Posts Tagged ‘unions’

The White House figures out which way the wind is blowing

Posted: February 21, 2011 by datechguy in economy, elections, opinion/news, politics
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Four days ago Politico highlighted the involvement of the DNC was and OFA in Wisconsin:

The Democratic National Committee’s Organizing for America arm — the remnant of the 2008 Obama campaign — is playing an active role in organizing protests against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s attempt to strip most public employees of collective bargaining rights.

OfA, as the campaign group is known, has been criticized at times for staying out of local issues like same-sex marriage, but it’s riding to the aide of the public sector unions who hoping to persuade some Republican legislators to oppose Walker’s plan. And while Obama may have his difference with teachers unions, OfA’s engagement with the fight — and Obama’s own clear stance against Walker — mean that he’s remaining loyal to key Democratic Party allies at what is, for them, a very dangerous moment.

OfA Wisconsin’s field efforts include filling buses and building turnout for the rallies this week in Madison, organizing 15 rapid response phone banks urging supporters to call their state legislators, and working on planning and producing rallies, a Democratic Party official in Washington said.

The @OFA_WI twitter account has published 54 tweets promoting the rallies, which the group has also plugged on its blog.

During my interview with Andrew Breitbart on Sunday morning he commented on their presence saying the following:

I’ve sensed that any time when Obama’s Organizing for America gets involved they are up to no good. So when I see them go up against the people I try to be there.

Now in the surest sign that the White House has figured out where this is going to end up, there is some serious backtracking going on:

Administration officials said Sunday that the White House had done nothing to encourage the demonstrations in Wisconsin — nor was it doing so in Ohio, Florida and other states where new Republican governors are trying to make deep cuts to balance their budgets.

And, officials and union leaders said, reports of the involvement of the Democratic National Committee — specifically Organizing for America, the grass-roots network born of Mr. Obama’s 2008 campaign — were overblown to start with and were being inflated by Republicans sensing political advantage.

Because we all know how Politico is really a house organ of the Republican Party, that’s why they are always being quoted on MSNBC

I think the White House has seen these polls and is getting cold feet BIGTIME:

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 48% of Likely U.S. Voters agree more with the Republican governor in his dispute with union workers. Thirty-eight percent (38%) agree more with the unionized public employees, while 14% are undecided.

And as Captain Ed Morrissey at Hotair reports the details are even more damning:

No one will be shocked to find Democrats opposed to Walker’s plan, 21/68, although the opposition seems a little weak, under the circumstances. Also, no one will be surprised to see almost the mirror image among Republicans, 68/15. Independents across the nation give a strong endorsement to Walker, 56/31. Among income demographics, only those earning under $20K per year support the unions (30/54), while Walker gains a plurality or majority in every other income demographic, including a 62/27 among the $60-75K demo. Interestingly, unions only barely edge Walker among government employees, 44/46. (bolding mine)

I put this down to Bill Daily. He is a man of the left and a big supporter of these same unions but he knows politics and sees where this is going. His job is to minimize the damage to the white house. He also understands that if Democrats shut down Wisconsin with the White House behind them it will be harder to blame republicans for a shutdown here.

The Democrats in a Wisconsin mine field

Posted: February 21, 2011 by datechguy in economy, internet/free speech, opinion/news, politics
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Our democratic friends and the media are stepping on so many land minds these days its hard to count them all, but a few things instantly come to mind:

Boom! We all love school in July

Every day that the Wisconsin teachers choose to take off is a day that parents around the state have to find sitters for theirs kids. Parents all around the nation relate and understand this. One of the things people are also forgetting is that an awful lot of school was missed this year already due to wild weather. Every day the teachers take off is a day those kids will be in school in July, again something parents nationwide can relate to

Boom!: Walker itis or take two protests and call me in the morning:

Every time we hear people talking about budget cuts in any state we hear the words “waste and fraud”, “waste and fraud”. Well now on camera we have Wisconsin doctors giving phony sick notes so Teachers can collect taxpayer money while protesting. Again this is something every single person nationwide can understand. Let’s forget the dishonesty, violation of medical ethics , the great potential lawsuits and liability suits that are going to come from this and the sheer audacity of the act and consider one other thing. This is a political protest and the doctors are giving out notes based not on medical necessity but on their political beliefs.. The federal government last year passed over the objections of the voting public a national healthcare law “Obamacare”. One of the many objections to this law has been the possibility “political” decisions in medicine, well there it is for all to see. I wonder will the same people who have no problem with the doctor notes due to “stress” will be all in favor of giving notes on April 15th (a Friday) for Tea Party folk to protest nationwide?

Boom! Walker Reagan and Unions:

We have seen an awful lot on the 100th anniversary of the Birth of Ronald Reagan, a poll just out showed him picked as the greatest president of all time (I disagree, but that’s another post). The Reagan halography has been all over and one thing that has been reported on a lot was his confrontation with the Air Traffic Controller unions. You might remember that the media was uniformly against him in this (and almost everything) but it was a turning point. Now not two weeks after all of this pomp was on TV we have Scott Walker standing his ground against both. If you think that bloggers and viewers are not making the connection, you are wrong.

Boom! Hide and seek:

The Wisconsin Senate’s ride has continued all the way to Chicago (talk about the symbolism for the White House) and it has led to milk cartons and jokes. Forgetting the long-term damage it will do to any agenda they have and the Badger14 blog reports become more arrogant and their attempts to become sympathetic for abandoning their jobs are just not washing.

Boom! Remember that Civility thing?

Was it not even two months ago when the key word was civility? That we had to watch what we were saying and show respect? Well now that the “target” is a republican governor that is out the window. On Morning Joe today you have Mika twisting like a pretzel saying yes some signs are bad both others make a point. Suddenly the fierce moral imperative of civil discourse that we were drilled with for weeks is not longer such an imperative. Coming so soon after the stern media lectures it didn’t give people a chance to forget and speaking of signs…

Boom! Dictator Dictator who is a dictator?

One of the things I’ve noticed over the years is that people who have actually lived under a real dictatorship tend to be more conservative. Our friends on the left in Wisconsin have been throwing the dictator card out pretty freely.

Phil Hands for the Wisconsin state Journal via Disrupt the narrative

Today on Big Government we have a fellow of the left saying he would like Castro or Che rather than Walker (the better to shoot or imprison those who disagree with him I guess). It’s reached a point where the target is so big even cartoonists of the left are unable to miss it as illustrated. The cartoonist, Hands is a man of the left but the assertion that Walker is too much for him. As he put it:

I’m sorry, but Walker is not a despot or a dictator. He, and the rest of the republican clowns serving at the State Capital were elected, by a wide margin, by the people of Wisconsin. I find it ironic that the same day that thousands of people skipped work to rail against our “undemocratic” leader, fewer than a quarter of the registered voters in Madison bothered to vote in an actual election.

Personally I find it insulting to see people who are making 100k in wages plus benefits claiming to be under a dictator’s thumb when people living off of dollars a day are actually being shot by real dictators at the same time.

All of these have in common the fact that this can be easily understood by the general public. This is the critical distinction. Each of these things put democrats in a bad light, are supported by video and can’t be defended easily. On twitter It has been a struggle for people of the left who reflexively support these guys to do so. The hems and the haws have been very informative.

While some members of the GOP are getting wobbilly, I say man up. The reason why the left and the unions are screaming so loud is because they are losing both the argument and the visuals: as Powerline puts it:

I agree with Roger that this is a watershed moment. I think it is George Will who supplies the appropriate term for what we are seeing: “reactionary liberalism.” The petulant public employee unions and their associated goons swarming the Wisconsin capitol remind me of nothing so much as George Wallace blocking the schoolhouse door against integration, or the scenes, played out on national television in the early 1960s, of Democratic politicians whipping up mobs and setting dogs on civil rights marchers in the South. It was a clear sign the old order, also dedicated to preserving illegitimate privilege, was collapsing.

These protests aren’t a sign of strength, they are signs of weakness as the union bosses can’t quietly slip in the goodies they want. Or as even EJ Dionne acknowledges (and deplores) the Tea Party is winning.

I repeat the words of Sheridan: Ride Right through them, they’re demoralized as hell.

Update: I’m live at 5 for the first time! I’ll not let my new found fame change me.

My Andrew Breitbart Interview

Posted: February 20, 2011 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news, short films/interviews
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This morning I talked to Andrew Breitbart about his trip to Madison and what he saw:

DaTechGuy:
Why did you decide to go to Wisconsin?

Andrew Breitbart: The Democratic Party has used public sector unions as a weapon to intimidate. It’s a formula used state by state (Such as in searchlight) I’ve sensed that any time when Obama’s Organizing for America gets involved they are up to no good. So when I see them go up against the people I try to be there.

DTG:
How “managed” were the union crowds?

Breitbart: OFA was on their best behavior this time, in the past we’ve seen things such as the egging in Searchlight, the assault on Ken Gladney and more, but this time they are now noticing us with the camera and like Wile E. Coyote they are heading back to the Acme factory to find a new way to do things.

The vulgarity was present for all to see but they tried to be their best for the cameras which were everywhere. At yesterday’s rally there was a sea of double soy-latte Caucasian rage against fox news, “tea baggers”, and “Koch suckers” (referring to the Koch brothers). So were the signs comparing Scott Walker to Hitler and Mubarak.

DTG:
I see you mingled with the crowd on the left, I found it odd that you weren’t recognized

Breitbart: I wore a hat and glasses, walked about 300 yards with the crowd to where I was going as they chanted: Hey hey ho ho; Scott Walker has got to go!” This was actually after my speech; I was on the way to where I was going that when I ran into the doctors giving out the notes.

DTG:
Were you surprised at how open the docs were about writing those sick notes?

    Breitbart: First I want to give a Hat tip to the MacIiver institute that did the initial videos, but my mind is no longer blowable. I don’t think they understand how disturbing their letters were. They really believe that If their hearts are in the proper place they can do what they want. Remember we are coming off Lyla Rose’s Planned Parenthood videos. When you start looking at ACRON and Planned Parenthood and the rest they are considered and painted as the crown jewels of the left, but every office except for 1 you had employees turning a blind eye to immorality.

DTG:
What was your reaction to the left’s attempt to call your video “fake”?

Breitbart: The idea that our independent efforts to expose the left for what they are a sign that there is a market for people for it. I’m conspiring with any American truth teller or videographer who wants to expose the left, if they call it a conspiracy so be it.

DTG:
The unions and the left are going “all in “in Wisconsin why do you think that is the case?

Breitbart: It was a good place for them to do this, because of the template that can be replicated elsewhere because of the existing progressive organizations in the state. That’s why it was so important for the tea party and new media to show up to help show things for what they are

DTG:
I’ve suggested that the events in Wisconsin are a living breathing GOP/or tea party ad for 2012 do you agree.

Breitbart: I agree I think that the visuals, the Hitler stuff, going after the democratic process the way they do, when they call (Gov Scott) Walker a dictator when he was democratically elected, when they do this the protesters are trying to say their minority status trumps the majority. The visuals alone for the ad campaigns are a strong message against this.

DTG:
That being so how long can the MSM cover it up?

Breitbart: The acorn videos never played on ABC, NBC etc yet the America people where able to find out about it and Acorn is done. The more they deny the stories like the doctors slowly but surely the average American recognizes that they are not getting the truth. The MSM’s entire edifice is imploding. We’ve shaken the cage and the American People will see there is another way. There is a check and balance against them and it’s the new media

Update: Thanks to the Lonely Conservative for the link. The fair Miss Attila link also links and comments on the phony doctor notes and more. American Glob includes us in headlines and asks some questions.

BTW not to sound greedy but if you like the work, As I mentioned this morning I’m a couple of hundred short this month if you have an interest in kicking in I’d much appreciate it.

Isn’t this fraud?

Posted: February 19, 2011 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
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Gateway pundit is reporting from the rallies in Madison Wisconsin and notes something interesting:

UPDATE: Doctors have set up a booth to sign scripts for work absences.

So let me get this straight: Medical professionals are knowingly signing their names to a document attesting to an illness that is false in order to allow these workers to collect taxpayer money from the state.

I’m not a lawyer and don’t even play one on TV but wouldn’t this be fraud and an actionable offense?

Perhaps Ann, Glenn or William can answer that.

Update:

I’d drop that off to the DA stat

Update 2: The lonely conservative is all over it and Stacy now has something up.

Update 3: Little Miss Attila has an update as well consisting of other updates.

Update 4: Hey we are the left and the ends justify the means:

I just got off the phone with Luke Bacher. Luke is a staffer for freshman State Representative Tyler August (R) and was attending the event with his family on his day off today. Bacher was near the sound system when a man in his late 20s came over and just started yanking out wires. When Bacher attempted to put the wires back into the sound system, the man pushed Bacher back and started getting violent in his shoving as if trying to provoke a physical confrontation. Then he started pulling wires again before the police finally arrested him.

And of course Crooks and Liars lives up to their name, playing little truther games, because of course it can’t be true that democrats and liberals might do anything dishonest, oh and this Breitbart video must have been faked too. And Ann Althouse must be in on it too of course isn’t she?

The far left desire to justify itself requires far more faith than Christianity. This is quickly going to reach the point where even the MSM won’t be willing to continue to cover for these people.

Update 5: Speaking of Faith here is the Anchoress and more Stacy.

Update 6: Had a conversation with a liberal in twitter, after some time they finally admited the video was genuine and did not approve but quickly turned to Breitbart/Sherrod/Planned Parenthood. That more than anything else tells you why they go after Breitbart. They need to be able to ignore what he says so they attempt to Alinsky him. Like I said, liberalism has become a religion.

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