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09 Mar 2011 20:23

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U.S.: Wisconsin Republicans pull shifty-eyed trick to pass union bill

  • crap Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker pushed to strip collective bargaining rights as part of a larger budget bill, which required a quorum to be passed. Senate Dems left the state to prevent it from passing. Protests roared.
  • bull*#(&@ After weeks of dispute, debate, and drama, the GOP senators stripped the bill down to the collective bargaining bit and passed it – because they didn’t need a quorum that way. We hope they all get recalled after a mess like this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 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

08 Mar 2011 14:30

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Politics: Political pressure in Wisconsin may force shift from GOP Senators

  • 3 Wisconsin GOP Senators who think Gov. Walker should compromise source
  • » The stonewall may begin to crack: One of the most interesting potential endgames to this continuing Wisconsin kerfuffle is that Gov. Scott Walker could lose critical support from within his own party. Not that this should be viewed as a shift in the Wisconsin GOP’s principles — it seems clear that the collective bargaining rights would have been stripped weeks ago if not for the departure of fourteen Democratic senators — but it seems as if the uncomfortable reality of his non-negotiation is beginning to catch up to Walker. To date, GOP senators Dale Schultz, Rob Cowles, and Luther Olson have indicated compromise may be necessary and appropriate.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Mar 2011 23:19

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Biz: Former Michigan Gov. John Engler: Scott Walker’s template?

  • John Engler is something of a template for Scott Walker right now. The former Michigan governor, who once turned incredibly negative polls into one of the lowest unemployment rates the state has ever had, took on social welfare and, after voters eventually forgave him, was rewarded with three full terms as governor. (We lived in Michigan as kids, and Engler was extremely popular back in the day.) Spencer Abraham, who was one of Michigan’s senators during most of Engler’s time in office, wrote a pretty strong defense of Walker in The Weekly Standard, saying that if he sticks to his guns, he’ll win, just like Engler did. Or will he? A little research into what made Engler tick:
  • What happened? Forced to deal with a $1.8 billion deficit when he entered office in 1991, he began by taking a knife to social programs – specifically general assistance programs and programs that employed civil servants. The results were initially extremely unpopular – a symbolic “Englertown” went up in front of the state capital. Engler’s poll numbers initially tanked.
  • What happened next Engler’s work was eventually vindicated, and after a recovery in the state’s auto industry and many cuts, the state suddenly had a $300 million surplus. The results were so good that his name came up in vice-presidential conversations multiple times. He never got the chance, but he did leave office in 2003 as a widely-respected figure – although with a pretty big deficit.
  • His career since After Engler left office, his successor, Jennifer Granholm, had the same kind of budget hole that faced Engler twelve years before. Engler, meanwhile, is now a lobbyist – he spent six years leading the National Association for Manufacturers and now works for the Business Roundtable. People are name-dropping him for a 2012 Senate run. He’s not interested.
  • » Is Engler’s a model to follow? Depends on who you ask. A lot of GOPers have been dropping his name in recent conversations about Scott Walker’s crisis, and a former Engler staffer, John Truscott, makes a pretty apt point. “Polls don’t balance budgets,” he says, noting that it took about three years for Engler’s social changes to recharge the economy. Ultimately, though, Engler and Walker fought for different things – and the difference between cutting off unions at the knees and trimming social programs for the poor is a significant one. See, one big difference: Unions still have money and collective pull, and they’re able to use it. And Engler had backup solutions that benefited nearly everyone. How will Walker help out public employees and the people at large?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Mar 2011 20:20

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U.S.: Wisconsin update: Are all Wisconsinites named Scott total jerkwads?

  • So, earlier today, Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller said he wanted to talk. After 18 days worth of holding out, it’s become clear that the MIA Democratic senators want to go home – but they want a deal, first. And that’s reportedly tough to come by. “I have personally called Senator Fitzgerald and the Governor and his office on a regular basis but have not received return calls,” Miller told the press today. Miller meant his statements as an olive branch, but they weren’t necessarily taken with much love in mind. A recap:
  • guv’nor Scott Walker says he’s actually talking to the cell-phone-wielding legislators “I called one of these senators myself (Monday morning). It could not be more abundantly clear how serious we are about getting this done.”
  • majority Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who has talked with Senate Dems in person, was pretty blunt. “I hope you are enjoying your vacation, and your vacation from reality.” What is it with Wisconsinites named Scott? Pricks.
  • Dems The Senate Democrats aren’t on some sort of unified message here. Some claim that no compromise talks are in the works; others say that the end is near. We say that the state needs a compromise, stat. And a good one. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Mar 2011 11:00

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U.S.: Wisconsin Senate Dems pushing for border-line meeting

  • yesterday A report came out suggesting that Wisconsin Democrats were willing to come back to the state without any major victories in tow. The report was later denied, with one state senator suggesting they were taken out of context.
  • today State Sen. Mark Miller is in fact pushing for a meeting between Walker, the Senate Majority Leader and the Dems near the Wisconsin-Illinois border. We bet Walker will trap one of them in a car and bring them back to Madison. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 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

01 Mar 2011 21:31

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U.S.: Scott Walker’s deficit-cutting plan: Let’s cut everything, stat!

  • » The end result: Walker hopes to reduce the state’s structural deficit 90 percent to around $250 million – a deep, austerity-focused cut that may stop the deficit but could greatly hurt the state in the process, if you think that way. Walker, well, doesn’t. “I have often repeated references to our state’s constitutional lesson, that it is only through frugality and moderation in government that we will see freedom and prosperity for our people,” he said. Or, you could just raise taxes if you’re really that hard up about fixing this budget problem.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Mar 2011 10:26

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Politics: Was Scott Walker’s union push an overreach of his power?

  • I think it’d be fair to categorize the proposal (to cut union bargaining) as an overreach. Maybe the biggest reason for that claim is the fact that he didn’t campaign on this.
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor David Canon • Offering his take on Scott Walker, whose stance on unions is hurting his popularity among many. Many Wisconsin political scholars, even the ones more charitable to his position, agree that the overall end result doesn’t bode well for Walker’s long-term prospects, but may be motivated by something else entirely. “As for his political future, I’m not sure this is going to benefit him in the long run,” said University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor Thomas Holbrook. “I see it as more of coming from conviction and opportunity.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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