Wisconsin's Assault on the Working-Class Cont.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is continuing his open assault on the hard-won "benefits" afforded those in the middle- and working-classes of his state. Part of the problem in America today is that we take so many things for granted. Take "sick leave," for instance. One of the bedrock principles throughout labor history is that if you get sick for a day or two now and then you can stay home -- in no small part so as to avoid contaminating your co-workers.

But now Walker (I can't even bring myself to grant him the title of "Governor") is poised to sign statewide legislation overturning a Milwaukee law that requires businesses to give employees paid sick leave. The measure was approved by Milwaukee residents with 69% of the vote. Apart from the bold overreach of using state law to usurp the will of the overwhelming majority of a city's voters, this is clearly another indication that anti-union, anti-worker Republicans are bound and determined to roll back the clock on workplace protections...apparently all the way back to the 19th century.

One of the primary purposes of paid sick leave is to encourage employees who are ill -- and potentially contagious -- to stay home so that they don't spread a flu bug (or perhaps pneumonia, mono or tuberculosis) around the entire office. Stripping workers of paid sick time is going to lead to more employees coming in coughing, sneezing and wheezing. And so we see once again, like so many union-backed achievements, the real benefit is to the collective: co-workers, customers and even the employer him- or herself. It's short-sighted to see otherwise.

Wisconsin Election: The Ghost of Katherine Harris

Now Republican judge and Governor Scott Walker ally David Prosser is up 7,000 votes in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election?!? It seems the clerk in Waukesha County "forgot" to count 14,000 votes from the heavily Republican city of Brookfield. County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus(R), who worked with Prosser when he was in the state legislature (naturally), was quoted [loosely] as saying: "Whoops! My bad."

First Wisconsin Election, Post Revolution

Wisconsin held its first statewide election since the Madison Revolution last night and, barring any changes during a sure recount, incumbent Supreme Court Justice -- and staunch Scott Walker ally -- David Prosser appears to have lost in a close race to political neophyte JoAnne Kloppenburg.

While it will certainly take weeks to sort out the race (Kloppenburg leads by 204 votes with 100% of precincts reporting), it's worth pointing out that Prosser once led the polling in this contest by 30 points (55%-25%). Then came Governor Scott Walker's union-busting overreach, which galvanized Democratic voters to a degree the country hasn't seen in years. Prosser's campaign pledge that he'd serve as "a complement to Scott Walker" appears to have spelled his doom.

Personally, I can't wait to see how the Wisconsin recall elections play out this November. There's a real possibility that eight Republicans will be tossed out of office in one fell swoop.

Wisconsin Senators Return to Madison

The "Wisconsin 14" returned to the state capitol yesterday, where they were met by an estimated 85,000-100,000 pro-union supporters. It was the largest protest in Madison since the governor there initiated his union-busting efforts.

Once the farmers show up with their tractors and their cows, you know it's on.

Reaction at the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin

Republicans Pull a Fast One in Wisconsin

The bastards went ahead and passed their anti-union bill without a single Democrat in the building state. On an 18-to-1 vote (kudos to lone Republican hold-out Dale Schulz), the Wisconsin Senate stripped public workers in the state of nearly all their collective bargaining rights.

The Republicans accomplished this feat act of political malpractice thanks to legislative sleight-of-hand that deleted all the monetary issues from the bill, including the increases in employee contributions to their own retirement and health care benefits. Remember how those issues were originally presented as foundational components to the governor's crucial "budget repair" bill? They were non-negotiable, remember? Even after state workers agreed to every one. Now? Apparently those policy changes were not really so crucial after all.

With recall efforts in full swing, I would expect this act of legislative malfeasance to energize Democrats and pro-labor activists in the state like never before. I hope those eight senators eligible for recall enjoyed casting this vote. We can only hope it will be their last.

Michael Moore Goes to Wisconsin

Republican Class Warfare

Palm Trees in Wisconsin? Only on FOX.

In case you missed it, the folks over at FOX News got their panties all in a wad over the weekend after protesters in Madison, Wisconsin, had the temerity to {gasp!} shout down FOX reporter Mike Tobin while he was doing a stand-up broadcasting anti-union propaganda on the grounds of the state capitol.

First of all, it's hilarious to me that FOX would think they can just walk in amongst the very people their [not so] journalistic operation is actively lobbying against and then act surprised when those people object to their presence. Hello? FOX? This is the blow-back when you face actual, informed people who are on to your line of bullshit. Get used to it.

Second, get a load (below) of their solution to this predicament. On O'Reilly last night, Tobin can be seen reporting from an interior location somewhere. It's presumably at the capitol, presumably in Wisconsin. (The Daily Show has been known to use green screens though, so why not FOX?) Anyhoo, if you check out the b-roll they are running to show all the violent, angry protesters who have been harassing and berating Tobin for days on end, you'll note a couple of things not often seen this time of year in Madison, Wisconsin: palm trees and snowless ground!

Epic location fail!

[h/t Hullabaloo]

Not Going Anywhere in Wisconsin

Those pro-union protesters are still hanging tough in Madison.

Huge Crowds Gather to Protest in Wisconsin

Check out the size of the crowd protesting on Saturday...in a snowstorm...with temperatures in the 20s... against the governor of Wisconsin's effort to break that state's public employee union. Frozen tundra indeed.

WI Governor Scott Walker Gets Punked

Funny how when Republicans try to put one over on an organization like ACORN or Planned Parenthood it takes them weeks to release the tape because it requires so much editing to cover up their lies and innuendo. When a Republican gets punked, all it takes to lure the mark (in this case Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker) into spilling every bean in the jar is to dial the number.

Part Two.

Yes, Mr. Governor currently-embroiled-in-the-political-fight-of-the-young-century, that Mika Brezinski is "a real piece of ass."

Stay classy, fella.

In RE: Political Influence of Public Service Unions

One of the tropes making the rounds with regard to the legitimacy of public sector labor unions is that they use the dues money they take in to influence elected officials to offer them sweetheart deals, then vote as a bloc for whichever politician agrees to do their bidding. It's a classic quid pro quo (allegedly). If that's the case: What happened to their influence in Wisconsin, once one of the bluest, most labor friendly states in the nation?

A Modest Proposal

Alright...if we can't tax the rich maybe we'll just have to eat them.

"Believe in all the good things
That money just can't buy
Then you won't get no bellyache
From eatin' humble pie
I believe in rags to riches
Your inheritance won't last
So take your Grey Poupon my friend
And shove it up your ass!

"Eat the rich
There's only one thing that they are good for
Eat the rich
Take one bite now, come back for more
Eat the rich
I gotta get this off my chest
Eat the rich
Take one bite now, spit out the rest."

Counter-Protesters Arrive in Madison

Looks like the teabaggers finally showed up to demonstrate in Madison. You can spot them by the misspelled and grammatically incorrect protest signs.

[Click image for larger view.]

Sunday Media: Will They Get the Message on Madison?

Do you suppose anyone on any of the Sunday morning news shows will have enough of a clear-eyed understanding of the stakes in Madison to point out that the goal there -- through the elimination of the right to collective bargaining -- is to break the union?

Simple Question

How many people who are unemployed, laid off or on furlough are supporting Wisconsin's effort to break this union? Whether you are one or 10,000, you are wrong.

Line in the Sand

We're not gonna take it...30,000 strong.

MADISON, Wis. — A state Capitol thrown into chaos swelled for a fifth day with thousands of protesters, as supporters of Republican efforts to scrap the union rights of state workers added their voices to the debate for the first time and GOP leaders insisted again Saturday there was no room for compromise.

"...supporters of Republican efforts to scrap the union rights..." Are you fucking kidding me?!? They're better known as foolish sods willing to compromise their own civil rights in the name of ideology. Look! There goes one now!

Hello? We're not leaving.

Madison Standoff

Remember, the fight is all about ending collective bargaining and breaking the union. Nothing more. When the governor speaks of "givebacks" and "concessions" (which the union has already offered to accept), he's not giving you the full story.

Wisconsin Uprising: Rude Pundit Explains It All

"Those collective bargaining rights you want to just toss aside? Yeah, about those. People fucking died to get those and other workers' rights. That's the history of this country. Fuck, that's the history of Wisconsin. Did you really think that you could merely spit on those corpses and walk away unscathed?"

Read the whole thing here.