Governor Walker vs. Wisconsin Unions

I proudly stand behind the people of Wisconsin and the “Wisconsin 14”. The Wisconsin 14 refers to the 14 democrat senators that have fled the state. The Dems fled in order to prevent a quorum in the Senate, and thus are preventing a vote on the Governor’s financial legislation. The Senate Majority leader has several times sent WI State Troopers to their homes, to bring them to the Senate floor, and thus satisfy the quorum requirements. What is actually being proposed? Walker’s legislation would strip most state employees collective bargaining rights. Walker claims this is necessary to close the $137 million budget gap. There are many problems with his argument. Plus, Wisconsin has closed a much larger gap in the past without tossing work organizing rights out the window. The unions aren’t the cause of the budget deficit and taking away collective bargaining rights in itself will not save any money. Walker’s goal in my opinion is to de fund the unions because they are the main backers of the democratic party. Funny how Walker exempts the public safety officers unions- which are more likely to have Republican supporting members, as well as tend to have the highest salaries and benefits.

Governor Walker does not care about the PEOPLE of Wisconsin. He cares about the elite and corporations. He is, after all, the Koch brothers lap dog. The Koch brothers goal is to acquire Wisconsin's power plants. Wisconsin passed a law allowing the state to sell its property on a "No Bid" basis. Gov. Walker will let the Koch brothers have the plants for little or nothing in exchange for the Koch brothers putting him in office. He was prank called by a guy who pretended to be David Koch. To hear this call go here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/23/scott-walker-buffalo-beast-phon... Why was Gov. Scott Walker taking calls from these Koch billionaires, when protesters and the news media are already questioning their connection? Considering that the budget repair bill gives Gov. Walker the authority to sell state power plants to anyone without soliciting bids for purchase, should he really be speaking with anyone who would be in an excellent position to purchase the plants? Gov. Walker refuses to listen to union requests, so why will he listen to whatever a billionaire Republican backer has to say? In short, it’s bad politics for Gov. Walker to present the image that he is tied even more closely with these people, no matter how closely they are actually tied.

Those questions aside, former Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager hears more serious violations in the call. Speaking with the Capitol Times, she highlights ethical, labor, and campaign law violations. For example, Gov. Walker tells the man he believes to be David Koch that he needs Mr. Koch to run ads in districts where Republican senators may be susceptible to recall or voter backlash. This is illegal coordination between an independent political group and the governor, something forbidden by law. He also suggests he will accept a trip from Mr. Koch at the end of their call. While Mr. Walker may simply be being polite to the suggestion that “once you crush these bastards I’ll fly you out to Cali and really show you a good time” by responding “all right, that would be outstanding,” he could have just as easily said, “thank you for that kind offer.” That Gov. Walker seems keen to accept such an offer indicates his eagerness to ingratiate himself with these conservative billionaires.

Other ethical lapses include Gov. Walker’s admission that his administration considered using agitators within the protests to bring bad press to the efforts of Wisconsin citizens and their protests, which have been entirely peaceful. “[We] thought about [using agitators]. My only fear would be is if there was a ruckus caused is that that would scare the public into thinking maybe the governor has gotta settle to avoid all these problems.” He did not dismiss the suggestion from Mr. Koch and admits that he did not take this path only because of potential political problems it could cause for him. Once again, Gov. Walker may have been entrapped in this case, as he was explicitly responding to a suggestion from the caller, but his options for dismissing the suggestion were myriad, and he chose instead to agree and admit prior consideration of an action that would clearly be illegal.

Unions and Democrats have promised to do their part to balance the budget -- saying they will make higher health care (a 12% hike) and pension contributions (6% hike) equivalent to about an 8% pay cut. Stop trying to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class union workers. The state of Wisconsin, like most states, is only having problems paying pensions because they borrowed against pensions to pay for other things. These workers do not make loads of money. The average pay for teachers in Wisconsin is $32,500/yr. The average pay for corrections officers (not to be mistaken for police) is $32,000/yr. Governor Walker makes $137,092/yr. Wisconsin senators make roughly $60,000/yr. +diem. Cut those salaries first. How about making the wealthy actually pay a fair amount of tax? Make corporations and big businesses pay taxes!

I will stand proudly with the Wisconsin 14 and the people of Wisconsin! I hope my fellow citizens will do the same.