Wisconsin’s legislature has passed a budget measure that is headed for Governor Walker’s desk. The legislation was passed without the state Democrats because Republicans stripped the non-fiscal aspects out of the budget bill, which allowed the state legislature to vote on the measure without a 3/5ths quorum. Because the collective bargaining provision was arguably not fiscal in nature, Republicans were able to vote on it without the protesting Democrats.
All this happened despite some nasty threats made against state Republicans. Some in the media are also doing their part to frame the legislation in an unfavorable and hypocritical way.
I want to comment on two aspects of this issue. First, Governor Walker and Wisconsin Republicans have shown remarkable courage, regardless of whether or not one agrees with them. Second, when comparing what happened in Wisconsin to how ObamaCare was passed, one should note key differences: The ACA was arguably passed with an abuse of the legislative process when other bipartisan bills (e.g. Wyden-Bennett) could have generated support; the Wisconsin bill passed in a manner that has legal and historical precedent, and there was minimal chance of reaching bipartisan consensus on the issue.
The Wisconsin protests have brought up a fight that hasn’t been debated in a while: the right of the poor to collectively protect themselves against the rich. The Democratic party hasn’t been completely with the working man for a while, and it is good to finally see that they are coming around. The word union has taken on such a negative connotation. Americans are overwhelmingly in favor in favor of collective bargaining in an abstract way, but are against “unions”.
I wrote an article about the Wisconsin situation here…
http://southpawreport.wordpress.com/