisconsin. Why not allow the GOP to commit sepuku in Madison?

 

The problem I have is that the health care was not a deliberate attempt to weaken republicans now and in the future. There was a ton of compromise, a lot of republican amendments in there, and no single payer or public option. The problem is the health mandate.

This governor has gone far past that. I think it is a sickening abuse of power, honestly.

As for your point, I haven't even told anyone my position on unions and there is a purpose for that. Whether I support or do not support public unions is irrelevant to what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the overstepping of the governor's powers against his own people's will.

The one thing I said was I more or less support the way Christie handled the unions. Also, I am NOT in favor of the Dems leaving the state. I am not in favor of what the governor and Republican congress is doing to try and get them back in there. Quick votes, no paycheck, arrest them (which is against their state constitution) etc... Seems like just a slight overreach to me (sarcasm).

And while I'm not for the Dems running away from the vote, I am quite in favor of the right to protest. I think they way Walker's administration is handling the protesters (even after a judge said the capital must remain open) is sickening. His threat of layoffs is also sickening. I think he is seriously lacking in character and is unfit to be a governor in this country.

 

Let me get this straight: Your point is that limiting the right of government employees to collectively bargain for their health care and benefits is a "...deliberate attempt to weaken..." Democrats? If that's the case, then the Democrats are officially the party of Government and their power should be limited. At the very least they should find a new constituency.

It's equivalent to inmates running the prison. After all, when you have the Party of Government "negotiating" with their constituents, exactly where is the disagreement? Worse yet, they're "negotiating" with other people's money.

As for Obamacare, exactly what were the Republican amendments attached to the bill? I ask, because the bill was not subject to the amendment process on the House floor. The bill was created not in committee, but the Speaker's Office. Perhaps that's why only one Republican (Joseph Cao) voted for it? As for the Senate, here's the list of 43 amendments offered that were ALL defeated by the Democrats: http://republican.senate.gov/healthcare/reconciliation/

And the compromise didn't happen between the Democrats and Republicans, but the far left wing of the Democratic party and the Blue Dog Democrats. The Republicans weren't even in the room. Seriously, try doing some research before you post.

 

Here you go, Maxiep. Watch this.

[video=youtube;fQuNrPg1paM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQuNrPg1paM[/video]

 

What's your point? That someone on FOX said something, therefore I should believe it? Sorry, but my thought processes are a little more complex than that. I do my own research, then I arrive at my conclusion.

As an aside, that's now at least two direct questions you haven't been able or willing to answer. I understand.

 

You attempt to bash me because i sidestep questions (which I have actually mostly answered) and yet your argument for or against things is "Sorry, I arrived at a different conclusion. Game. Set. Match."...

Followed by going back to bash others' opinions.

 

I'm not bashing you. I'm simply pointing out that you ask me questions, and I directly answer them. I ask you questions and your response is, "Oh, yeah? What about this?" It's tedius. You continue to ignore the core elements of the issue and yet want all the credit for participating in the discussion. Sorry, but I'm not interested in a Special Olympics grading scale.

 

Here is Glenn Reynolds' opinion on the larger issue at hand: http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/sunday-reflections/2011/03/now-comes-lower-education-bubble

 

Oh come on, that is obviously an opinion piece. You could find hundreds of blogs in which Republicans were praising Walker. The title of the article is Wisconsin Republicans Move State Toward Fascism for God's sakes.

If that was from lets say Yahoo or something, then it would be different. Or USA Today or something.

This is the America we live in. Everyone can see what they agree with and try to block out as best they can views that do not agree with theirs.

 

Tea Party Thugs are blocking WI Dems in their offices so they can't vote!

Whoops, I meant Union Thugs are blocking WI GOP Assembly members in their offices and are threatening violence if they go vote, according to media reports in WI.

So much for civility and the democratic process...

 

Be proud, Democrats! I'm sure Limbaugh and Palin are to blame for this type of rhetoric.

http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/117732923.html

 

(El Presidente is really slacking on these lately)