Okay, the recall is underway, and everybody is hurling confusing accusations at each other. Which way is up? As usual, most people can’t tell, and so choose to rely on A.M. radio show hosts who are even more clueless than they are. For now, according to the polls, it looks as though Scott Walker will survive the recall effort, and retain his office. (Interesting.) So, I thought now might be a good time to remind us all about why exactly we are bothering to spend all this money on removing this silly ass in the first place (tax money that will be wasted if we fail). You’ll notice that I’m highlighting the fact that we can’t recall him for breaking the teachers unions. That might just accidentally have been a positive thing – time will tell. We have to remember that teachers unions have been BEGGING for their rights to be taken away for decades. And as much as I support the teachers unions, I have to admit that they have been run by hordes of nincompoops who have deliberately protected incompetent teachers from the unemployment status they so richly deserved for decades. Sooner or later, the spoiled brat has got to get spanked, and if he cries, too bad. Still, while it’s fair that the blood-sucking insects finally got swatted, it’s unfortunate that Walker chose to swat them with a sledgehammer – one that hit us all in the foot. THAT, we CAN recall him for. Also, we have to remember that teachers need union representation – so long as it’s with new and better leaders. I’m also not arguing that Walker should be removed for job losses. Two years isn’t enough time to change a job market in a State, especially when national trends have a greater impact than State governments ever could. (Sure, he’s claiming new numbers showing job gains, but just wait! Republicans will almost certainly revert to the OLD State numbers when attacking Obama in November. Just you watch!) So, here’s the laundry list of Walker’s faults. Remember, any ONE of these ten is more reason enough for him to be gone. I’ve listed ten, and this is only the short-list. Here it is:
10. First act of Walker: an end to the Milwaukee-to-Madison pre-bullet commuter train. An immediate loss of thousands of jobs! Penny-wise, but pound foolish! Because as surely as death and taxes, America will someday soon have a network of transcontinental bullet trains. The Milwaukee-Madison commuter would have set the stage to link Chicago with the Twin Cities and Seattle via Wisconsin. These trains will now NEVER go through the Dairy State, choosing to go through Iowa instead. This will cost all future Wisconsinites BILLIONS in jobs and tourism revenue, for countless generations. Stupid, just stupid. (Remember: State Senator George Petak of Racine was recalled for voting for the .01% tax levy that built Miller Park. This wasted only the tiniest percent of money that Walker wasted with this one move alone! If Petak is gone, Walker must be gone as well, especially if you live in Racine!)
9. Walker broke the teachers’ unions, not to improve education, but because he’s generally anti-union. He proved this by trying to break the unions of police and firefighters as well. Only when he saw that his ass was in deep shit unless he reneged on that point did he let police and firemen off the hook. But he’d shown his hand as an irresponsible political ideologue.
8. Relating to the above, he attacked collective bargaining rights for ALL State workers. What on earth did the doctors, nurses, policemen and firefighters ever do to offend anybody with their collective bargaining rights?
7. (This is the BIG one, I say.) After igniting the collective bargaining controversy, he could have separated the budget bill in question into two bills, one dealing with collective bargaining, the other dealing with the State budget, ON DAY ONE. Instead, he let the State be divided into near-revolt status, and left it that way. The only reason he did this was because he desired his will be absolute. Only when the impasse dragged on for a second month did he finally divide the single bill into two bills and end the stalemate. We still feel the sting of this needless partisan divide. Even simple weddings or chats in bars now degenerate into all-out brawls over LOCAL political discussions!
6. He took federal money, meant to be paid to homeowners who had their mortgages foreclosed upon during the collapse of the housing crisis, and raided it, using it to bridge the State deficit instead.
5. Regarding the above raid on many of the neediest of his citizens, he actually dared to campaign on his deficit-reduction as a positive to his administration! Seriously?!
4. Even though women’s reproductive healthcare has ALWAYS been the #1 way to ensure economic growth, he has attacked the funding for Planned Parenthood, putting anti-abortion ideology above economic common sense. So much for jobs, jobs, jobs!
3. As shown by his own words and actions, Walker sees himself as the State’s C.E.O., and therefore supreme leader. WRONG! He was NOT elected as emperor! He is not king, czar, dictator or any other sort of totalitarian despot! Other people get their say-so, and if he can’t see it that way, he’s out on general democratic principle.
2. Walker is, without a doubt, a textbook control freak. So if he wins, his megalomania condition will go from bad to unbelievably worse. It will be analogous to Hitler surviving the bomb blast. There will be NO living with the bastard from then on! If Big Brother arises, it might well be Scott Walker.
1. I hear he's a fan of Ted Nugent.
Next week: The top ten reasons Barrett would make the best governor in history. (No, I'm not just using hyperbole!)
Eric
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