Waiting for the Market to open this morning I came across Margaret Carlson’s excellent analysis.
“It isn’t fair!” is a cry we try in kindergarten and never give up. To tamp down this thirst for instant justice, the nuns at my school invoked the sweet hereafter, where all wrongs would be righted, as a reason for us to suck it up at recess.
As an adult, and a lucky one, the last thing I want now is fairness. I could be waiting on tables instead of being served at them, delivering the papers instead of writing for them.
In that, I’m like Wisconsin’s Republican governor, Scott Walker. He didn’t want fairness to kick in after he assumed power in January and used the rubric of “budget repair” to bully the folks who clean his office and guard his prisoners.
The sweet hereafter made an early appearance in Wisconsin on Tuesday. A Democrat, Chris Abele, cruised to victory in the race to fill Walker’s former post, Milwaukee County executive. And state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, part of a 4-3 conservative majority seen as likely to support Walker’s assault on unions, ended up in a too-close-to-call election that may result in a recount. Just six weeks ago, Prosser was expected to coast to victory over JoAnne Kloppenburg, an assistant attorney general. Only five incumbent Supreme Court judges have been defeated since 1852.
Ordinarily it takes four years to right an electoral wrong. Not this time. Liberal and conservative groups descended on Wisconsin to turn what would normally be a ho-hum election into a referendum on Walker…
Regardless of the eventual outcome, Kloppenburg’s out-of- nowhere showing is a cautionary tale for those governors following in Walker’s path by curtailing workers’ bargaining rights, and for the Tea Party, which you’d think would be fighting for the little guy, not the big bully…
On April 5, voters in South Central Wisconsin approved two historic referenda by overwhelming margins. These referenda asked whether voters support amending the U.S. Constitution to make clear that corporations are not people and money is not speech. The City of Madison referendum passed with 84% of the vote, and the similar Dane County referendum passed with 78%.
These referenda are the first anywhere in the country to call for a constitutional amendment in response to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United vs. FEC decision. Members of South Central Wisconsin Move to Amend (SCWMTA), the local group that pushed for the referenda, believe they will not be the last. “Amending the Constitution will not be easy, and to succeed people across the country will need to stand up and demand it,” says Kaja Rebane, SCWMTA Co-Chair. “We hope our success will inspire others to organize their own efforts.”
The 2010 Citizens United case declared that limiting the amount corporations can spend to influence elections would violate the “free speech rights” of corporate “people” under the First Amendment. National polls have shown broad opposition to the Citizens United decision (85% of Democrats, 81% of Independents, 76% of Republicans), and widespread support for a constitutional amendment to undo it (87% of Democrats, 82% of Independents, 68% of Republicans).
“This really is common sense. Even a small child can tell the difference between a corporation and a living, breathing human being. How can this be so hard for the Supreme Court to understand?” asks Madison resident Kevin Gundlach.
Anyone else remember “We the People” being more important than “Them the Corporations”?
Thanks, Cinaedh
#34–JB, missing the point as usual==win or lose, the poor showing of Republican Judge is just a demonstration of the anger of the voting people against the duplicity and bad public policy of Gov Walker.
Win or lose, the pukes have finally shown their true colors and people are waking up to the injurious wealth transfer from everyone to the Super Rich, and unlike you they don’t like seeing resources taken from the disadvantaged and hard working folks to the already too rich.
Win or lose, we can only hope this energy/recognition is held thru the 2012 election season.
Wake Up Republican Voters. The Republicans want to Kill America and they can’t do it without your vote.
Yes, Walker should not have exempted police and firefighter unions from the measure, but that doesn’t invalidate the point that unions use their political clout to elect public official which whom they can then bargain for favorable benefits, and that this conflict of interest should have restriction placed on it.
The “right to work law” imposes a monopoly of employer preferences no different in coercion than the monopoly you complain of–just who gets benefited by the operation of law: labor or capital.
“Right to work” doesn’t impose anything; it is an absense of state imposition. The current situation in NRTW states means that if 50% + 1 of employees decide they want a union, then the remaining employees are then legally compelled to also be in the union, regardless of their desire, or else they can fuck off and go find another job.
LOL, “monopoly of employer preferences.”
Sea Lawyer—c’mon now! You haven’t told us what kind of shit you have for brains. What is it? Libertarian? Contrarian? Selfish? Fearful? What kind of shit do you have for brains?
Lets continue to parse:
Yes, Walker should not have exempted police and firefighter unions from the measure, but that doesn’t invalidate the point that unions use their political clout to elect public official which whom they can then bargain for favorable benefits, and that this conflict of interest should have restriction placed on it. /// There is–its called “elections.” Yes, there is an unavoidable conflict of interest but the ELECTED officials still have to ENGAGE in that conflict in order for the ill to be given effect. So, you identified the issue but not the remedy. The other conflict here–Walker being a whore pimped out by the Koch Brothers is the conflict of interest that Walker actually acted on. Silly to beat the anti-union drum especially in this case where the union acted completely responsibly and it was the PUKE Whore Walker that acted irresponsibly.
The “right to work law” imposes a monopoly of employer preferences no different in coercion than the monopoly you complain of–just who gets benefited by the operation of law: labor or capital.
“Right to work” doesn’t impose anything; /// Gee, reread what you even copied and pasted: “a monopoly of employer preferences…….” True, its a bit stilted to conform to the linguistics of your proposition, but the substance is correct. Pros and Cons to every position taken. Employers ALWAYS prefer right to work. Why do you think that is?
it is an absense of state imposition. /// Correct, which in effect allows/imposes/results in the Employer preferred position to be the law.
The current situation in NRTW states means that if 50% + 1 of employees decide they want a union, then the remaining employees are then legally compelled to also be in the union, regardless of their desire, or else they can fuck off and go find another job. /// yes, thats what it means.
LOL, “monopoly of employer preferences” //// LOL, “freedom of employees to negotiate individually with employers”
Statist is so 2006.
#38->”Employers ALWAYS prefer right to work. Why do you think that is?”
Because they get the most qualified person to do the job and can fire the one that isn’t?
” “freedom of employees to negotiate individually with employers” ”
As it should be.
Equal work for equal pay is a farce. Nobody is equally productive. It’s a myth.
I’m an electrician. I’ve worked in WRT and NWRT shops. I much prefer the WRT though I’ll admit it’s easier to fuck off on the job in a NWRT.
Conservatives have long understood the importance minor, local positions.
Democrats are notorious for only showing up at big elections.
But all those hyper conservative judges and school board members and county commissioners add up to real political power.
I wonder this power play by Walker has made the Dems understand this political reality. For this race, maybe, but I doubt the lesson is learned in the long term.
>> # 40 G2 said, on April 7th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
>>>>#38->”Employers ALWAYS prefer right to work. Why do you think that is?”
>> Because they get the most qualified person to do the job and can fire the one that isn’t?
This is why public sector unions are so important.
Are you so in love with absolute government power that you want to give elected officials the right to fire every public servant and replace them with their family members and other hacks?
#42->If that was the only thing about public sector employees that scared me, then I could see keeping them. But it isn’t.
“It is impossible to bargain collectively with the government.”
George Meany — the former president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O — in 1955
“As a result unions can now insist on laws that serve their interests – at the expense of the common good.”
http://tinyurl.com/3h4sxkq
Even FDR, the God of Liberals everywhere, was wary of public sector unions.
“Meticulous attention, should be paid to the special relations and obligations of public servants to the public itself and to the Government….The process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service … [a] strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to obstruct the operations of government until their demands are satisfied. Such action looking toward the paralysis of government by those who have sworn to support it is unthinkable and intolerable.”
FDR 1937
Hmm . . . maybe our Congressmen should read that last line, too 🙂
Ah bobbo, so sure of the superiority of your viewpoint that you have to routinely throw tantrums or call names. But you are like many progressives I know, so you can’t even claim to be unique in that regard. You at least amuse me; which why I even bother to respond to you most times.
Ha! G2 and Gary==you are both right. As is Sea Lawyer about the conflict of interest. Make for a very difficult discussion as depending on the skill of the presenter, dogma cannot be separated from a fine balancing of the equities.
It falls on a rare approach: not examining the first question, but rather the second question: what kind of errors and corruptions are more likely result from which approach? And on these issues, even that secondary approach has the same subtleties.
So, in the end, in default, its a cat fight: politics. Walker took his whore money and went after an issue he might have left alone on his own–after all, he got all the ECONOMIC PROVISIONS he wanted so the conflict of public unions did not prevail when the elected official kept his eyes on the relevant balls, but he introduced his own conflict of interest and hence the battle.
Being a superior person myself, I prefer RTW laws but having dealt with enough employers, I accept the benefits of union work place because I care for people of similar circumstances. I’m not a christian, just comfortable with people lesser than myself still getting a fair shake.
Wake Up Republican Voters. The Republicans want to Kill America and they can’t do it without your vote.
Sea Lawyer. Hah. hah. And you know why.
Wake Up Republican Voters. The Republicans want to Kill America and they can’t do it without your vote.
Amazing hypocrisy here…
How is union pouring $$ to influence politics any more morally superior than business doing the same?
Unions are as big of political bullies as any big business. In fact, unions are probably more powerful bullies than most business can ever be.
What? You think the different is that businesses are just greedy people trying to fatten their own wallet? What do you think unions main goal is? Do you honestly think they just want to help “little people” if the “little people” are not themselves? Try ask teacher’s union to take a cut in pay/pension to help hiring more teacher “for the children” as they love to chant. See if any government workers will take a cut in benefit to help ensure there is enough service to help the needy. You will be laughed out of the door to no end.
We have been accustomed to protect tax payers from big business interest, which we should continue to do. But it’s time to realized tax payers need to be protected from public unions just the same. We have allowed this beast to grow out-of-control for way too long. We must realize unions are not formed to represent “the people”. Unions are formed to represent only the UNION PEOPLE.
#49–tiger==mostly true and mostly irrelevant. The Wisconsin Whore Machine is not about the abuse of business or of unions. Its about the abuse of the SUPER RICH Koch Brothers and their paid whore politicians acting on their behalf and not the desires of the public.
Add that element to your other insights and continue on.
Wake Up Republican Voters. The Republicans want to Kill America and they can’t do it without your vote.
Good
GOP hasn’t seen anything yet
Keep up the good work GOP
It just keeps getting better and better.
A computer error in Waukesha County, Prosser’s stronghold, is set to send more than 7,000 votes his way.
Dumbocrats – ouch! That’s got to hurt!
Hugh Hewitt’s book nails the Wisconsin vote:
“If It’s Not Close, They Can’t Cheat: Crushing the Democrats in Every Election and Why Your Life Depends on It”
The Daily Kos and MSNBC are slitting their wrists right now.
#31 Bobbo, if you are so upset about Citizens United decision, you have to come up with a way to limit corporate power, that doesn’t give the government power to ban books, which are generally published by corporations. This was THE deciding factor in court arguments, when the government lawyer said they could ban books.
>Haha. Prosser now leads in Wisconsin after Winnebago County adds 244 net votes to his total.
That still gives Prosser only a 40 vote lead, plenty of room for Democrats to ‘discover’ boxes of uncounted votes.
No Republicans discovered a whole city worth of votes, giving Prosser an 8000 vote lead.
If that holds up, then I don’t think Democrats will gear up their recount fraud machine for this one.
#54–Mike==thats silly. All the Supremes had to do was affirm the currently existing laws.
Don’t be such a dope.
Wake Up Republican Voters. The Republicans want to Kill America and they can’t do it without your vote.
Key issue in Wisconsin recount mess is that one county elections officer kept an old Novell server instead of upgrading to the new MS systems. Appears she just wanted to keep her stuff off the network for security reasons, but ended up leaving out a whole city. JCD needs to report on this.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Obamaville — mighty Wisconsin union thugs have struck out.
Wake Up DU readers. Bobbo want to pontificate and he can’t do it without your attention.
#60 You are spot on.
But we are having too much fun celebrating the Wisconsin win.
After all of the intimidation, protests, and even death threats that the pro-union bastards have put Wisconsin taxpayers through, an agonizing loss for Kloppenburg is exactly what P.E.U. and Libs everywhere deserve.
#50 bobbo
The argument for taking away union power is based on the premises that unions have completely abused their power in political influences. If you believe that, weakening union’s political influence is exactly the right medicine for the problem.
I am pretty disgusted with the over use of the corruption accusations. You call Republicans corrupt when they made policies that favors business after taking political contributions from business. What do you call Democrats when they made policies that favors unions after taking money from unions?
People make un-sustained corruption accusations are avoiding the real question: have we allowed public unions to grow too big & powerful to the detriment of American tax payers? If so, why is it so unthinkable to set new rules to limit union’s influences just like we did when big businesses and wealthy people have too much political influences?
@bibbo,
You keep repeating the line: “The Republicans want to Kill America”
Do you really believe that? If you do, how would it benefit Republicans if America is no more? I think you are just a liberal version of Rush: blindly biased party loyalist.
If you disagree, please share us your insight why Republicans would wake up every morning thinking: “hm… how can I kill America today?”. How would killing America benefit any Republicans?
People get the government they deserve, maybe.
What I know is unless that state gets its spending and income in balance everybody is going to get bleep on a stick.
Increasing taxes is being demonstrated to slow, or reverse revenue growth.
That being said I believe in the right of people to ruin themselves, their families, and their nations. This makes room at the top somewhere else for others to become successful just as addle brained choices by the American Gov. is making China the next greatest super power.
I figure in four years we aren’t going to have to worry about use sending our forces to play global cope because we aren’t going to have an aircraft carrier in service.
She has nice tits for an older broad.
It appears now Prosser has won due to human error. I do not see anything wrong with that. What I find troubling is those who gloat over the win. I did not see such gloating when the opposition was ahead. Or quite honestly, I chose to ignore it. This partisanship has devolved into trash talk. Winning seems to be more important than living with our fellow man. Compromise is now a dirty word for either side.
I don’t believe in the political parties, but I do believe that this country is headed to a financial crisis that makes even the 2008-2011 recession look like a cakewalk.
To solve the problems, everyone is going to have make some sacrifices including the public sector.
Sure, the “unions” can “win”. But if they do, they will just turn the places they win into rundown shitholes like Detroit.
Speaking of finances, why the hell are we in Afghanistan? Why wasn’t there a federal budget passed last year? Will someone take control of the steering wheel, please, and sit in the pilot’s seat.
Obama is really disappointing, the Tea Party appears to be the only ones enacting “change you can believe in”. And I spent many months mocking the Tea Party.
At this point, politics is not about winning or losing but the financial solvency of the country … I find it odd that some people do not understand that fixing the grave and deep problems this country faces is beyond the need for re-election or the thin idea of scoring “political point” — these don’t matter if the USA economy melts down and becomes insolvent.
#68 Mainecat,
You might get a kick out of Michael Moore’s tweets (link below) about the Republicans stealing the Wisconsin election, just like they stole the Presidential election in Florida.
http://goo.gl/73H8X
Sorry, but it is really difficult not gloating over this.