The Oligarch of Fitzwalkerstan visited the US today, planning to receive praise from Republicans on Issa’s oversight committee on his goose-stepping abilities. He failed to take into account that there would be Democrats there, including Dennis Kucinich, who exposed him for the the misanthrope he is. Walker even perjured himself.
In a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing exploring state and municipal debt, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) challenged Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) to admit his legislative campaign aimed at stripping public employees’ collective bargaining rights did nothing to help solve his state’s budget deficit.
"If the unions agreed to the financial cuts you demand," Kucinich told Walker, "I don’t understand how repealing collective bargaining rights for public workers shows us anything about state debt."
The longtime Ohio congressman accused Walker of politicizing an important state fiscal debate and claimed his legislation impacting unions saved no money whatsoever. Citing a document published by the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau asserting that Walker’s efforts to the repeal the rights of state workers were non-fiscal, Kucinich briefly clashed with committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA), when he asked for unanimous consent to have the document included as part of the official record.
Issa said, while "we fully expect to include it in the record," he reserved the right to object to the document until it had been vetted by committee members. That outraged Kucinich.
"In the 14 years I’ve been on the committee," Kucinich said, "I’ve never had a chairman reserve the right to object to a document that is central to this hearing. It’s a political issue!"
Kucinich continued his assault on Walker and other Wisconsin Republicans, blaming them for the $137 million budget shortfall that roused this entire debate. Wisconsin allowed their estate tax to expire on Jan. 1, 2008. Kucinich argued that had Wisconsin not let the estate tax expire, the revenue that would have been collected from wealthy estates would have totaled enough to cover the $137 million deficit. Concluding his questioning, Kucinich did thank Gov. Walker in the hearing — if only backhandedly.
"Gov. Walker has done an inadvertent public service — by exposing the mindset that is privatizing government and bringing the public sphere to the forefront. Is government going to be auctioned off to the highest bidder? To corporations who drive up the cost of government and services?"… [emphasis original]
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I have said that I would not support Dennis as President, because he said he would endorse that horrid racist, who would trash the safety net, Ron Paul, as his running mate., But I do both support and appreciate him in his present role. Here, he was magnificent. Kudos and Thanks!
Rachel Maddow covers the roasting Democrats gave Walker and discuses it with Elijah Cummings.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Kucinich was not the only one who put Walker in his place.
At one point during the hearing, I heard Walker state that he had received no funds at all from the Koch brothers directly, but did not know how much he had received from organizations they support. That is perjury. He has received $37,000 from them.
8 Responses to “Kucinich and Others Blast Dictator”
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Like you, I appreciate what he did here but my eyes popped out and went bouncing across the floor when I read, “I have said that I would not support Dennis as President, because he said he would endorse that horrid racist, who would trash the safety net, Ron Paul, as his running mate.” Holy cow. I wasn’t aware of this as I don’t really follow Kucinich all that much. Maybe this proves the old theory that extremes eventually meet and become bed fellows. Damn!
Leslie, it was during one of the Presidential debates, the host asked who they’d like to pick as their running mate. Everyone ducked the question, except Dennis. He said Ron Paul. I saw it.
I would be just fine with Kucinich/Paul. If you want radical change (and I do,) there couldn’t be a better pairing. They both have some great ideas, and I’m pretty sure they’d play off of each other. The Plutocracy would be shaken to its foundations.
JR on that we will never agree. I trust you do are not including the following Ron Paul positions as his great ideas. Repeal the civil rights act. Abolish social security, Medicare and Medicaid, allow states to reinstate Jim Crow laws, outlaw all abortions, and end federal support for education. If that team were elected, Dennis would not survive his first day in offer, before a Ron Paul wing-nut promoted him second amendment style.
Scott Walker remains an unrepentant and arrogant uncaring jerk. It is good that he was grilled so bad, but it didn’t faze him—he is an ignorant self-centered piece of shit with delusions of grandeur. I sincerely hope that, come January, Wisconsin voters will recall him as well as his other Tea Party cohorts and kick their asses all the way up to a very cold Lake Superior!
Jack, if we pollute the lake like that, Canada will sue. 😉
The recall provision is being prepared right now for his ass. I hope they include Ryan as well. (What is a freshman doing as the head of the Budgetary Committee????) He’ll be gone as soon as his year is up.
Lisa, sadly they cannot start collercting the signatures until Jan.