Scott Walker

Democrats Refuse to Admit Defeat…

Mark Noonan11 Comments

…or go within a country mile of sanity.  They’re at it again, now working on a recall effort against Governor Walker.  From Hot Air:

You’ve got to chase your dreams. Ahab had Moby Dick, Javert had Valjean, and these tools have a guy whose collective bargaining bill is a fiscal success even according to Milwaukee’s favorite newspaper.

Can we get them to flush a bunch of money down the toilet next year that might otherwise go towards reelecting Barack Obama in a crucial swing state? Yes, we can.

“‘If we can do all of this against entrenched Republicans on their own turf, imagine our success … when all of Wisconsin can have its voice heard on Gov. Walker’s extreme, divisive agenda,’ Wisconsin state party chairman Mike Tate wrote in a memo to reporters Wednesday…'”

W. C. Fields once said that if at first you don’t succeed; try, try again.  And then quit.  No sense being a damn fool about it.  Our Democrats seem determined on being the fool.

They just spent $30 million to win two State legislative seats, one of which was held by a man who got himself mired in a sex scandal.  What’s next?  $60 million to try and bounce Walker from the governorship?  Goodness, even if they did it, if the GOP controls the legislature then a Democrat governor still wouldn’t be able to undo Walker’s reforms.  Furthermore, as Walker’s reforms are starting to take hold, all of the news is good (late breaking good news for Walker probably saved one or two of the GOP seats on Tuesday) – for Wisconsin’s budget, for Wisconsin’s taxpayers, for Wisconsin’s schools…for all aspects of Wisconsin life, except for corrupt union bosses and their bought Democrat politicians.  By the time the Democrats could get a recall off the ground against Walker (I understand that under Wisconsin law they couldn’t try until some time in 2012) things might be going so well that Walker is politically bullet proof.

I do appreciate the appeal to the voters aspect of this – something all too often absent from the left.  But the purpose of recall is not just to undo every election you don’t like, but to remove from office those politicians who prove egregiously corrupt or entirely out of tune with what they ran on.  Democrats are just throwing a temper tantrum here…

But, by all means, have at it…each cent spent on a quixotic attack against Walker is one cent less Barry and the Boys will have to stave off disaster in 2012.

Governor Walker, Smart Guy; President Obama, Not so Much

Mark Noonan

From Fox Nation:

Gov. Scott Walker on Monday afternoon responded to comments President Barack Obama made earlier in the day about the protests in Madison:

Walker’s office issued this statement:

“I’m sure the President knows that most federal employees do not have collective bargaining for wages and benefits while our plan allows it for base pay. And I’m sure the President knows that the average federal worker pays twice as much for health insurance as what we are asking for in Wisconsin. At least I would hope he knows these facts.”…

I bet he actually doesn’t – in fact, I’m getting more and more certain that Obama knows very little about everything. He seems to be nothing more than a small set of attitudes he was instructed to hold in college…and all he ever does is look around for means of reinforcing his views.

Walker to Fleebaggers: Come Back to Work or Layoffs Will Start

Mark Noonan

It is time to call an end to this farce by the Democrats – real people are going to be affected unless they come home and do their job:

A statement released by Gov. Scott Walker’s office on Monday says the option of refinancing debt in order to save $165 million will be lost unless Senate Democrats return to work and vote on it by Tuesday.

“According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, if Senate Democrats refuse to return to Wisconsin and cast their vote the next day the option to refinance a portion of the state’s debt will be off the table,” the statement says…

Boiled down, if there isn’t a vote soon then the State will have even less money to cover expenses, and that means even deeper cuts will have to be made. Governor Walker has pledged to hold off on layoffs as long as possible, but eventually the money really does run out.

This isn’t a game – and our nation is not just a feeding ground for corrupt unions. Decisions have to be made – and for the Wisconsin Democrats, the inescapable facts of life are that they lost the 2010 elections. If they really believe in collective bargaining, then let them campaign on restoring it in 2012…if the people really want it, then they’ll vote the Democrats back in to a majority. That is the way things are supposed to be done in America – naturally, our Democrats don’t want to do it that way. Too American, I guess…

Walker Goes to War With Public Sector Unions

Mark Noonan

This may be the most important political battle of 2011 – from JS Online:

Governor-elect Scott Walker raised the possibility of essentially abolishing state employee unions on Tuesday as one option to control rising employee benefits costs and eliminate the state’s budget deficit.

Walker, a Republican, said he’s looking at a range of options that would weaken unions, including eliminating their ability to negotiate with the state.

“Anything from the decertify all the way through modifications of the current laws in place,” Walker said at a luncheon sponsored by the Milwaukee Press Club at the Newsroom Pub.

“The bottom line is that we are going to look at every legal means we have to try to put that balance more on the side of taxpayers and the people who care about services.”…

The States are, in lesser or greater degree, bankrupt and what is really blowing the budgets are the public sector union contracts. While the pay for public sector employees tends to outpace private sector (and that is bad, in and of itself – no one who is supported by taxpayers should, on average, make more than taxpayers), it is their pension benefits which really break the bank. For little or no worker contribution, public sector unions enjoy lavish retirement and health care benefits – and can often obtain these benefits when they are still quite young (no waiting around until 65 like the rest of us).

Unless States can reign in the costs of union employees, they can’t balance their budgets. This battle in Wisconsin may prove crucial. Governor Christie has led the way, but Governor-elect Walker proposes to take it to the next level – breaking the power of the unions to drain the people’s money in to union pay and benefits. Government has many vital functions to perform and such functions are harmed by having bloated personnel budgets – it is a matter of choosing between a fat pension for a government employee and good schools for the kids.

If Walker can win this fight, he’ll blaze a trail for the rest of the States and localities to follow, and from there we can get our State finances in order and start to revive our national economy as the burden of government is reduced. Watch for a hard and nasty battle here – the unions will not go down without a fight, and the MSM will be right there with the unions, saying that we Republicans are trying to kill granny and beat puppies to death with tire irons with these proposals. But if we hunker down and win this fight, we’ll have broken through to real reform; reform which won’t be reversible at the next election and which will set America firmly on a center-right course for the future.

Certainly, a fight well worth having…