Scott Walker's win is a permanent defeat for US labor unions

[Mosaic]

Grover Norquist

When Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker defeated Mayor Tom Barrett, 53-46%, in Tuesday's recall election, many observers immediately asked how this would affect the fight for Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes in the November presidential election between Obama and Romney. The best Republican get-out-the-vote effort, funded by millions of dollars of contributions from across the nation, went up against millions of dollars of union dues from all 50 states – and the Republican won by 53% in a state that Obama carried by 1,677,211 votes in 2008. And while Romney is behind Obama in "on the ground" organizing in most of the 10 or 12 key competitive states, Wisconsin now has a readymade campaign, with 20 state offices, which can be handed off to the Romney campaign.

Read more http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/07/scott-walkers-win-permanent-defeat-us-labor-unions

[ProSense]

1. Am I missing something? n/t

[JNelson6563]

2. lolz Dream on Grover.

What a stinky pantload...

When Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker defeated Mayor Tom Barrett, 53-46%, in Tuesday's recall election, many observers immediately asked how this would affect the fight for Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes in the November presidential election between Obama and Romney.

The only thing that is not bullshit in this posted bit

The best Republican get-out-the-vote effort, funded by millions of dollars of contributions from across the nation, went up against millions of dollars of union dues from all 50 states –

Wow. Where to begin with this? First off, the "across the nation" bit re: Rethug funding. lolz Yeah, I guess those few 1% live in various parts of the country but it's a safe bet the imagery he's shooting for here are countless grassroots supporters from coast to coast. Of course both sides spent "millions of dollars", with labor pony-ing up Barret's. Yep, so both sides were evenly matched on money, *gag* the longtime boogey man, labor, pretty much funded Barrett~while the faceless, nameless masses of America pooled their pennies together to re-elect ol' Scott "in-bred eyes" Walker (hat tip to the Rude One). Is it opposite day today? Oh wait, I forgot that it is Opposite Day every day for Grover.


and the Republican won by 53% in a state that Obama carried by 1,677,211 votes in 2008.

He won in 2010 too so just what does this mean exactly? This election had nothing to do with Obama.


And while Romney is behind Obama in "on the ground" organizing in most of the 10 or 12 key competitive states, Wisconsin now has a readymade campaign, with 20 state offices, which can be handed off to the Romney campaign.

Well, duh. If it weren't for this boost in WI for Romney he'd be behind in 49 states instead of 48. My guess is he's got a wicked ground game in Utah too.

So many slights of hand, masterfuly narcissistic piece.

Julie

[ProSense]

5. Clearly, you're

"What a stinky pantload..."

...not progressive enough to see the wisdom of Grover Norquist or is he now appealing to conservative Democrats? Two recs?

More signs of the screwed up nature of the debate.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

3. Oh please.

The democrats took back one of the arms of that government. Due to more money because of a Supreme Court stacked for big business to buy elections, Walker won. That and the fact that most Americans are slobbering sheeple who couldn't find their ass with a map.

[former9thward]

16. I love how posters insult the American people.

If Obama wins in November will your statement "most Americans are slobbering sheeple who couldn't find their ass with a map" still apply? Or will they suddenly have become smarter in the next five months?

[YellowRubberDuckie]

17. I am an American...

...and I live in Oklahoma with these mouth breathers. Even when Obama won, I still thought it. No county in this state went blue. Not a one. Until you live in a place like this, you have no idea.

[earthside]

4. The Importance of the Wisconsin Defeat

Progressives, liberals, unionists and Democrats simply fool themselves if they do not understand the significance of what happened in Wisconsin.

First, in the essay Norquist explains what Walker's "reforms" accomplished:

Wisconsin reforms forbid towns, counties, and school districts from withholding union dues from government workers and handing the cash over to the unions. The reforms have required union members to vote each year on whether they want to continue to be represented by a union. They forbade unions from negotiating on pensions, benefits, or working conditions. Wisconsin unions may negotiate wage increases up to and limited by the inflation rate. Period. Teacher tenure is no longer a "benefit" to be negotiated.

But here is the heart of the matter --- and this is what those who are now downplaying and belittling the recall effort in Wisconsin are missing:

Watch Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maine, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Arizona to enact similar laws when legislatures reconvene next January. And some Democratic mayors and governors will borrow arrows from Walker's quiver, because they need to save their cities and states from bankruptcy – even as they realize it defunds the Democratic party in the long run. We saw this on Tuesday when the mayor of San Jose, California won a referendum 70-30 to reduce union pensions and benefits.

Politicians like to know that legislation will work. By that, they mean: will the law accomplish its stated purpose "without costing me the next election". Governor Scott Walker's success has answered both questions in the affirmative. And next year, a dozen states will pass similar legislation and the power of the unions, already declining, will be divided because they cannot focus on one state, but will have to respond to multiple challenges.

Scott Walker's win on Tuesday will lead to a permanent and growing shift in the correlation of forces between the two parties – to the disadvantage of the Democrats.

First, of course, is the lesson the Repuglicans learned -- concretely -- that Citizens United super PAC money will give them a tremendous advantage. Second, that indeed they can defeat unions and emasculate from progressives and Democrats a foundational element of their coalition. Third, Wisconsin gave an indication that the national Democratic Party and the Obama campaign are slow in joining or are absent from this fight -- Repuglicans and Karl Rove may have a clear field.

The national Democratic Party, the Democratic Governors Association and the Obama campaign made a momentous mistake in not engaging in the Walker recall effort starting from last November.

[ProSense]

6. I'm with

the unions:

What Happened in Wisconsin

June 06, 2012

This message is from Pres. Gerald W. McEntee and Sec.- Treas. Lee Saunders.

By now you’ve probably heard that Scott Walker survived his recall election. To do so, he spent nearly $50 million.

But with the recall of Sen. Van Wanggaard, a pro-worker majority now controls the Wisconsin Senate and we have dealt a major blow against Walker’s ability to do more damage to the working families of Wisconsin.

We should all be proud of the AFSCME sisters and brothers who came together in Wisconsin and inspired workers across the country to fight back against the orchestrated attacks on the middle class.

The Walker recall was an uphill battle from the very start. This is only the third such recall election in our country’s history, and our odds were made even more difficult by the vast amount of funding that Scott Walker’s cronies flooded Wisconsin with. Combined with his race in 2010, that’s twice now that the Koch brothers and Wall Street have bought Scott Walker the governor's office.

Although we didn’t win, Wisconsin’s working families sent a loud and clear message to anti-worker governors, and their shady corporate backers: Efforts to destroy the rights of workers, and our ability to have a voice on the job, will not go unchallenged. We will take them on, just as we did in Ohio, where we overturned John Kasich’s anti-collective bargaining bill, and in Florida, where we successfully stood up to Gov. Rick Scott’s efforts to privatize programs throughout the state.
The spirit of Wisconsin should continue to inspire our commitment to fight even harder. Our success has never depended on any one single battle. We know that from experience. We will win back the rights that Walker and his allies stole from our members.

We will win by remaining strong and united, committed to one another in the fight for America’s future. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while more Americans barely get by. Or we can build a nation where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules. That is the kind of country we are fighting for – it is a fight that will not be over until we win – and we’re honored to be standing alongside our members like you. As they say in Wisconsin, one day longer, one day stronger.

http://www.afscme.org/blog/what-happened-in-wisconsin

This fight makes unions stronger. They're not going to win every battle, but they gain nothing by not fighting.

The GOP will spin, but that's what the GOP does.

[JNelson6563]

7. Taking issue with narcissistic pap is not the same is

being blind to facts.

Everyone knows that a walker win is bad news on several levels. It doesn't bode well for unions, nor does any of the other union busting activity going on in the country.

We also know recall elections are nearly impossible to win for a challenger and this seems to be discounted in this instance. Additionally the WI Senate in now in Dem hands, worth more than some seem to realize.

This is a big election year and we can change the face of legislatures across the country as well as in DC.

Yes, they've done nasty stuff and will continue to try. The current situation is transient. Norquist is crowing like it's over and they are the victor. If you want to buy into that, go ahead and surrender. Since I still draw breath, I will continue to fight.

Julie

[Starry Messenger]

8. You wish Grover.

[pansypoo53219]

9. NO, only if he gets RE-relected.

publikkklans ALWAYS overreach.

[ananda]

10. This is actually a phantom problem.

No one can stop people from organizing and forming unions
if those people are truly determined.

The same with Occupy!

[coalition_unwilling]

11. The Repigs retained control of the Governor's office but

lost control of the State Senate.

In my electoral calculus, that counts as a net loss for the Repigs.

Am I missing something?

[HooptieWagon]

14. Senate doesnt reconvene until Nov after the GE.

So retaking the Senate is more symbolic than it is a deterence to Walker.

[emulatorloo]

19. It Means Walker can't call a special session and ram through Koch bros legislation

Which he probably would have done if the Repubs held on to the Senate.

Speculation I know, but I bet that's what would have happened.

[Greybnk48]

12. I think we've learned that nothing's permanent.

So this is just silly. Set-back, yes. Permanent, no.

[HooptieWagon]

13. Horseshit. Its not a permanent defeat of unions.

Although diminished in membership and influence, unions are still a powerful funding and organizational force in the Democratic Party. The Wisconsin results are a setback, to be sure... perhaps the unions need to retool their message to counter the RWs divide and conquer strategy. Perhaps the DNC should repay the unions loyalty by standing behind them when theyre attacked by the RW... rather than keeping their powder dry on the sidelines. But its not the end, its simply one battle lost in what appears to be a long war

[Cal33]

15. "Scott Walker's win is a permanent defeat for the labor unions." Mayb so. Maybe not. Are

you aware that some of Walker's closest aides have been and are still being
investigated for about a year. Recently some of them are willing
to make deals, plea bargains, and talk to prosecutors to save their own skins.
And Walker's closest aide has already stated in court that Walker himself
was involved in the scandals. This will lead to the big fish himself. Someone
like him should't even be dog-catcher -- much less governor.

Fear of punishment is the only thing that will rein in the behavior of
sociopaths. When Walker lands in jail, and I hope it will be soon, it ought
to dampen the criminal intentions of other overly ambitious politicians.

Unfortunately, I doubt this will happen before November. It will possibly
take a couple of years.

Just think that if the investigators (including the FBI) really mean business,
Walker, Kleefisch, etc.. won't be finishing their terms in office. They'll be
where Blagojevich is today.

Since some of Walker's key aides have already bargained for immunity, made plea
bargains, etc. for which they are ready to spill the beans about Walker's
activities. These aides wouldn't need the immunity protection for having
taken part in those activities, nor would they need to plea bargain, if the
activities hadn't been illegal, would they? So, it looks like a sure thing,
although one can never be really certain.

With Walker in jail, his present status as "the rock-star hero of the
Teapartiers" would sink faster than a rock in a lake.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. For somebody who claims to know history...

I swear he misses how nothing is permament.

[emulatorloo]

20. +1