Governor Walker ran on a reform platform. He was elected based on that platform. He implemented his promises. Unions in Wisconsin were outraged. Democratic lawmakers fled the state to keep the bill restricting collective bargaining for public workers from passing. Then the protests began. Union goons did millions in damage to the statehouse. Governor Walker pressed on.
Funny thing, good results happened quickly. A big budget deficit became a surplus. Cities took the savings from cheaper insurance, cheaper than unions were charging their members, and retained or even added teachers. Union employees began to drop out of the unions. Unions panicked. They started a recall petition. Millions in union dues were spent to get the required petitions to implement the recall.
Primaries were held. The union candidate lost to Tom Barrett, the loser to Walker in the last election. More millions were spent in a campaign where Barrett, having no platform, essentially resorted to an Obama-style smear campaign.
The voters of Wisconsin spoke yesterday. Walker won by more than a comfortable margin.
They are hanging crepe in every union hall in this country joined by the White House.Voters are telling them the party is over. Non-union workers have had enough. The era of public employees averaging more than 20% more pay, better medical, and more generous pensions is being rejected. States and cities are going broke trying to pay the tab for this farce. Student test scores go down as too many teachers are riding the gravy train and not teaching.Too many of us are tired of being jerked around by government workers who could care less that we pay their bloated salaries. Why care, they can’t be fired.
Americans are smart. They see states like New Jersey, Virginia, Indiana, Florida, Michigan, South Carolina and Louisiana digging out of budget holes, all led by Republican governors. While states like California and Illinois go further in the hole.
This is not just about Wisconsin and Walker, it’s a message to Obama about his efforts to make the country into California, not Wisconsin.
Wisconsin spoke, but America is gathering it’s collective voice. Change is truly coming. Not the change brought by Obama, dooming us to become Greece, but the change that will bring common sense government and jobs back to this limping country.
