Wisconsin State Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller:
In thirty minutes, 18 State Senators undid fifty years of civil rights in Wisconsin. Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten. Tonight, 18 Senate Republicans conspired to take government away from the people. Tomorrow we will join the people of Wisconsin in taking back their government.Wisconsin State Senate Passes Anti-Union Bill (TPM)
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Boycott Koch
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It is hard to know what Sen. Miller means when he says that we'll begin taking back our government (I don't understand it when our opponents say it either), but he's certainly got the bit about outrage and disrespect right. When I think that the State Senate was able to pass this bill by divorcing it from fiscal policy after arguing for weeks that it was central to fiscal reform, I feel like I'm watching characters in an Orwell novel. This is the very definition of double think, and it is difficult to think of a more dispiriting moment in politics.
That “taking back” rhetoric makes me cringe too.
WisconsinEye has video of the voting — it must be seen to be believed.
Unlike the party enthusiasts on the various supposed "sides" in the larger trend, I tend to only look at numbers. For this reason, what I see is an unsustainability leading from insolvency to illiquidity and thence possibily to effective bankruptcy, even if not supposedly "legal," a shifting reality. What is certain is that the numbers don't add up for either party, and reality will impose its austerity on both. It is only a matter of time, not politics. Those who are enthused by the political sides to this are watching the drama unfold, without counting the long term costs. It is certain that the forecast for the future tells one truth: the fattest of the cats, from business to unions to government, all will be taking unwanted "haircuts" sooner rather than later.
Unions in Wisconsin did offer significant concessions on matters of insurance and pensions. That’s appropriate in difficult times. Collective bargaining though is another story. The governor’s and Republican legislators’ actions appear to be nothing more than a transparent attempt to destroy unions, traditionally strong supporters of Democratic candidates.
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