Europe Is Dumbfounded by Scott Walker's Victory

[pampango]

The recall victory of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is sending shockwaves through Europe as right-wing and left-wing newspapers marvel at the Republican's ability to survive an election months after stripping the collective bargaining rights of public-sector unions. In European countries, where a much larger percentage of the labor force is unionized, politicians typically face insurmountable opposition from labor groups during wage and work-hour disputes. Today, some of the continent's biggest papers are doing a double-take at headlines from over here.

French socialist newspaper L'Humanité lamented the symbolism of the Walker victory as a validation of "Republican Party and Tea Parties in their strategy of 'radicalization' and 'rightward' or even 'extreme rightward'" policies. The liberal newspaper Le Monde said the recall couldn't be dismissed as a local issue. "For France, the election may appear as an epiphenomenon: it concerns a single State and involves local politicians. It is not the case," said the paper, noting the election is a direct read on the "political temperature" in the country.

In Germany, the progressive newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung expressed disbelief in Walker's agenda saying he denied the unions "virtually every right to negotiate for the public employees collective bargaining agreements," a somewhat exaggerated claim given that the bill mostly focuses on wage negotiations but nevertheless understandable given the breadth of negotiating powers German unions enjoy.

Finally, in one of England's liberal newspapers, The Guardian's Arun Gupta accused walker of turning "back the clock on public healthcare, education and labor organizing." He cites the editor of Madison's Progressive magazine noting that the law "will be psychologically devastating to tens of thousands of people in Wisconsin and materially devastating to people who've already seen a 10% cut in their pay and no longer have collective bargaining in any real sense." He also noted that the victory signals that Republicans can put their "boot on the threat of labor and get away with it." Indeed, the enthusiasm for unionized labor is alive and well... just not in the U.S.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2012/06/europe-dumbfounded-scott-walkers-victory/53234/

Every once in a while Europe needs a reminder of how different the US is in critical ways.

[fascisthunter]

1. well... look who OWNS the means to count votes

dumb

[jpbollma]

2. Also, look who funds our elections

as opposed to elections in Europe. Our most left wing Democratic representatives would be the moderate/conservative left in the Socialist and Social Democratic parties of Europe. I would say our "Progressive Caucus" is probably the most similar to the Socialists/Social Democrats and still are not nearly as far to the left.

[fascisthunter]

4. agreed! This is something our so-called centrists seem to not understand

...not understand how right wing they really are.

[Art_from_Ark]

3. Someone needs to correct a typo

which is in the original article:

"He also noted that the victory signals that Republicans can put their "boot on the *threat* of labor and get away with it."

I believe they mean "throat".

[Cali_Democrat]

5. They didn't see the stolen election of 2000?

There's really no reason to be "dumbfounded"

[AndyA]

6. Much of America Is Dumbfounded by Scott Walker's Victory

Just another day in the land of democracy, where money has more power than anything else, and the corporation with the biggest bank balance controls everything.

[CTyankee]

8. Oh, I wish I could believe that you are right! But sadly, I don't.

People in this country are too beaten down to rise up. They tend to believe what they are told. It is so sad and I am sad for them...

[Lifelong Protester]

7. Join the dumbfounded club.

And we had better get past dumbfounded and on to educating dumbos.

Sorry, I'm still pretty snarky about this.

[The Wielding Truth]

11. Citizens United has done it's job. We are no longer a democracy. We need international help.

[Gregorian]

9. There is no dumbfoundedness after a Bush second term.

That shuld a learn'd you all ya needed to knows. It hain't easy livin' in 'merica.

[Egalitarian Thug]

10. Well duh. They make the same mistake we do, it's a human characteristic.

That is, we tend to judge others by ourselves.
K&R

[spanone]

12. they should look at citizens united and our bought & paid for media..

americans routinely vote against their better interests....don't. get. it.

[progressoid]

13. It's amazing that they keep up with our craziness.

And it's just depressing that most Americans barely know who their elected leaders are.

[Madmiddle]

14. Here's the thing:

union leaders have not taught their union people the history of unions and the fights that beginning unions had to go through. They think that unions are just some political bullshit. Union leaders need to teach their members the history of unions, they need to tell them the working conditions, hours worked, and pathetic pay, was changed by huge riots and people going to their deaths to make these changes if they had to. Union leaders need to work toward making their members understand why unions exist, pure and simple. They need to let their members know that Republicans hate unions, and that DEMOCRATS are the people that stand behind unions.

[Thinkingabout]

15. As badly as I did not like Scott winning, we Dems won

With Democrats back in control of creating laws Walker will not rule them the way he did the repubs. I am not hearing much about the seats the repubs lost. Go Wisconsin Dems, you are great.

[gmee2]

21. Have not won any seats yet...

The senate seat was only won by less than 700 votes and there are still absentee ballots to count plus a possible recount.
Don't count your chickens yet. Everyone here in Wisconsin thought that the recall would happen only to wake up to Walker again, so until it is certified by the Secretary of State that senate seat is not won.

[Zorra]

16. Not the first time they've been dumbfounded by the zombie vote

[SunSeeker]

23. Exactly what I thought of when I read the op.

I actually have that picture on my garage fridge--where I keep my emergency beer. Seems appropriate, no?

[Liberty84]

17. Europe

Given the current state of European sovereign debt, why would we care what they think anyway?

[Bellerophon]

24. bingo

It s not like they are doing so well themselves...

[newspeak]

25. yeah, let's pretend that WS had nothing to do with the economic meltdown

those countries who bought into the mortgage bundling scam, got hit hard. We got the best damn swindlers in the fekkin world!!!! It's too bad that those bleeding heart european countries actually think more about their citizens; than how much profit the rich and infamous can pocket, even if they gamble and scam the plebes.

Eight years of little boot's ideology of allow my friends to police themselves, has only allowed some of the best damned swindlers to screw the world, including this country. After all, those WS gamblers made a wager that the american people were going down. It was a sure bet, since they were the ones who caused the crisis!!!!

[Jamaal510]

18. I just hope that the conservatives over in Europe

Last edited Fri Jun 8, 2012, 12:04 AM - Edit history (1)

don't get any crazy ideas and do the same messed up things as our conservatives are doing.

-Jamaal

[shcrane71]

19. A Swedish woman recently laughed at our being a "Christian nation" when

I told her how much our minimum wage was.

[pampango]

20. Tell her it is a uniquely "American" brand of Christianity.

[mckara]

22. Obviously, the Collective I.Q. of Wisconsin...

is much lower than we thought!