A Politician With a Spine

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To bad all these teachers can't be fired. Wonder who is feeding the children now?

Wis. governor: GOP won't be 'bullied' by union bill protesters

By Jordan Fabian - 02/18/11 07:55 AM ET

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ® says his party has been emboldened by massive protests against his controversial budget plan.

Walker said demonstrators who filled the state capitol building in Madison and the boycott by state Senate Democrats — some of whom fled the state in protest — have steeled the resolve of members of his party.

"If anything, I think it's made the Republicans in the Assembly and the Senate stronger," he told Fox News's Greta Van Susteren in an interview Thursday night. "They're not going to be bullied. They're not going to be intimidated."

Walker also fired back at President Obama, who sided with the public employees, saying on Fox News Friday, "We are focused on balancing our budget. It would be wise for the government and others in Washington to focus on balancing their budgets, which they are a long way off from doing."

The unrest in Wisconsin has attracted attention from national lawmakers and political figures, who have incorporated the state's tussle over Walker's budget proposal into the debate over the federal government's fiscal woes.

Public-sector workers are upset with the plan, which calls on them to pay to receive pension and health benefits and removes collective bargaining rights for some.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) issued a statement backing Walker's proposal, saying governors like Walker "are daring to speak the truth about the dire fiscal challenges Americans face at all levels of government, and daring to commit themselves to solutions that will liberate our economy and help put our citizens on a path to prosperity."

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, meanwhile, has called the plan an "assault" on the middle class and compared Walker's plan to drastic cuts House Republicans in Washington want to make.

"This federal budget madness echoes pound-foolish actions we're seeing in state after state, where Republican legislators and governors elected with lucrative CEO support are ignoring the jobs crisis and playing politics as usual with the lives of working families," he wrote in a Huffington Post op-ed.

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Wisconsin Democrats in Congress have called for the plan to be taken off the table. President Obama on Thursday weighed in, also accusing Walker of waging an "assault" on unions.

Walker's words are his latest attempt to goad state Democrats back to the capitol to vote on his plan. He held a press conference on Thursday afternoon, urging them to return to the state after some fled to neighboring Illinois in order to avoid state law enforcement from bringing them back to Madison.

Asked if he has the authority to retrieve them out-of-state, Walker said, "That's a really big question for us.

"I mean, the bottom line is very — very much similar to when you've had redistricting battles, lawmakers go to other states, as well, from other states," he said. "I think in Texas and Oklahoma years ago, that happened. Again, I hope it doesn't get to that. That would be ridiculous."

-- This post was updated at 9:31 a.m.

Source:

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/145033-wisconsin-gov-gop-emboldened-by-protests-

The contents of this site are © 2011 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Comments (729)PAGE |1|2| ... |36|37|>Unions are bankrupting our nation. This is not about destroying the Unions, but about cutting spending to save our country. I always had to pay for part of my insurance, what makes these people any better than I am. People are watching this and getting more upset about what Government is doing. Cut the spending. If I have to make sacrifices, why shouldn't you.

BY Judy Burroughs on 02/18/2011 at 08:08

Unions are not bankrupting the nation. Judy - think! Do kindergarten teachers and 3rd shift nurses hold the largest share of wealth in this country? Do prison workers? How about the people who plow your roads? Are they driving Mercedes when they get out of their pickups? Follow the money - read reports - see where the nations' wealth is going. Unions are set up as a scapegoat so citizens won't dig any deeper.

BY Julie G. on 02/18/2011 at 08:16

This isn't about cuts. The unions have already agreed to any and all cuts in the bill. This is about giving up their collective bargaining rights which has absolutely nothing to do with the budget.

BY Terence Clark on 02/18/2011 at 08:17

Obama and his unions goons are simply showing us their new civility. Expect this thuggery to spread nationwide.

BY JWF on 02/18/2011 at 08:19

Julie - its not the union members that do the destruction it is the union heads..

They have destroyed our auto industry,educat ion, soon our healthcare.

Each and every industry they get a hold on is decimated.

www.LibertyJunkie.com - conservative blogs, news, and tweets

BY LibertyJunkie.com on 02/18/2011 at 08:29

It's amazing how short sighted and ignorant of our own history people can be. The unions that you all love to berate are the very same that won you the right to a 40 hour work week. They are the ones who helped get you that insurance you love so dearly. And what do you think happens when they go away!? The last firewall protecting the wages of working class Americans foes away. Then next year and every year after, business will cry poverty, and explain to the workers that they can't expect to get paid $40000 for something someone in India will do for $10000. To be honest, I hope the people like Judy Burroughs are the first to have their jobs off shored and then are forced to work for minimum wage at Walmart ( assuming a minimum wage still exists; the country is broke, dont forget). We support unions because, whether or not you pay dues or sacrifice like the workers of Wisconsin, the unions support you and your way of life. Tax the rich, pay for jobs!

BY CG on 02/18/2011 at 08:29

To Corporation have bankrupt our nation,not unions. GOP and Corporation are the same no soul. They feed off each other,now thats not enough. Now they want to destroy two party system. Oligarchy is the Goal. Republicans used be for America,but now they answer to the entity the Beast of beast the one and only, The Coporation master of greed,corruptio n ,pollution deception and pay no taxs.

BY Timelimit on 02/18/2011 at 08:30

Where is the press outrage over all of this incivility. Hitler signs, Democrat deliquent, teachers acting like bullies??

What would Gabby Giffords say to this display of vigilanties.

BY Kala on 02/18/2011 at 08:30

Peaceful protests are thuggery now? This is an attempt at union busting, no more and no less. They already pay for health care, they've agreed to pay more. They have agreed to pay towards their pension plans. Governor Walker needs to explain why police and firefighters unions are not being brought down. Are teachers not important anymore? Who do you want teaching your children? Dispirited, underpaid, undereducated people who will now lose the ability to bargain for a decent wage?

BY Nicole on 02/18/2011 at 08:30

Then lets start with the wage and benefit package we taxpayers generously grant (hah!) to lawmakers. Let's start by reducing their wages to what the average K-12 teacher earns; making them pay for their own health insurance plans and fund their own pensions (in a 401k, not a defined benefit plan); making them put in 25-30 years of service before they're eligible to collect those pensions — like the rest of us. No State will be financially 'saved' on the backs of the unions that didn't support the current regime. The other unions know this is like making a deal with a snake: They won't eat you next, they'll eat you last. And by then, there will be no one left to stand up to this domestic tyranny. Let's find a few more redundant engines to cut. Let's find a couple of oil subsidies, farm subsidies, pharma subidies, etc. to cut. Let's go after deadbeat taxpayers who hide their wealth in anonymous, foreign bank accounts. Let's clean up the fraud and cronyism in government funded programs.