How exciting to be the nation’s Petri dish on union-busting… everyone from the New York Times to Rush Limbaugh has something to say about the protests in Madison, Wisconsin and from my birds-eye view of the capitol square, I must admit I’ve not seen anything quite like it in my 20 years in this city.
As someone intensely interested in both state government and perception management, I am watching this debate with relish. Choosing sides is less simple, as the talking points espoused by lefties and righties alike both oversimplify and exaggerate what’s truly happening.
The far right wants you to believe that pampered state employees - - especially teachers, those spoiled whiners - - are protesting simply because they’ve been asked to contribute more of their take home pay toward pensions and health benefits.
The far left wants you to believe that unions are the answer to everyone’s employment woes; that without organized labor, we’d all be reduced to working under sweatshop conditions.
The right is doing a good job of whipping working class private sector employee resentment into a frothy lather while the left is screeching “class warfare” like we’re talking about day laborers, not well-educated professionals.
The truth is, this battle is about nothing less than de-clawing some of the most powerful liberal organizers in Wisconsin and reducing them to impotence. It’s literally a fight to re-balance the odds for the next round of elections.
It’s politics masquerading as governance.
As a fiscal conservative, I like to think that I’m part of the “mandate” that the right is claiming these days. The state’s broke. I know too many unemployed people. And my paycheck has stayed the same as I’ve watched my property taxes go up along with my heating bill, grocery bill and gas bill. I’m smart enough to know what a structural deficit is and I want it fixed.
I was hoping the people I helped to put into office would do something about these issues. Instead, they appear to be strategizing new and exciting ways to keep themselves in power indefinitely and using the relatively minor budget shortfall as cover. (They’re not even patient enough to wait for the real fiscal crisis that is looming just around the corner!)
Let’s get real. Making Wisconsin a “right to work” state has no business being rolled into an emergency budget bill, to be reviewed and passed within a week. The concessions that the Governor is asking for are nowhere near enough to solve the actual budget crisis. Nor are they the only way to solve it. Nor were unionized employees given a reasonable opportunity to say “yea” or “nay” to them.
This fight isn’t about the immediate wages and benefits, but about the political right eviscerating one of their most powerful enemies, the unions. It’s a poorly messaged power grab, aimed at making the next election cycle a little less challenging for those currently in power. In other words, it’s politics as usual.
Political pashas using the “mandate” of the people to push through bad legislation in the blink of an eye. Sound familiar? It’s the same thing President Obama and his newly minted majority did with the health care bill at the federal level.
That Governor Walker was naïve enough to make a mirror-image misstep within weeks of taking office shows he is seasoned at politics… and poor at governance. It might be solidifying the Republican base, but it’s costing some political capital, it’s putting the Senate and House majorities at risk, and it’s uniting the left and a bunch of others who see a shallow political move for what it is.
Slow down. Check your ego. Focus on real solutions. Wisconsinites are by and large not ideologues. We’re practical, honest, hardworking people. Don’t delude yourself that you have a mandate to conduct politics as usual, because THAT is what we vote out. The voters of this state are not all dumb. And we are watching.
As someone intensely interested in both state government and perception management, I am watching this debate with relish. Choosing sides is less simple, as the talking points espoused by lefties and righties alike both oversimplify and exaggerate what’s truly happening.
The far right wants you to believe that pampered state employees - - especially teachers, those spoiled whiners - - are protesting simply because they’ve been asked to contribute more of their take home pay toward pensions and health benefits.
The far left wants you to believe that unions are the answer to everyone’s employment woes; that without organized labor, we’d all be reduced to working under sweatshop conditions.
The right is doing a good job of whipping working class private sector employee resentment into a frothy lather while the left is screeching “class warfare” like we’re talking about day laborers, not well-educated professionals.
The truth is, this battle is about nothing less than de-clawing some of the most powerful liberal organizers in Wisconsin and reducing them to impotence. It’s literally a fight to re-balance the odds for the next round of elections.
It’s politics masquerading as governance.
As a fiscal conservative, I like to think that I’m part of the “mandate” that the right is claiming these days. The state’s broke. I know too many unemployed people. And my paycheck has stayed the same as I’ve watched my property taxes go up along with my heating bill, grocery bill and gas bill. I’m smart enough to know what a structural deficit is and I want it fixed.
I was hoping the people I helped to put into office would do something about these issues. Instead, they appear to be strategizing new and exciting ways to keep themselves in power indefinitely and using the relatively minor budget shortfall as cover. (They’re not even patient enough to wait for the real fiscal crisis that is looming just around the corner!)
Let’s get real. Making Wisconsin a “right to work” state has no business being rolled into an emergency budget bill, to be reviewed and passed within a week. The concessions that the Governor is asking for are nowhere near enough to solve the actual budget crisis. Nor are they the only way to solve it. Nor were unionized employees given a reasonable opportunity to say “yea” or “nay” to them.
This fight isn’t about the immediate wages and benefits, but about the political right eviscerating one of their most powerful enemies, the unions. It’s a poorly messaged power grab, aimed at making the next election cycle a little less challenging for those currently in power. In other words, it’s politics as usual.
Political pashas using the “mandate” of the people to push through bad legislation in the blink of an eye. Sound familiar? It’s the same thing President Obama and his newly minted majority did with the health care bill at the federal level.
That Governor Walker was naïve enough to make a mirror-image misstep within weeks of taking office shows he is seasoned at politics… and poor at governance. It might be solidifying the Republican base, but it’s costing some political capital, it’s putting the Senate and House majorities at risk, and it’s uniting the left and a bunch of others who see a shallow political move for what it is.
Slow down. Check your ego. Focus on real solutions. Wisconsinites are by and large not ideologues. We’re practical, honest, hardworking people. Don’t delude yourself that you have a mandate to conduct politics as usual, because THAT is what we vote out. The voters of this state are not all dumb. And we are watching.
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