Editorial: Why Scott Walker is REALLY Being Recalled
MILWAUKEE, WI — Much apologies for the extended absence. This was due to a previously-unplanned move (which you see reflected in the dateline). But now that everything is back in working order, I wanted to take a moment to discuss what’s happening here in Wisconsin this week.
Groups opposed to Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wisconsin) officially filed papers with the state Government Accountability Board to begin the recall process against both Gov. Walker and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch yesterday, Nov. 15th. For those of you not living in America’s Dairyland, you would be forgiven for either not knowing about this, or assuming it’s merely a union-backed power grab. Some people even believe we should let Gov. Walker carry out his term because he’s only doing what he “said he would do.” None of this is correct, however.
So why is he being recalled? Because Scott Walker, almost single-handedly, broke the otherwise (relatively) harmonious political system in Wisconsin.
Remember back in February when the national media was all abuzz about the Wisconsin Senate Democrats fleeing the state to stall a vote on Walker’s anti-union budget bill? There was a reason it got national attention. This is Wisconsin. This is a nice place full of nice people. This isn’t Florida or New York or California where politics is a full-contact sport. This isn’t Ohio or Texas or Illinois where corruption in state government is so ubiquous it’s a topic for humor…we still get outraged by that stuff. Heck, even the flight of Democrats from the Indiana legislature at the same time didn’t garner as much attention…simply because it’s Indiana.
This is Wisconsin. This is the home of good government. This is the home of the “progressive” movement that, like our unofficial state flag (the flannel shirt) comes in and out of fashion every couple decades. This is the home of balanced politics (as evidence, see: LaFollette, “Fighting Bob,” and McCarthy, Joe). This is the only state in the nation where stores are empty on a Sunday afternoon, not because of the regularchurch, but because of statewide attendance at the Lambeau Cathedral (services led by Rev. Mike McCarthy). This is the home of people who generally get along.Yes, killing collective bargaining rights for state employees in the very state that invented collective bargaining for state employees is a part of why this is happening. But it’s more than that. It’s the way it was done.
When Scott Walker ran for governor in 2010, he ran on a platform of cutting spending to balance the state’s budget deficit (which was not caused by outgoing Gov. Jim Doyle, but by the national super-recession), and killing the planned high-speed train between Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison. It’s that last stance that got him elected. Independents outside of the Milwaukee-Madison corridor didn’t want the train…mostly because they couldn’t use it.
Notice what stance I didn’t mention? Collective bargaining. Why? Because Walker didn’t mention it either. As a matter of fact, collective bargaining rights didn’t even enter the political discussion until December of 2010, a full month after Scott Walker won the election.
And here’s where we really get into the true reason for recall.
Scott Walker, the railroad killer, railroaded the bill through the state legislature, refusing a more-than-fair compromise by state unions (accepting all the fiscal concessions so long as collective bargaining rights are maintained). Yes, he hit a speed bump when the Democrats fled to Illinois, denying a legal quorum to the State Senate. But he overcame that with a parliamentary trick of his own, and passed the bill through committee while the Democrats were still driving through Beloit on their way back to the capitol in Madison, then passed it through the legislature shortly thereafter.
So Walker, and Lt. Gov. Kleefisch, aren’t being recalled just for “policy reasons” as some pundits lazily claim. They’re being recalled for picking a fight. They picked a fight that didn’t need fighting, and divided Wisconsin politically as a result.
But here’s the thing about Wisconsin. It’s bad form to pick a fight, but it’s even worse to back down from one that’s been picked.
So, Governor Walker, you got the fight you asked for. Hope you’re happy.
Enlightening.
I find it amazing, on how you conveniently, articulate your one side perception of reality. I invite you to debate your assertions, one by one, for Gov. Walker to respond to, either on a Wisconsin state-wide television, radio or webcast.
Though I would certainly enjoy an opportunity to discuss matters with Gov. Walker, he’s certainly not going to pay attention to me. My potatoes are WAY too small for him to bother paying attention to me, especially when he goes out of his way to avoid the major state media like he does.
I find it amazing, on how conveniently, you have terrible grammar and punctuation.
Yet another irrelevant nonsequitor response … from a typical liberal mindset and self-inflated ego. Qualify yourself, if you can, by offering some substance and reality to Metzger’s assertions.
It is amazing that this writer claims that the governor made no mention of ending collective bargaining until after he was in office. What planet was he vacationing at? I am related to several state employees, mostly in the DOC. They were well aware of the governor’s intentions concerning bargaining, and worked tirelessly against his election. Perhaps the writer of this column should do more research before making these bogus claims.
I was covering the election in Madison during a good part of the campaign for local news media. I know a few people in DoC as well and, after talking with them, it was clear that though Gov. Walker had a reputation for union agitation in Milwaukee County, it wasn’t well-known nor widely-reported outside the county. Furthermore, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s PolitiFact crew has already confirmed my key assertion, that Gov. Walker kept this card in his vest. Please see the article here:
http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2011/feb/22/scott-walker/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-says-he-campaigned-his-/
Regardless of how it happened, it is good for the state. The unions have exercised way to much power. Requiring the schools to purchase insurance from the WEA Trust that is owned by the unions at a higher than market price is not something most people would consider reasonable. If someone is working for a private company and the company is struggling financially, the employees realize if they want to keep their jobs they give up some things. For the teachers and other state employees to think having no cost health insurance and no cost pensions is reasonable shows they are living in another world. If Walker had not gone about it the way he did it would not have happened and we would still be trying to balance the budget by firing people and raising taxes. It is too bad that once people get a special benefit they are unwilling to give it up. I work for the school district and enjoy the benefits but I am not disappointed to have things restructured back to a more reasonable status. The unions are just hot because they no longer automatically collect the union dues and they no longer reap or rape the benefits of the overcharged health insurance. They are afraid of what could happen to their empire if other states duplicate the solution. I am a democrat and a school employee and I am FOR SCOTT WALKER. $#@% the union.