Madison gone mad: The Wisconsin followup

Didn't similar bills pass in other states in the last week or two?

 

I see that the Democrats are coming back, so my guess was off. To the recalls we go, but yeah, I read an analysis in the J-S and it looks like there are really only two or three candidates in "crossover" districts that look vulnerable.

 

Ohio, most notably.

 

Both sides have spent a ton of money already on television and radio ads ... particularly the Dems. So yes, they are spending some money. Milwaukee and Madison television markets both have many commercials.

 

You're tight about these Governors following Obama's strategy of trying to get the big stuff done quickly so there's time for people to digest it before the next election.

And, you're also right about the fact that it could lead to protests, which I'm fine with.

It's the differences in the portrayals of the protesters that amuses me -- both here and in the media.

I haven't noticed any concern about the civility of the protesters.

I also don't think you need to take over a state building to make your point. This is shades of Berkeley or Columbia circa 1968.

 

Berkeley hippies would eat Madison hippies for breakfast with a little bit of hummus.

 

Wisconsin has a history of political activism, but putting that aside for a moment, I really don't think you understand how much this has reverberated among normally politically inactive people in Wisconsin. Many of my Wisconsin friends who are usually not politically active at all are outraged and have either protested literally, or, more silently by giving money to the anti-Walker movements.

Walker never ran on the idea he was going to get rid of collective bargaining. It could/should have been guessed by those who suspected, but many who voted for him feel as if they voted for him based on a false pretense. Its why his approval rating has plunged.

And you're also forgetting that the current outrage is based on the very back door they used to pass the bill. Walker had to remove the collective bargaining part of his budget repair bill to avoid the quorum and get it passed. It's an outright Legislative admission that this was never, ever about the budget to begin with, it was/is a naked attempt to bust unions.

To those who couldn't figure it out already, it shows him to be a bald-faced liar.

This isn't some issue that's going to blow over. This is going to hit many, many normal folks in the pocketbook. You tend not to forget that when you go to the polls, whether it be a recall or a regular voting cycle.

The tactics the Wisconsin GOP used in getting this passed was political suicide. They fucked with the lives of too many people to no discernible gain.

And when you're voted in with 52 percent of the vote, you don't have a fucking mandate. That goes for both parties. Compromise has died on the vine.

So for Walker to act as if he did, refuse to compromise, and use every trick in the book to get a measure passed that, sure enough, had nothing to do with the budget he claimed it fixed, it might not be fascism in the strictest sense of the word, but it sure as hell has the spirit of fascism.

 

Walker did not refuse to compromise. Look at the emails he released, he was negotiating against people that did NOT want to reach an agreement. And I am amazed that liberals and Dems are upset about legislative tricks. Have you not been paying attention? Maybe Walker and the Republicans should have just "deemed it passed."

 

Oh, I'm happy to characterize it as simple asswipe douchebaggery.

 

Not getting into the meat of this fight, but this is just wrong. The Dems were on firm ground to use a loophole to avoid being outvoted by fleeing the state, the Republicans are on equally firm ground to use their own maneuver to get around it - it doesn't reflect anything.

 

Uh-huh. Did this "compromise" come before or after he threatened to drag those Reps back to Madison by police force?

The only meaningful compromise should have come before the Dems felt the need to leave the state. After that it's all political theater.

And, of course, there's no way Walker didn't just release e-mails that made him look favorable. Never!

 

Those emails were his officially crafted positions, carefully selected for release. (Odd that that particular public-records request was met so efficiently from an administration that does not have such a warm fuzzy with the press.) Many people would say his comments to "David Koch" -- in which he talked about tricking the Democrats into coming back by telling them he would allow debate and then just have the vote taken -- are closer to what he really believes.