At least, so it appears.
Scott Walker, the poster boy of lick-clean-the-monied-anus right-wingism, has evidently managed, awash in a sea of out-of-state funds, to secure his seat.
But there is hope. His head could end up on a pike.
The Right-Wing Scum Have Bought Yet Another Election
The Right-Wing Scum Have Bought Yet Another Election
Reason is valuable only when it performs against the wordless physical background of the universe.
Re: The Right-Wing Scum Have Bought Yet Another Election
Thank you Andrew for posting a typical vacuous reaction to the drubbing that Democrats and public employee unions got in Wisconsin yesterday.
Dems will focus on the apparently vast differential in money spent by the two sides, but will not acknowledge that both public and private sector unions from Wisconsin and around the country provided tens of millions in in-kind contributions that were not counted in the official totals.
And surely, nobody could be so dense as to think that a lack of information by the voting public affected the results. Every Badger walking into that voting booth knew EXACTLY what the issues and the stakes were, and in state that is about the Reddest of the Red, Walker walked away with a fairly comfortable victory - happily so, because if the result had been within fraudulent reach, the Dems would certainly have stolen it through a recount or otherwise.
Ironically, with the Unionists shouting from the rooftops that Walker's "anti-union" initiatives MUST be overturned, his Democrat opponent pretty much conceded that the changes were efficacious, and never even hinted that they would be rolled back if he won the election.
Exit polls, unreliable as they are, indicate that even with this voter-ratification of Walker's initiatives, Barry still holds a significant lead in the Wisconsin presidential race, thus confirming the mountain that Walker had to overcome to win this battle.
I feel like my favorite team just won the Super Bowl. FINALLY, a public official with the balls to confront the excesses of government employee unions has taken a stand and had it supported by the electorate. It appears that the same thing has happened to a lesser extent in California, where two local measures to curtail public employee pensions also passed yesterday.
There is hope for America.
Dems will focus on the apparently vast differential in money spent by the two sides, but will not acknowledge that both public and private sector unions from Wisconsin and around the country provided tens of millions in in-kind contributions that were not counted in the official totals.
And surely, nobody could be so dense as to think that a lack of information by the voting public affected the results. Every Badger walking into that voting booth knew EXACTLY what the issues and the stakes were, and in state that is about the Reddest of the Red, Walker walked away with a fairly comfortable victory - happily so, because if the result had been within fraudulent reach, the Dems would certainly have stolen it through a recount or otherwise.
Ironically, with the Unionists shouting from the rooftops that Walker's "anti-union" initiatives MUST be overturned, his Democrat opponent pretty much conceded that the changes were efficacious, and never even hinted that they would be rolled back if he won the election.
Exit polls, unreliable as they are, indicate that even with this voter-ratification of Walker's initiatives, Barry still holds a significant lead in the Wisconsin presidential race, thus confirming the mountain that Walker had to overcome to win this battle.
I feel like my favorite team just won the Super Bowl. FINALLY, a public official with the balls to confront the excesses of government employee unions has taken a stand and had it supported by the electorate. It appears that the same thing has happened to a lesser extent in California, where two local measures to curtail public employee pensions also passed yesterday.
There is hope for America.
Re: The Right-Wing Scum Have Bought Yet Another Election
"...
Suppose any party, in addition to whatever share it may possess of the ability of the community, has nearly the whole of its stupidity, that party must, by the law of its constitution, be the stupidest party; and I do not see why honorable gentlemen should see that position as at all offensive to them, for it ensures their being always an extremely powerful party.... There is so much dense, solid force in sheer stupidity, that any body of able men with that force pressing behind them may ensure victory in many a struggle, and many a victory the Conservative party has gained through that power."
... "
JS Mill
yrs,
rubato
Suppose any party, in addition to whatever share it may possess of the ability of the community, has nearly the whole of its stupidity, that party must, by the law of its constitution, be the stupidest party; and I do not see why honorable gentlemen should see that position as at all offensive to them, for it ensures their being always an extremely powerful party.... There is so much dense, solid force in sheer stupidity, that any body of able men with that force pressing behind them may ensure victory in many a struggle, and many a victory the Conservative party has gained through that power."
... "
JS Mill
yrs,
rubato
Re: The Right-Wing Scum Have Bought Yet Another Election
Fixed that for you.dgs49 wrote:YET AGAIN, a public official who cravenly sucks the asshole of corporate tyranny has managed to deceive the electorate.
What do you have against working Americans, dgs49?
Reason is valuable only when it performs against the wordless physical background of the universe.
Re: The Right-Wing Scum Have Bought Yet Another Election
But completely expected, no?
Treat Gaza like Carthage.
Re: The Right-Wing Scum Have Bought Yet Another Election
What is your problem with unions, dgs49? They represent working people -- plain, ordinary, get-up-and-go-to-a-dull-job-five-days-a-week-because-you-have-to-pay-the-rent-somehow people.
Capital has no problem getting its interests represented in public-policy matters. Capital owns one of America's two largest parties, and it owns a big chunk of the other.
And capital does not need to organize. ExxonMobil has plenty of weight to throw around all by itself.
But an ordinary American does not. A single worker, up against a large corporation, will simply get squashed. So in order to have anything even remotely resembling a level playing field -- and what we have now is not at all level; capital has by far the upper hand -- workers have to organize and bargain collectively.
That is not news. Economists of all political stripes have recognized it for generations. Why don't you?
Capital has no problem getting its interests represented in public-policy matters. Capital owns one of America's two largest parties, and it owns a big chunk of the other.
And capital does not need to organize. ExxonMobil has plenty of weight to throw around all by itself.
But an ordinary American does not. A single worker, up against a large corporation, will simply get squashed. So in order to have anything even remotely resembling a level playing field -- and what we have now is not at all level; capital has by far the upper hand -- workers have to organize and bargain collectively.
That is not news. Economists of all political stripes have recognized it for generations. Why don't you?
Reason is valuable only when it performs against the wordless physical background of the universe.
Re: The Right-Wing Scum Have Bought Yet Another Election
US Republican candidate Mitt Romney raised almost $17m (£11m) more than President Barack Obama's re-election effort in May, figures show.
Mr Romney and the Republicans raised $76.8m, while the Obama campaign and the Democratic Party brought in $60m.
Mr Romney now has $107m cash on hand, almost matching the $115m Mr Obama's campaign had by the end of April.
Mr Obama's May total included $15m raised at the home of George Clooney, with tickets costing $40,000.
Members of the public also bought $3 raffle tickets to win a spot at that star-studded event.
Both presidential candidates are in the midst of a hectic fund-raising schedule as they prepare for the long campaign ahead of November's election.
Mr Obama is campaigning this week in California and Nevada, while Mr Romney has been in Texas.
The monthly campaign fundraising totals do not include millions of dollars being raised and spent by independent committees backing each campaign.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18358616
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: The Right-Wing Scum Have Bought Yet Another Election
My dearest Andrew:
I have no "problem" whatsoever with unions or collective bargaining, in the proper context. I have worked for many employers who oppressed their employees (including, most poignantly, ME) sixteen ways from Sunday, and got away with a variety of strategems including, firing "troublemakers," ensuring such rapid turnover that collecting signature cards was an exercise in futility, spreading rumors about employees, and so on. I have personally signed cards to request organization and passed them around to other employees.
But these jobs were with private companies that were trying to make a buck in a competitive marketplace, and that's where unions are needed. Organize Wal-Mart, for Christ's sake!
In the private sector, when a CBU and an employer sit across the table from one another, they BOTH have their vital interests at stake. The CBU wants to get the best possible pay, benefits, and working conditions for its members, and the employer knows that if it gives away too much in any area, its competitive position can be dramatically impacted, thus leading to the real possibility of the demise of the enterprise. The CBU cannot be unmindful of that possibility, either, as they also "lose" if the company loses money or goes out of business.
But none of this applies to the Employer's side of the negotiation in the public sector. It cannot lose money, it cannot go out of business, and if it is "too generous," the ramifications for the employer are de minimis. In fact, if they are too generous, some of the people on the employer's side WILL ACTUALLY BENEFIT, as the non-CBU government employees will likely get the same increases and improvements that they gave away to the CBU at the negotiating table.
And lurking behind the actual negotiators for Management are politicians, who also benefit from the Employer "giving away the store."
This Devil's Bargain has proven disastrous in state and local governments around the country, as anyone who reads the newspapers is aware.
Scott Walker has merely taken a few baby steps in the direction of balancing the equities of public sector employment in Wisconsin. For the affected government employees, their sacrifice has been - and will be - minimal; they will slowly creep to to the point (one would hope) where their compensation and benefits are in some way comparable to those of similarly-situated employees in Wisconsin's private sector.
I find it perverse that partisans often speak of "hard-working" people, when they refer to unionized employees. Indeed, Democrats seem to be fixated on the concept that the only "working" people that matter are the ones who are union members and union aspirants.
But as we all know from experience, most "hard-working people" are decidedly NOT union members, and the "dirty little secret" of unionization is that it discourages "hard work," in favor of "doing as little as possible without actually going to sleep on the job." Management in "organized" companies is largely a matter of extracting gainful work out of people who resist it as much as possible.
God bless the many, many unionized laborers, craftsmen, and other workers who put in a good day's work IN SPITE of the fact that they have the union supporting them, because they take pride in themselves and in what they produce. But the fact that they are union members tends to encourage being a slacker, because unions exist to support the WORST of the employees, and not the most productive - who benefit not at all from their membership.
You would never know it to hear a Democrat talk, but the real hard workers in this society are the ones who have gone to college (or not) and become professionals, managers, entrepreneurs, and solid employees. These are the ones whose cars are seen in the parking lots before and after normal working hours, and on weekends, and who are taking home briefcases full of papers every night (not that I am one of that sort). What do unions offer people such as these? Nothing.
90% (roughly) of private sector workers somehow manage to survive without the protections of a CBU. Must be something wrong with these people, eh?
I have no "problem" whatsoever with unions or collective bargaining, in the proper context. I have worked for many employers who oppressed their employees (including, most poignantly, ME) sixteen ways from Sunday, and got away with a variety of strategems including, firing "troublemakers," ensuring such rapid turnover that collecting signature cards was an exercise in futility, spreading rumors about employees, and so on. I have personally signed cards to request organization and passed them around to other employees.
But these jobs were with private companies that were trying to make a buck in a competitive marketplace, and that's where unions are needed. Organize Wal-Mart, for Christ's sake!
In the private sector, when a CBU and an employer sit across the table from one another, they BOTH have their vital interests at stake. The CBU wants to get the best possible pay, benefits, and working conditions for its members, and the employer knows that if it gives away too much in any area, its competitive position can be dramatically impacted, thus leading to the real possibility of the demise of the enterprise. The CBU cannot be unmindful of that possibility, either, as they also "lose" if the company loses money or goes out of business.
But none of this applies to the Employer's side of the negotiation in the public sector. It cannot lose money, it cannot go out of business, and if it is "too generous," the ramifications for the employer are de minimis. In fact, if they are too generous, some of the people on the employer's side WILL ACTUALLY BENEFIT, as the non-CBU government employees will likely get the same increases and improvements that they gave away to the CBU at the negotiating table.
And lurking behind the actual negotiators for Management are politicians, who also benefit from the Employer "giving away the store."
This Devil's Bargain has proven disastrous in state and local governments around the country, as anyone who reads the newspapers is aware.
Scott Walker has merely taken a few baby steps in the direction of balancing the equities of public sector employment in Wisconsin. For the affected government employees, their sacrifice has been - and will be - minimal; they will slowly creep to to the point (one would hope) where their compensation and benefits are in some way comparable to those of similarly-situated employees in Wisconsin's private sector.
I find it perverse that partisans often speak of "hard-working" people, when they refer to unionized employees. Indeed, Democrats seem to be fixated on the concept that the only "working" people that matter are the ones who are union members and union aspirants.
But as we all know from experience, most "hard-working people" are decidedly NOT union members, and the "dirty little secret" of unionization is that it discourages "hard work," in favor of "doing as little as possible without actually going to sleep on the job." Management in "organized" companies is largely a matter of extracting gainful work out of people who resist it as much as possible.
God bless the many, many unionized laborers, craftsmen, and other workers who put in a good day's work IN SPITE of the fact that they have the union supporting them, because they take pride in themselves and in what they produce. But the fact that they are union members tends to encourage being a slacker, because unions exist to support the WORST of the employees, and not the most productive - who benefit not at all from their membership.
You would never know it to hear a Democrat talk, but the real hard workers in this society are the ones who have gone to college (or not) and become professionals, managers, entrepreneurs, and solid employees. These are the ones whose cars are seen in the parking lots before and after normal working hours, and on weekends, and who are taking home briefcases full of papers every night (not that I am one of that sort). What do unions offer people such as these? Nothing.
90% (roughly) of private sector workers somehow manage to survive without the protections of a CBU. Must be something wrong with these people, eh?
Re: The Right-Wing Scum Have Bought Yet Another Election
And yet more money is spent each year here trying to help us decide which detergents to use to make our clothes, dishes and body the cleanest.Gob wrote:US Republican candidate Mitt Romney raised almost $17m (£11m) more than President Barack Obama's re-election effort in May, figures show.
Mr Romney and the Republicans raised $76.8m, while the Obama campaign and the Democratic Party brought in $60m.
Mr Romney now has $107m cash on hand, almost matching the $115m Mr Obama's campaign had by the end of April.
And none of that huge amount of cash decided the Wisconsin governor's recall race, where the voters ended up where they were two years ago and several months ago before all the money, left and right, was spent. Recall, Obama had far more money to spend than McCain. Money was not the reason Obama won; Obama was the vastly superior candidate as both candidates had enough money to make their case. Similarly, in Wisconsin, both had more than enough money and people power to explain their positions. Whether it was a rebuke to a nonsensical recall or a vote in favor of reigning in the perceived excesses of public employee compensation, this was a reflection of the actual sentiment of taxpayers. Ask the 70% of the voters down the Bay in San Jose.
Re: The Right-Wing Scum Have Bought Yet Another Election
That's right, dgs49: Thanks to congressional Republicans, the tiny few live lavishly, while most ordinary working Americans merely "manage to survive".
Thanks for admitting what your party believes is the best of all possible worlds.
And please stop with the bullshit about Republicans' opposing only public-sector unions. The Republican party, as represented by its leaders, hate all organized labor -- private as much as public.
That is why the congressional Republicans were all geared up to shut down the FAA -- i.e, to bring air traffic to a complete halt -- in order to force a union-busting statutory provision aimed at private-sector unions, not public-sector unions.
That provision was bought and paid for by the airlines (most prominently Delta), and the congressional Republicans were willing to shut down all US air traffic in order to force it through. Public-sector unions had nothing to do with it; private-sector unions were the target.
Why? Because the essential function of the Republican legislator is to lick clean the corporate anus.
Thanks for admitting what your party believes is the best of all possible worlds.
And please stop with the bullshit about Republicans' opposing only public-sector unions. The Republican party, as represented by its leaders, hate all organized labor -- private as much as public.
That is why the congressional Republicans were all geared up to shut down the FAA -- i.e, to bring air traffic to a complete halt -- in order to force a union-busting statutory provision aimed at private-sector unions, not public-sector unions.
That provision was bought and paid for by the airlines (most prominently Delta), and the congressional Republicans were willing to shut down all US air traffic in order to force it through. Public-sector unions had nothing to do with it; private-sector unions were the target.
Why? Because the essential function of the Republican legislator is to lick clean the corporate anus.
Reason is valuable only when it performs against the wordless physical background of the universe.