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Why Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker MUST Stay the Course
Mickey Kaus makes the argument.
It’s all about the deficit to Brooks. But the damage done by public sector unionism isn’t mainly the producing of deficits. It’s the crippling of government, so that bad teachers can’t be fired and productivity stagnates and virtually everything the government does it does crappier than private industry does it. That’s a big, ongoing problem for Democrats, which is why maybe it doesn’t trouble Brooks. But it should trouble even non-neo liberals. Democrats are the party that needs the government to be good at something other than mailing out checks.
Is Gov. Walker using the deficit as an excuse for making long-term institutional changes? You bet. It’s “all or nothing” because when you threaten the core institutional basis of AFSCME and the SEIU they will make it all or nothing. They have no choice.
It would be a disaster for union reform if Walker succumbs to Brooksian flaccidity now–whether his position is popular or not. The message, as gleefully interpreted by the MSM, would be that Republicans go too far when they threaten the treasured institution of government unionism (never mind that Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana ended state employee union collective bargaining six years ago, by executive order, and he still stands). That would be worse than if Walker had never made the attempt. He has the votes and can pass the bill whatever the polls say–just as Obama had the votes on his health care bill despite poll-measured popular disquiet.
Obama pushed his law through, took the heat, and may emerge victorious. Walker should do the same.
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Flap’s Links and Comments for March 1st from 11:47 to 16:18
These are my links for March 1st from 11:47 to 16:18:
- President 2012: Sarah Palin Denounces President Obama’s Decision to Not Defend the Defense of Marriage Act | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012: Sarah Palin Denounces President Obama’s Decision to Not Defend the Defense of Marr… #tcot #catcot
- Flap’s Links and Comments for March 1st from 04:37 to 11:25 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for March 1st from 04:37 to 11:25 #tcot #catcot
- VA-Sen Poll Watch: Tim Kaine 47% Vs. George Allen 47% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – VA-Sen Poll Watch: Tim Kaine 47% Vs. George Allen 47% | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
- President 2012 North Carolina GOP Poll Watch: Huckabee 24% Romney 18% Gingrich 18% Palin 16% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 North Carolina GOP Poll Watch: Huckabee 24% Romney 18% Gingrich 18% Palin 16% | Flap's Blog – Ful…
- Untitled (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-turn/2011/03/bad_timing_for_democrats_defen.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter) – Bad timing for Democrats' defense of status quo – GAO Report Exposes Duplicate Spending
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President 2012: Sarah Palin Denounces President Obama’s Decision to Not Defend the Defense of Marriage Act
According to Maggie Gallagher over at NOM (National Organization for Marriage) Blog:“I have always believed that marriage is between one man and one woman. Like the majority of Americans, I support the Defense of Marriage Act and find it appalling that the Obama administration decided not to defend this federal law which was enacted with broad bipartisan support and signed into law by a Democrat president. It’s appalling, but not surprising that the President has flip-flopped on yet another issue from his stated position as a candidate to a seemingly opposite position once he was elected.”
I am glad Sarah finally cleared the air on this very important issue – marriage.
NOM has a roundup of all of the other GOP Presidential contenders on the issue here.
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Flap’s Links and Comments for March 1st from 04:37 to 11:25
These are my links for March 1st from 04:37 to 11:25:
- Bad timing for Democrats’ defense of status quo – GAO Report Exposes Duplicate Spending – At a time Senate Democrats are dragging their feet on an extension of the Continuing Resolution and the White House is pushing a budget that merely freezes discretionary defense spending, comes a report from the General Accounting Office:
The U.S. government has 15 different agencies overseeing food-safety laws, more than 20 separate programs to help the homeless and 80 programs for economic development.
These are a few of the findings in a massive study of overlapping and duplicative programs that cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year, according to the Government Accountability Office.
A report from the nonpartisan GAO, to be released Tuesday, compiles a list of redundant and potentially ineffective federal programs, and it could serve as a template for lawmakers in both parties as they move to cut federal spending and consolidate programs to reduce the deficit. Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.), who pushed for the report, estimated it identifies between $100 billion and $200 billion in duplicative spending. The GAO didn't put a specific figure on the spending overlap.
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Read all of Jennifer Rubin's piece
A defense of spending status quo ain't going to fly.
- President 2012 North Carolina GOP Poll Watch: Huckabee 24% Romney 18% Gingrich 18% Palin 16% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 North Carolina GOP Poll Watch: Huckabee 24% Romney 18% Gingrich 18% Palin 16% #tcot #catcot
- VA-Sen Poll Watch: Tim Kaine 47% Vs. George Allen 47% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – VA-Sen Poll Watch: Tim Kaine 47% Vs. George Allen 47% #tcot #catcot
- President 2012 Michigan Poll Watch: Mitt Romney 46% Vs. Barack Obama 41% | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – President 2012 Michigan Poll Watch: Mitt Romney 46% Vs. Barack Obama 41% #tcot #catcot
- Union Education: What Wisconsin Reveals About Public Workers and Political Power | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Union Education: What Wisconsin Reveals About Public Workers and Political Power #tcot #catcot
- Day By Day March 1, 2011 – Mask | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Day By Day March 1, 2011 – Mask #tcot #catcot
- Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th through March 1st | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th through March 1st #tcot #catcot
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-03-01 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-03-01 | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
- Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th from 18:00 to 18:10 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th from 18:00 to 18:10 | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
- Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th from 18:39 to 19:04 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th from 18:39 to 19:04 | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
- Bad timing for Democrats’ defense of status quo – GAO Report Exposes Duplicate Spending – At a time Senate Democrats are dragging their feet on an extension of the Continuing Resolution and the White House is pushing a budget that merely freezes discretionary defense spending, comes a report from the General Accounting Office:
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President 2012 North Carolina GOP Poll Watch: Huckabee 24% Romney 18% Gingrich 18% Palin 16%
According to the latest PPP Poll:
Favorable Vs. Unfavorable Vs. Not Sure:
- Mike Huckabee – 68% Vs. 19% Vs. 14%
- Sarah Palin – 69% Vs. 24% Vs. 7%
- Mitt Romney – 56% Vs. 24% Vs. 20%
- Newt Gingrich: 55% Vs. 25% Vs. 20%
Heads Up:
- Mike Huckabee – 24%
- Newt Gingrich – 18%
- Mitt Romney – 18%
- Sarah Palin – 16%
- Ron Paul – 6%
- Tim Pawlenty – 5%
- Mitch Daniels – 2%
North Carolina is a key battleground state for the GOP in the 2012 Presidential race. President Obama barely won this state in a good democratic year in 2008.
I would like to have seen some head to head matc-ups with him but with the GOP field so fluid, the results would likely be skewed in any case. Maybe Obama Vs. a generic GOP candidate would give us an idea on how popular Obama is in North Carolina as of this time in the Presidential election cycle.
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VA-Sen Poll Watch: Tim Kaine 47% Vs. George Allen 47%
Game on in the latest PPP Poll.
Favorable Vs. Unfavorable:
- George Allen: 39 / 40
- Tim Kaine: 46 / 38
Heads UP:
- 47% Kaine (D), 47% Allen (R)
2/24-27/11; 524 likely voters, 3.5% margin of error
Mode: Automated phoneShould President Obama prevail and convince former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine to run, this may very well be the hardest fought Senate seat in 2012.
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President 2012 Michigan Poll Watch: Mitt Romney 46% Vs. Barack Obama 41%
This is a shocking poll in that most pundits do not predict blue Michigan to be in play for 2012.
Republicans have a real chance to make it a race in Michigan this cycle, according to a poll from EPIC-MRA. Barack Obama trails Mitt Romney in a hypothetical matchup, 46 to 41 percent, and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D, only polls at 44 percent to former Republican Rep. Pete Hoekstra’s 42 percent.
Republicans have had quite a dry spell in Michigan, but even then they managed to win down-ticket statewide races for attorney general and secretary of state. The state is certainly not a lost cause — we saw in 2010 that Republicans can win races all the way up and down the ticket under the right conditions.
Stabenow’s seat can be added to a list of vulnerable Democratic Senate seats in North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia, and Montana.
President Barack Obama is not a lock to win a second term. The economy continues to be very poor and American voters may see past his speeches and the “winning the future” hyperbole and choose the GOP nominee.
If Michigan comes into play, Obama is in trouble.
Likewise, the Senate seat of Democrat Debbie Stabenow will be a flip to the GOP = goodbye Harry Reid as U.S. Senate Majority Leader.
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Union Education: What Wisconsin Reveals About Public Workers and Political Power
A great primer in the Wall Street Journal this morning.The raucous Wisconsin debate over collective bargaining may be ugly at times, but it has been worth it for the splendid public education. For the first time in decades, Americans have been asked to look under the government hood at the causes of runaway spending. What they are discovering is the monopoly power of government unions that have long been on a collision course with taxpayers. Though it arrived in Madison first, this crack-up was inevitable.
We first started running the nearby chart on the trends in public and private union membership many years ago. It documents the great transformation in the American labor movement over the latter decades of the 20th century. A movement once led by workers in private trades and manufacturing evolved into one dominated by public workers at all levels of government but especially in the states and cities. (…)
The sharp rise in public union membership in the 1960s and 1970s coincides with the movement to give public unions collective bargaining rights. Wisconsin was the first state to provide those rights in 1959, other states followed, and California became the biggest convert in 1978 under Jerry Brown in his first stint as Governor. President Kennedy let some federal workers organize (though not collectively bargain) for the first time in 1962, a gambit to win union support for his re-election after his cliffhanger victory in 1960.
It’s important to understand how revolutionary this change was. For decades as the private union movement rose in power, even left-of-center politicians resisted collective bargaining for public unions. We’ve previously mentioned FDR and Fiorello La Guardia. But George Meany, the legendary AFL-CIO president during the Cold War, also opposed the right to bargain collectively with the government.
Why? Because unlike in the private economy, a public union has a natural monopoly over government services. An industrial union will fight for a greater share of corporate profits, but it also knows that a business must make profits or it will move or shut down. The union chief for teachers, transit workers or firemen knows that the city is not going to close the schools, buses or firehouses.
This monopoly power, in turn, gives public unions inordinate sway over elected officials. The money they collect from member dues helps to elect politicians who are then supposed to represent the taxpayers during the next round of collective bargaining. In effect union representatives sit on both sides of the bargaining table, with no one sitting in for taxpayers. In 2006 in New Jersey, this led to the preposterous episode in which Governor Jon Corzine addressed a Trenton rally of thousands of public workers and shouted, “We will fight for a fair contract.” He was promising to fight himself.
And, most taxpayers who are disengaged from the hardball of politics wonder why the schools, roads and other public services are not better? Their hard-earned tax money is being siphoned off and corruptly spent.
Events may be coming to a tipping point in Wisconsin this week, but will repeated across America as we head into election 2012. America can no longer afford this direct assault to its democratic republic.
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Day By Day March 1, 2011 – Mask
Chris, the clothes have come off the Emperor and now he and his court are resorting to disguises and fleeing to neighboring kingdoms.The Democratic Party and the Obama Administration backed by its organized labor cronies have made a mockery of our democratic republic.
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The Day by Day Archive -
Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th through March 1st
These are my links for February 28th through March 1st:
- @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-03-01 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – @Flap Twitter Updates for 2011-03-01 #tcot #catcot
- Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th from 18:39 to 19:04 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th from 18:39 to 19:04 #tcot #catcot
- Low-flow toilets cause a stink in SF – Low-flow toilets cause a stink in SF
- Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th from 18:00 to 18:10 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th from 18:00 to 18:10 | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog
- Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th from 18:00 to 18:10 | Flap’s Blog – FullosseousFlap’s Dental Blog – Flap’s Links and Comments for February 28th from 18:00 to 18:10 | Flap's Blog – FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog