{"id":4110,"date":"2011-02-19T08:17:23","date_gmt":"2011-02-19T16:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=4110"},"modified":"2011-02-19T08:17:23","modified_gmt":"2011-02-19T16:17:23","slug":"wisconsin-is-not-about-the-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2011\/02\/19\/wisconsin-is-not-about-the-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin Is NOT About the Budget!"},"content":{"rendered":"

This morning I switched between  different news channels and caught Morning Joe on MSNBC, CNN\u2019s normal 24\/7 coverage, and a couple late night news shows on the major networks. All were telling the same story.  In Wisconsin, the unions, who don\u2019t want to lose money and benefits, are protesting and the Governor, who wants to balance the budget, are resisting.  That is NOT true.  Wisconsin is NOT about the budget.  The governor is a Koch funded puppet following the Republican playbook to create the deficit himself and use it as an excuse to break the unions right to organize and bargain  collectively, so  that they will not have the financial means to oppose the US Chamber, the Koch brothers, etc. in future elections.  Even the counter protests in support of the government are astro-turfed events, funded by the Koch brothers.  When the unions offered to concede all Governor Walker\u2019s financial cuts, if they could keep their right to collective bargaining.  If this were about the budget, Walker could have ended the standoff right there with a big win, but he said no, because the budget is just an excuse, not a reason.  Check it out.<\/font><\/p>\n

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\"19WiscProtest\"<\/p>\n

The fight over a bill to slash collective bargaining for Wisconsin\u2019s public workers came to a standstill on Friday, as Democratic state senators refused to appear at the Capitol, members of the State Assembly delayed a vote until next week and thousands of protesters, their numbers still growing, marched, screamed, sang and sat. <\/p>\n

Will the governor’s war on public employees’ collective bargaining rights sweep the nation<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re waiting until we can find a way to take these draconian measures off the table,\u201d Chris Larson, one of 14 Democratic senators who left Wisconsin to prevent a vote from taking place, said in a telephone interview. So far, Mr. Larson said, there had been conversations between Republican lawmakers, who control both chambers of the State Legislature, and Democrats \u2014 but no compromise. <\/p>\n

Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican who proposed the bill that would reduce public workers\u2019 abilities to negotiate their contracts<\/strong> and would require them to pay more for their pensions and health care, showed no sign of retreat\u2026 [emphasis added<\/em>]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Inserted from <NY Times<\/a>><\/p>\n

Rachel covers the history of activism in Wisconsin and the Republican plan to undercut Democrats’ electoral power by using public policy to destroy unions.<\/font><\/p>\n

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news<\/a>, world news<\/a>, and news about the economy<\/a><\/p>\n

Now here is how the Koch Brothers tie into the picture.<\/font><\/p>\n

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\"19Koch-Brothers\"Wisconsin\u2019s newly elected Republican Gov. Scott Walker is facing a growing backlash over his attempt to cut pay and eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees<\/strong> in his state. Although Walker is claiming his power grab is an attempt to close a budget gap, the budget \u201ccrisis\u201d was engineered by Walker as soon as he got into office<\/strong><\/font>. As Brian Beutler reported<\/font><\/a>, half of the budget shortfall comes from Walker\u2019s own tax cuts for businesses and other business giveaways enacted in January<\/strong>. <\/font><\/p>\n

A number of the big business interests standing with Walker are beneficiaries of his administration\u2019s tax giveaways. But the greatest ally to Walker is the dirty energy company Koch Industries<\/strong>. In response to the growing protests in Madison, Koch fronts are busing in Tea Party protesters to support Walker and his union-busting campaign<\/font><\/strong>. Last night, MSNBC\u2019s Ed Schultz reported on the involvement of Club for Growth and the Koch-financed Americans for Prosperity [fascists delinked] in the pro-Walker protest scheduled tomorrow. Watch it:<\/font><\/p>\n