Scott Walker

Scott Walker is doing a great job in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, the left doesn't see it that way. They want to recall Walker in the worst way (literally). But his reforms are working! Consider this article from USA Today:

"Column: Why U.S. should cheer for Scott Walker" by Nick Schulz
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-01-05/scott-walker-wisconsin-unions-election-2012-recall/52394768/1

"The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which opposed Walker's collective bargaining reforms, recently noted, 'The governor did balance the budget … he did reduce the structural deficit significantly; he did put a lid on property tax increases; he did give schools and municipalities more control over their budgets than they've had in years.'"

"Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was Walker's opponent in the 2010 election and later attacked his proposals to reform collective bargaining. But with the reforms on the books, Barrett used some of the bill's provisions to help reduce the city's health care bill, saying that the alternative was to cut 300 to 400 city jobs." Yes, the man who opposed Walker is taking advantage of Walker's reforms!

"Interestingly, many labor-friendly figures have long understood that collective bargaining rights for public employees are illegitimate. 'All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service,' a pro-labor Franklin D. Roosevelt said in 1937. 'It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management.'"

"As political scientist Daniel DiSalvo notes [click the link, it's really good!] in a recent issue of National Affairs, 'public-sector unions have significant advantages over traditional unions. For one thing, using the political process, they can exert far greater influence over their members' employers — that is, government — than private-sector unions can. Through their extensive political activity, these government-workers' unions help elect the very politicians who will act as "management" in their contract negotiations — in effect handpicking those who will sit across the bargaining table from them … Such power led Victor Gotbaum, the leader of District Council 37 of the AFSCME in New York City, to brag in 1975: "We have the ability, in a sense, to elect our own boss."'"

"Collective bargaining reform is also needed to enable genuine education reform. The collective bargaining privilege gives teacher unions political power that is used to block reform efforts and shield K-12 education from entrepreneurial disruptions that threaten established ways of doing things."

"In a recent discussion, Walker told me that 'collective bargaining in the public sector is not a right; it's an expensive entitlement.'"


I'm writing this blog post prior to the January 17th deadline for recall petition signatures to be submitted. I know full well that they will get (have already gotten) enough signatures. Whether those signatures are legitimate is another (long) story. But the point is, they will do anything, legal or not, to get the signatures. Here's one example. This was posted on the Democratic Party of Wisconsin website.

"Cemetery Petition Drive (Recall Petition Signing)"
http://content.clearchannel.com/cc-common/mlib/3627/11/3627_1321474714.jpg

Now why would they meet at a cemetery, hmm? Let the lawsuits begin.