Hart/Wisconsin State/AP
Dave Westlake, organizer of a rally in support of Governor Scott Walker, speaks during a protest outside the Wisconsin State Capitol building Saturday. Tea Party leaders carried signs that read "Your Gravy Train is Over" to back Gov. Scott Walker, who wants to cut state workers pay and benefits to plug a $3.6 billion budget hole.For the most part these protests have been peaceful. But the unions have to realize that we can't afford to keep giving them everything they want by paying more in taxes. We are Taxed Enough Already and the voters all around the country voted to cut government rather then raising taxes and spending. Americans voted for change and this is change they can believe in. We have dug deep into our pockets and paid the public employee more then what they are worth and given us little to show for it. We voted to make the unions cover their greedy rather then making us pay out of higher taxes. The more we see of these greedy and lawless unions the less we like them.The unions need to do what this contract says and they need to stop breaking the law. If the teachers keep withholding an eduction from their student and breaking the law they need to be dealt with as the law says. If the unions are in violation of their contracts then they need to be dealt with as the contracts state. They can still protest and work unless they are too lazy to.
And when it comes to the Democrats that are in hiding to stop the democratic process, they need to be dealt with. These strong arm tactics can not be used by any party. If the Republicans all ran away from all of the bills they didn't like how do you think it would have looked for the Republican Party? We live in a democratic republic. We vote for representatives to vote on our behalf. Breaking that democratic process goes against everything they say they stand for. It begs to be ask if that "democracy" talk is all a bunch of BS and talking points. But we only have to look at the left-wing corner stone of "social justice" rather then equal justice for all to see the double standards they are trying to implement. It time to start acting like Americans and take the vote. It's time for the teachers to go back to work or get arrested and fired. And it's time the left-wing realize that we are a country of laws not of men. We all have to make cuts. If they don't like a bill then speak with their votes and repeal it. That is what we did and it's the legal way to do it.
If the unions want to take an all or nothing stance on this issue, then I how they get what they deserve, nothing. If you keep breaking the law don't blame us if people start looking at the unions more like criminals and gangsters. Just remember, if the unions lose the sentiment of the people that give them everything they have, then they lose. As far as I'm concerned they've already lost. This is nothing more then the unions throwing a hissy fit like arrested developed children.
It is good to be an American. We have the freedom to protest our own government. We have the freedom to descend on our government. But we don't have the freedom to break the law. The Tea Party is there in protest and to watch over you, with you. Keep it legal and there wont be any pictures or video. But if the unions screw up then it will be on video. Keep it clean and Americans might not loose any more respect for the government unions.
While on the streets of Madison, Wisconsin, Andrew Breitbart contracted a horrible case of Walker Pneumonia! He was diagnosed by a street “doctor” who was apparently handing out fraudulent Dr.’s excuses to union protesters.
Thanks Christopher from Conservative Perspective:
You should add the video of Herman Cain in Madison to this post Chris.
ReplyDeleteCan i ask one simple question?
ReplyDeleteYou keep mentioning that the union workers are violating their contract. And in simple terms they might be.
But the question i have is.
If the governor and the legislature is "Breaking" the contract by nullifying it then why should the union workers abide by it?
Can you expect people to follow something your in the process of removing from them?
I guess that's two questions but i think you get my point. If you expect the union workers to honor their contract i expect Walker and the republican legislature to. Can't have a double standard.
When the contract expires then new terms can be hashed out.
And so we are clear.
ReplyDeleteI think that the doctor thing is wrong
I think its wrong for people like Bruce to go to Wisconsin and protest
I think its wrong for Andrew to go too.
I think it denigrates the concept of states rights and individual responsibility for people from out of state to be involved in another states politics. Just my feeling.
If the people of Wisconsin want to vote for a man who runs on the platform of removing collective bargaining rights that's their business. (unfortunately he didn't run on that and both sides couldn't wait to make it the nations problem.)I respect the process enough to stay out of it.
Joe, What you fail to understand in this is that the WI state government is not breaking any contract but rather doing the peoples will on any further and or future contractual agreements should the bill be passed.
ReplyDeleteI say future being they may not be necessary as that will be up to the membership on having a yearly vote on whether or not to continue to have a union or not.
Now the last part there is the real contention of the debate.
If the union(s) are so good they should not fear a vote on revelence on a yearly basis.
Furthermore and more importantly, if the teachers were confident in their own ability in actually teaching this begs the question of why they needed a union to begin with.
Joe, just so we're clear, I didn't come to Madison to protest. My daughter lives in Madison and we had a vacation planned to Madison.
ReplyDeleteThe protest just coincidentally occurred during our time here and I went to report on them for The Rochester Citizen.
I'm curious, why would it be wrong if I did come to Madison to join the protests?
Joe C, you are talking out your butt. This is every worker's struggle and it is a national struggle. It just happens to have started in Madison, WI, a state that has been at the center of the labor movement for decades.
ReplyDeleteEvery American worker is at risk of losing their collective bargaining rights because of a strategy by Republicans all across America to destroy labor unions for every worker. Why?
Labor unions are the only source of big money in politics for the Democrats. Since the Citizens United decision, 7 of the top 10 contributors to political campaigns are right wing organizations. The other three were unions in 2010. A decided advantage for corporate America.
Unions are the only way Democrats have to fight back. If the Republicans bust the unions, Democrats will become a permanent minority.
Thanks Christopher I just added the Herman Cain video. WOW, he is a great speaker. Everyone needs to watch that video and comment. Thanks again.
ReplyDeletePress Release from the Madison Police Department Updated at 10:18 PM
ReplyDeleteOn behalf of all the law enforcement agencies that helped keep the peace on the Capitol Square Saturday, a very sincere thank you to all of those who showed up to exercise their First Amendment rights. You conducted yourselves with great decorum and civility, and if the eyes of the nation were upon Wisconsin, then you have shown how democracy can flourish even amongst those who passionately disagree. As of 5:00 p.m., no major incidents had been reported. There have been no arrests. However, discourse and discussion was - at times - loud and heated. That was to be expected. As previously indicated, the goal of law enforcement has been to provide a safe environment for democracy to take place. That goal has been realized for yet another day.
Bruce the only national struggle to me is people like you with THEIR hand in MY pocket.
ReplyDeleteLabor Unions are the only source of campaign contributions for Demoncrats. Bruce you would think in a FREE society those workers if they wanted to would Contribute Freely and NOT through Union.
Wisconcin Voters spoke and like ALL states REVENUE aint there Bruce. We will have OUR problems soon here with Public Unions and on that it will be Your Business how State deals with REVENUE shortage. In Wisconsin seem like your Tresspassing on their State Issues>
Other then breaking the law they were peaceful. Other then withholding democracy from the people of Wisconsin everyone has been peaceful. Thank God for that. Please keep it peaceful, because if you don't, you will lose. People already hate what the unions are doing to the tax payers. The tax payers know their rights as well. The unions killed the goose that laid the golden egg and now we aren't pulling any more money out of our pockets to make the union happy.
ReplyDeleteAL what you said about..."In Wisconsin seem like your Tresspassing on their State Issues>" That says it all. In fact Obama tresspassed in Wisconsin faster then in Egypt. And Egypt was his business not Wisconsin. These Democrats need to learn their place.
ReplyDeleteI bet there will be a lot of union members that wish they would have put some Republicans in their pocket with support. Maybe the Republicans can't be bought as cheap as the Democrats can by the unions.hahaha
ReplyDeletePublic Unions contribute to politicans almost exlusively ,Demoncrats, and then these same Unions collective bargin with the politicans they supported through Union Campaign money. Wonder how those Public Sector contracts got so far out of Control and Costly to Citizens?
ReplyDeletePrivate Sector uses collective bargininng with Companies to reach agreements. Does anybody know of Private Union that contributes to Private Sector Company and then Bargins with them? My guess is NOPE!
Al, i don't understand what your saying?
ReplyDeleteIs your al's heimers acting up again?
In a free world would Ford give money to candidates or would it come from me? Perhaps only unions shouldn't give money.
But i am wondering about the Dems only contributors thing. What did you mean?
Chris, is your rep Candi Miller? She is bought cheap. 5 of here top 20 contributors are unions.
ReplyDeletesource open secrets analysis by open secrets.
Chris, I am happy to help my friend!
ReplyDeleteHey Bruce,,Take note of Mr. Cain's word's and you might get a clue as to how real American's feel,,,,
ReplyDeleteActually, Chris, this poll shows that two-thirds of Wisconsites think Governor Walker has gone too far.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.weac.org/news_and_publications/11-02-17/Poll_Voters_overwhelmingly_say_Walker_has_gone_too_far.aspx
Joe OK Ford gives money to Canadates.
ReplyDeleteDoes FORD then negotiate Contract with Politicans NO!
Public Unions give money to Canadates. Politicans then are in position to OK contracts. Seems to be there should be a better way. Contributing to the ones you Negotiate with seems a bit troubling.
In Al timers world all is well Government is small JObs are plentyful Economy strong and Pride in OUR Nation is restored. Really not a bad place to Be!
Wisconsin Education Association Council is your referance to a possitive poll Bruce? That is the funniest and weakest attempt of a poll. I would have thought it would be closer to 100% since the pollster are teachers. hahahahaha
ReplyDeleteAl, Ford Motor Company bids on government work just like a lot of companies.
ReplyDeleteSo your against unions giving money and having the elected officials negotiate contracts? Your not against corporations giving money to legislators that then get millions of dollars in contracts and earmarks for the companies?
see thats why you have to stay on top of your Al's Heimers. You start making no sense.
Are gas prices going down or up? Food prices?? House prices??? Violence around the world???? Debt????? Insurance prices?????????
ReplyDeleteWhat has gotten better since President Obama took office? The wars? Gitmo? Terrorism? National Sec? Crime? Peace? Our debt? Taxes? Housing?
How is the "hope and change" working for ya'? Reality never gets too old.
Joe corporations and businesses don't have a vote. Unions have a vote and they can give both personaly and as a union. It's double dipping and that's just wrong. The government unions have a monopoly and like coporate monopolies they must be broken up. It sucks to be a unionist!
ReplyDeleteThese unions and protesters are just anti-government. The Wisconsin Democrats that are anti-democracy are anti-government as well. That is how most Americans view those protesters. Once these anti-government protesters realize that they will get nothing out of the public stone, I'd bet they turn to violence as well as more illegal activity as has been the case now.
ReplyDeleteChris, it's so sad you are such a moron.
ReplyDeleteThe report about the poll was on the Wisconsin Teachers, but the poll wasn't even commissioned by them.
Joe Private Sector Union negotiates with Private Sector Company. I do not beleive UNION is giving campaign contributions to company and then NEGOTIATING.
ReplyDeletePublic Unions through Union Campaign funds contribute to politicans and then basiclly Negotiate with politicans on CONTRACT!
2009 Gov Doyle (dem) of Wisconsin said public union contracts were unsubstainable and cuts and lay offs would be nessacary. Dont remember the out cry then that I see now.
This whole issue is just simply raising up the masses for 2012. This is a State issue with out siders attempting to sway out come including Nobama.
Citizens who elected Walker and Republicans in the House of Rep. aint stupid. They were Elected to attempt to fix a DEBT problem that has been kicked down the road to long by all Politicans.
Citizens see the Bused in Protesters who are against State Issue and that may come back to haunt Public Sector Unions in the end. Only step yet although Drastic is to Fire Non Workers AFTER giving them chance to GET back to work. How else is it going to get settled?
Who commisioned it then Bruce?
ReplyDeleteDefining our fiscal crisis is first step. by
ReplyDeleteStar Parker
The first step in solving any problem is defining the problem correctly. It's here, at step one, where we're already failing in how we're thinking about our nation's fiscal crisis.
Despite the fact that we're talking about an out-of-control federal budget, the problem at its root is not a budget problem. It's a cultural problem which reflects poor decisions we're making about how we use our valuable resources. Until we come to terms with this, these problems are not going to get solved and will only get worse.
If a friend of yours was constantly broke because he spends his paycheck on beer and lottery tickets, you wouldn't tell him he's got a budget problem. You'd tell him he has a personality problem.
No different with the nation. The fiscal and economic black hole into which we are being sucked reflects bad thinking and bad decisions.
Like the guy who is broke because of beer and lottery tickets, we know we've got a problem. But we still have a lot of work to do to understand the personality, or cultural, problem that's causing it.
Polling reflects this.
Today only 31 percent of Americans are "satisfied" with the "size and power of the federal government." This is down from 41 percent just two years ago and 50 percent ten years ago.
But, although 70 percent of Americans understand that the federal government has gotten out of control and is getting into our lives where it doesn't belong, when we get down to the specific programs that cause the problem, Americans indicate that they still want these programs.
The elephant in the room are entitlements -- Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. These now total up to $1.6 trillion in spending, or about 45 percent of the federal budget. The $1.6 trillion is projected to double over next ten years. We simply can't meet these obligations.
Yet polling indicates Americans don't want these programs cut. Recent polling from the Pew Research Center shows over 80 percent of Americans want these programs to stay where they are, or increased.
How do we reconcile the paradox that most know that the federal government is out of control, yet support the programs that are driving it out of control?
One factor is the way the discussion is taking place.
We're hearing from politicians about the need to make "hard choices." They're defining the problem as keeping the programs the same and making cuts in them.
Naturally, there is resistance by taxpayers to take hits on what they believe are benefits for which they've paid taxes.
But when the problem is redefined to fundamentally change the way we do these things, polls show openness to change.
Polling done by Pew just last September showed major support for changing Social Security to an ownership program rather than a government tax-and-spend program.
Fifty-eight percent said they support being able to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in a personal retirement account. Overwhelmingly, younger Americans want to do this. Seventy percent in ages 18-29 support the idea and 63 percent in ages 30-49 support it.
In work done by William Shipman and Peter Ferrara last year, reported in the Wall Street Journal, they calculated what a couple, earning incomes at the national average, would have earned if they could have invested their Social Security taxes in a broad index of stocks over their 45-year working lives from 1965 to 2009.
Despite a 37-percent drop in 2008, they still would have earned 75 percent more than they would have gotten from Social Security.
Perhaps more importantly, it would have been their money, in their own account, for their own use, or passed on to their own heirs.
What we're calling a budget crisis is really a government socialism crisis. This is what needs to be addressed if we're going to have a future.
Star Parker is a great American.
ReplyDeleteChris, wow i never thought you'd bring up food prices after i smoked you in that thread. you haven't come back to it since.
ReplyDeleteBut lets look at your rantings.
Food prices rose .8 percent last year. Scary.
in fact the CPI all items has risen the same amount in Obama's two years as the last two of Bush.
So what are you all crazy about?
Al, you didn't see an outcry then because you mistakenly believe that the concessions are what the outcry is about. The Unions have in fact agreed to a majority of the concessions but are only asking that Gov Walker remove the language eliminating collective bargaining rights.
ReplyDeleteAnd at that time, the public sector unions doubled the amount they contribute to medical coverage and took a 3% percent pay loss in the form of unpaid furlough days.
so you can see that this isn't about the budget but about Walkers attempt to break the union.
Chris, there is nothing wrong with Union dues being automatically deducted from paychecks and given to the union. Non-union members would have their agency fees (per Beck) deducted also.
ReplyDeleteIt has to be contractually agreed to according to labor law.
Chris said..."corporations and businesses don't have a vote. Unions have a vote and they can give both personaly and as a union."
ReplyDeleteDon't have a vote on what Chris?
As for Ford they have a Pac that allows the employee to donate as a individual and to the Pac.
Chris said..."The government unions have a monopoly and like corporate monopolies they must be broken up."
How many individual unions make up the public sector workforce in Michigan? Can a group of individual businesses owned and operated independently be considered a monopoly? If such be the case could we consider the US or Michigan Chamber of Commerce members a monopoly?
As for sucking your wrong, the rallies show that its the best time to be a unionist. We shall not go quietly into the night
Joe Break the Union hold or Break the Government. Which is better for OUR economy?
ReplyDeleteI always hear the Left say those Nasty Republicans dont care about OUR children. Now we have teachers protesting when they should be TEACHING. How are they showing their compassion for OUR students? Teachers using sick day or getting fraudulent doctor notes is a way of teaching OUR children what?
Collective barginning in Public Sector must be challenged we can NO longer afford them. Private schools,Catholic schools seem to get better results in classroom achievements parental involvement and disipline for. Why do these schools do SO much better for SO much Less?
Citizens are watching Joe and liberals are once again falling into their OWN trap. Politicans who thought SPENDING what we dont have was OK paid a price in Novemeber and their falling right back into their HOLE.
Joe public unions may not go QUIETLY but by their actions they will GO! Very stupid on Unions part to show so much Greed and so little compassion for OUR children. That will catch up to them.
Regarding labor laws Joe. This administration has shown Citizens that not ALL laws must be inforced. Just depends what laws to IGNORE!
Al,
ReplyDeleteSo once again your still missing the point. Don't know how many times i have to say this.
THE UNIONS AGREED TO ALL ECONOMIC CONCESSIONS IF WALKER WOULD NOT MESS WITH THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.
Can I be any clearer?
I did like John Stewart's take on it.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Joe I did not miss the point I do beleive Private Unions have a place and the reason is they are NOT Tax Payer supported.
ReplyDeletePublic Unions have through Politicans brought the Governments both Local and federal to the Brink of Collapse . Citizens can NO longer afford to Bankroll Unions they cannot afford. Demoncrats are always up for regulations and this would be a good place to start. There will be many many more States having to make tuff decisions and the ONLY avenue they will have is lay offs. Government can no longer afford what it cannot pay for and that Citizens understand!
Still dont understand Demoncrats fleeing state but you got teachers not teaching, doctors filling out sick forms ,students not being taught and their grade point averages now through out the Country I beleive to be about 37th in the world. Teachers unions to me should be if not broken brought under some degree of accountability for the Cash they recieve and the Product we are left with.