Business
Hidden Agendas In Wisconsin Jobs Bills Replay "Budget Repair" Feint
Original Author:
(James Rowen)
Beware Walkerites bearing jobs.
And always look past the gift-wrapping.
Remember that Scott Walker began his first year as Governor by offering the infamous "Budget-Repair Bill,"
his so-called "modest proposal" which was meant to wipe out 50 years of public employee collective bargaining.
Justifying the deception, Walker
falsely claimed he had campaigned on that anti-union plan, only
admitting the truth when challenged, under oath, before a Congressional committee.
But the pattern was established.
Make stuff up, spin it and stick with it.
It was an exercise in Power Politics 101, backed by majorities in both legislative houses and a compliant, 4-3 pro-business and conservative majority on the state Supreme Court.
Worker Protections?
Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Mark Costello's use of anti-worker political rhetoric and his independent, anti-union and anti-public employee website, Parity in Oklahoma, raises the question whether an elected official can essentially work against the historical and constitutional mandates of a state office.
Costello referred to public employees as "feral hogs" in a recent speech, which has drawn widespread criticism from the Oklahoma Democratic Party, union officials, state employees and teachers. His website, which is not state funded but uses his name and title prominently, argues state and local governments should not collect union dues from paychecks and criticizes the retirement benefits of some state employees. It also supposedly points out the "perks" of public employees and criticizes state merit rules that "actually reward bad employee behavior."
11/2: Fundraiser to Celebrate and Support Democracy for New Mexico Blog
Original Author:
Democracy for New Mexico
From Host Committee (In Formation):
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When
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The Republican chaos engine
The thing to keep in mind when dealing with modern Republicans is that they depend heavily on two tactics: One of those tactics can best be described as a sophisticated version of the childhood retort: "I know you are, but what am I?" That's the effective GOP response when, for example, critics accurately note that Republican administrations tend to run high deficits and enact tax giveaways for special interests that make those deficits worse.
The second tactic, which is really just a psychological means of dealing with their own hypocrisy, is when Republicans project their own behaviors and motives onto the opposition. In short, Republicans are willful dissemblers but also, deeper down, in denial of their own dysfunction and inadequacy -- and quite willing to fantasize that it's always the other guy's fault. Projection increasingly is the psycho-glue that holds their fractured party and ideology together.
The Republican chaos engine
The thing to keep in mind when dealing with modern Republicans is that they depend heavily on two tactics: One of those tactics can best be described as a sophisticated version of the childhood retort: "I know you are, but what am I?" That's the effective GOP response when, for example, critics accurately note that Republican administrations tend to run high deficits and enact tax giveaways for special interests that make those deficits worse.
The second tactic, which is really just a psychological means of dealing with their own hypocrisy, is when Republicans project their own behaviors and motives onto the opposition. In short, Republicans are willful dissemblers but also, deeper down, in denial of their own dysfunction and inadequacy -- and quite willing to fantasize that it's always the other guy's fault. Projection increasingly is the psycho-glue that holds their fractured party and ideology together.
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