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28 Mar 2011 22:33

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Politics: Indiana GOP concedes, ending Wisconsin-style standoff

  • wisconsin As you may remember, Wisconsin Democrats fled the state back in February to block the passage of a harsh anti-union bill. Ultimately, their gambit didn’t work, as Republicans were able to pass the bill in the Democrats’ absence using a simple (yet revealing and disingenuous) parliamentary procedure.
  • indiana Five weeks ago, Indiana Democrats tried the same tactic to prevent the state GOP from passing a similar bill that would have severely curtailed worker’s rights. This time, though, it worked, with Republicans agreeing to scrap the most controversial parts of the bill and the Democrats returning to the state. source
  • » What concessions did the GOP make? Several. Most significantly, they removed a provision that would have made Indiana a “right-to-work” state (that is, a state with fewer restrictions on the hiring of non-unionized employees), and pledged not to pass a law banning collective bargaining (it’s already banned in the state via executive order, but that hasn’t been made law). There were a few education-based changes as well, including the elimination of a plan that would have allowed private companies to assume control of fledgling public schools. All in all, both sides are happy to see the end of this stand-of (especially Governor Mitch Daniels, who can now continue half-heartedly mulling a bid for the presidency).
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Mar 2011 22:34

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Politics: Wisconsin Senator leaves wife for mistress; wife supports recalling him

  • plan Some protesters in Wisconsin marched to the house of GOP State Sen. Randy Hopper, a Walker ally who will likely face a recall, to confront him about his anti-union policies.
  • surprise! Upon arrival, Hopper’s wife informed them that the Senator had left her for and was now living with his 25 year-old mistress. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she also supports his recall. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Mar 2011 21:32

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Politics: Flashback: Scott Walker, circa three weeks ago

  • The bottom line is we are trying to balance our budget and there really is no room to negotiate on that because we’re broke.
  • Governor Scott Walker • After making this statement, he tried to negotiate, then stripped all budget-related provisions from the bill. Think about this next time Walker says, well, anything. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Mar 2011 21:22

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Politics: How Wisconsin Republicans were able to pass the “budget-repair” bill

  • They removed the “budget-repair” part. The reason the Democrats left the state to begin with is because Wisconsin’s upper chamber can’t pass any fiscal bills without 3/5 of the members present, according to Senate rules. With the Democrats missing, Republicans lacked that 3/5 quorum, and couldn’t hold a vote. So, they simply stripped all fiscal provisions from the bill, eliminating the need for a 3/5 quorum, and passed it that way. What makes this extraordinarily slimy is that Governor Walker has insisted from the beginning that the bill’s purpose was to fix the state’s fiscal situation. Now, he and the Wisconsin GOP are implicitly admitting what everyone’s known all along: the bill wasn’t about fixing the budget. It was actually about busting up the unions. Good luck spinning the PR, Walker. You’ve done a bang-up job so far. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Mar 2011 22:10

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Politics: Campaign to recall Wisconsin Republicans gaining steam

  • $500k raised in one week by progressive groups to support recall of Wisconsin Republicans
  • six the size of the ad buy, in digits, on the part of progressive groups to air pro-recall ads
  • 59% of respondents in a robocall said they’d support recalling the senators source
  • » Turns out that recall campaign wasn’t just an empty threat. As we wrote last week, two leading progressive groups, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America (PCCC/DFA), have teamed up recall in recall efforts against several GOP state senators in Wisconsin. The idea is to recall at least three of them, which would flip control of the chamber to the Democrats and prevent Republican Governor Scott Walker’s union-busting bill from passing. The effort is getting help from the state Democratic party, which is providing “ground forces” to supplement the PCCC/DFA’s behind-the-scenes efforts. A total of eight GOP Senators are eligible for recall at this time; the campaign is targeting three who won by slim margins.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Mar 2011 01:12

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Politics: Union rep: We’ll turn lemons into lemonade

  • This isn’t a fight we looked for, but it is one we can turn to our advantage.
  • Thea Lee, the AFL-CIO Deputy Chief of Staff • On the Wisconsin budget battle. Unions really seem to be reveling in this fight; AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says that his organization has “never seen the incredible solidarity that we’re seeing right now.” source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Mar 2011 23:11

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Politics: Wisconsin Democrats attempt coup-by-recall

  • yes Wisconsin Democrats have filed papers to recall several GOP State Senators, hoping to flip control of the chamber to the Democrats and block Governor Walker’s union-busting bill
  • eight Republicans in Wisconsin’s upper chamber are now at risk of losing their jobs (Wisconsin law states that officials must serve for a year before being eligible for a recall) source
  • » This just in: The Democratic Party has grown a spine. At least the Wisconsin Democratic Party, that is: They’re supporting a grassroots effort to recall eight (!) GOP State Senators. If at least three of them are recalled and replaced by Democrats, control of the State Senate will flip, and Scott Walker won’t have the votes for his anti-union bill. The gambit might work, too, as several of the Republicans in question won election by very narrow margins, and would by no means be guaranteed survival in a recall. Union powerhouse SEIU has thrown their weight behind the effort, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the AFL-CIO does, too. This already-big story is getting huge.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

28 Feb 2011 22:38

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Politics: Walker’s support dwindling amongst Democrats, Republicans

  • NO Scott Walker wouldn’t win if a re-election were held today source
  • » Seven percent. That’s how much Scott Walker would lose by if the Wisconsin gubernatorial election were held today, according to a new Public Policy Poll. What’s surprising is that Walker is losing favor from Republicans as well as Democrats: 10% of Republicans surveyed say they would now vote for Walker’s Democratic opponent, up from 3% last fall. However, though Wisconsin Dems might like to make Walker this year’s Gray Davis, the embattled Governor is immune to a recall until his first year of office is up. And there’s plenty of havoc a Governor can wreak in a year.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Feb 2011 22:44

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Politics: Scott Walker is a mildly worried about the deficit

  • claim Embattled Governor Scott Walker says Wisconsin is “broke,” and cites the state’s $3.6 billion budget shortfall as justification behind his controversial union-busting bill.
  • skepticismWalker just signed a bill mandating a 2/3 majority vote to raise taxes, making it way more difficult to corral the funds that could help bite into his state’s deficit. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 1 Comment • Permalink

22 Feb 2011 13:26

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Politics: Ohio may be going the way of Wisconsin on deficit issues

  • State employees are not the cause of the economic problems we’re having, and for Senator Jones and other Republicans to point to them as the problem is absolutely unfair and untrue.
  • Ohio State Senator Joe Schiavoni • Speaking about the burgeoning labor face-off in Ohio. The Republican state legislature is considering a bill to tackle the state’s financial troubles, which presently amounts to an $8 billion deficit, that may sound rather familiar to those protesting in Wisconsin right now. Namely, it weakens or strips away long standing and hard fought collective bargaining rights for organized labor, a typically Democratic voting block. To be clear, fiscal responsibility does matter. But isn’t there a way to do this that’s all about being good with money, without the distracting attempt at anti-labor scapegoating that these bills reek of? source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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