The Republican Governors Association has a new television ad defending Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in his Kerfuffle with the Obama campaign machine, and Obama's suddenly stealthy union support, over certain Bargaining rights for Wisconsin public workers' unions:
"It's a sea of red ink in Madison and while senate Democrats are fleeing their responsibility, governor Walker is leading. . . . In Wisconsin, leaders don't run away from tough problems like the senate democrats. Instead they stand and lead, like governor Scott Walker."
Democrats are wondering why President Obama isn't speaking out in support of the public workers' unions in Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio. Several, including Representatives Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Chellie Pingree of Maine, and Judy Chu of California have urged Obama to do more to stand by public employees.
They have a point.
Obama did accuse Gov. Walker of an "assault" on unions and it was widely reported that the White House political operation -- Organizing for America and the Democratic National Committee, got involved to build crowds for demonstrations at the Wisconsin Capital and elsewhere.
When it became clear how unpopular supporting the public unions had become, Obama slinked away from the Wisconsin union fight. Obama wasn't always so reticent to display his union label.
Presidential candidate Obama specifically promised to walk the picket line if workers' collective bargaining rights are denied when he's in the White House. Not only that, presidential candidate Obama told the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) membership that they share a common agenda -- "your [SEIU] agenda's been my agenda." On another occasion presidential candidate Barack Obama reminded a campaign crowd that he is firmly tied to the SEIU.
Obama's Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked about the "Wisconsin situation," the calls of Ellison and others for Obama to stand with the Wisconsin public workers' unions and Obama's promise to walk the picket line at the February 25, 2010 press briefing. Carney didn't want anything to do with the questions. Especially after polls found Obama’s leadership rating fell to a new record low and two-thirds of likely voters disapprove of Wisconsin legislators fleeing the state to avoid their duty to vote on Governor Walker's plan to restrict certain bargaining rights of public workers' unions.
All Carney would offer, in an effort to hide Obama's previously proudly-worn union label, was a more politically acceptable call for the parties to come together and reach a solution.
Addressing Service Employees International Union (SEIU) members on January 5, 2008, presidential candidate Barack Obama reminded the crowd that he is firmly tied to the SEIU:
I come from an organizing background. I've been working with the SEIU before I was elected to anything. When I was a community organizer SEIU Local 880 and myself we organized people ... we organized voter registration drives. That's how we developed political power on the South side of Chicago.... And now the time has come for us to do it all across this country. We are going to paint the nation purple with SEIU.
SEIU I'm glad you are with me. Let's together change the country.
Then Obama leads the crowd in an SEIU chant, SEIU, SEIU, SEIU ....
In a November 3, 2007 speech in Spartanburg, South Carolina, presidential candidate Barack Obama promised to walk the "picket line":
"And understand this: If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I'm in the White House, I'll put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself, I'll will walk on that picket line with you as President of the United States of America. Because workers deserve to know that somebody is standing in their corner."
In a September 17, 2007 speech to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) membership, presidential candidate Barack Obama revealed more than solidarity with the SEIU admitting they share a common agenda -- "your [SEIU] agenda's been my agenda," and that he consults with Union before debating health care and immigration issues.
Obama makes those admissions at the about the 3:16 mark in the following video:
Congressman Paul Ryan gets it exactly right concerning the Wisconsin legislators fleeing the state to avoid their duty to vote.
I didn't like the legislation that was moving through Washington the last two years -- I didn't like cap and trade, I didn't like ObamaCare, I didn't like the stimulus. But I didn't walk out. We stayed and did our jobs. We voted, we tried to amend, we made our debates . . . Elections have consequences. They won, we lost. That's the way it works. So I just don't understand this lack of respect for the rule of law." -- Congressman Paul Ryan
I have nothing to add but Congressman Ryan went on to talk about how achieving fiscal responsibility does not have to be a partisan issue.
Two-thirds of likely voters disapprove of Wisconsin legislators fleeing the stat to avoid their duty to vote.
New Rasmussen Reports polling finds America’s voters strongly oppose Wisconsin state senators fleebagging tactics to avoid a vote that would restrict collective bargaining rights for government workers' unions.
Only 25% of likely U.S. Voters approve of this failed 2003-vintage Democrat tactic.
Sizable majorities of Republicans and Independents reject legislators shirking their duty in this obstructionist manner. But Democrats are divided, with 48% approving and 44% disapproving.
Based on Zogby's "Red State/Blue State/Green State" poll, Brad O'Leary argues that Wisconsin and Indiana union protests could spell trouble for Democrats:
The union riots in Wisconsin and Indiana might be good business for the likes of Jesse Jackson, but should the unions prevail, it would almost certainly spell trouble for Democrats in the next election cycle.
After throwing the weight of the presidency and its campaign apparatus behind the Wisconsin public workers' unions, the Obama regime is now backing away. The New York Times reports the regime claims it did "nothing to encourage the demonstrations in Wisconsin."
This latest bit of Obama trying to have it both ways can only mean someone has read the polls and knows Obama blew it.
Last week President Obama and his reelection organs -- Organizing for America and the Democratic National Committee, went all in with support for the Wisconsin public workers' unions in the kerfuffle with Governor Scott Walker over the state's budget.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that Obama "thrust himself and his political operation this week into Wisconsin's broiling budget battle, mobilizing opposition to legislation that would curb public-worker benefits and planning similar protests in other state capitals." According to the Post:
Obama accused went so far as to accuse Gov. Walker of an "assault" on unions.
The president's political machine worked in close coordination with state and national union officials to get thousands of protesters to gather in Madison and to plan similar demonstrations in other state capitals.
Democrat Party officials were organizing additional demonstrations in Ohio and Indiana, where an effort is underway to trim benefits for public workers.
The White House political operation, Organizing for America, got involved Monday, after Democratic National Committee Chairman Kaine spoke to union leaders in Madison. The group made phone calls, distributed messages via Twitter and Facebook, and sent e-mails to state and national lists to try to build crowds for rallies Wednesday and Thursday, a party official said.
Politico's Ben Smith and Glenn Thrush also separately reported the Involvement of Obama and his political operation, as did ABC's Devin Dwyer.
Now Obama is trying to disown his support for the Wisconsin public unions because it is as monumental a political blunder as was the Obamacrats cramming the unpopular ObamaCare down our throats in the face strong public opposition. Like the ObamaCare, Public workers' unions are not popular.
Last week Rasmussen Reports released a poll that found 70% of likely voters think voters are more willing to make the hard choices needed to reduce federal spending than elected politicians are. Fifty-five percent (55%) don’t think President Obama’s proposed $3.7 trillion 2012 budget includes enough spending cuts, and 40% of don’t think the GOP spending cuts go far enough either.
Also, A poll from the Clarus Group found that 64% do not think that government employees should be represented by labor unions.
Perhaps more important, Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll finds Obama's popularity has returned to pre-tax deal levels. Obama's Strongly Disapprove numbers are back in 40% range, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -18. These are similar to disapproval ratings Obama had during the midterms when the Democrats got shellacked.
Fred Barnes writes about what he sees as the "Worst Case Scenario" - an Obama administration and a heavily Democratic Congress:
If this scenario unfolds, Washington would become a solidly liberal town again for the first time in decades. And the prospects of passing the liberal agenda--nearly all of it--would be bright. Enacting major parts of it would be even brighter. You can forget about bipartisanship.
Start with "card check." It would permit organized labor to unionize the private sector without winning a certification election by secret ballot. It's easy to get workers to sign cards saying they want a union, but it's hard to get them to vote that way when labor organizers aren't hounding them. Card check is labor's last hope for more dues-paying union members.
Unions simply aren't popular and neither is card check. But it passed the House last year, only to be blocked in the Senate by a Republican filibuster. In 2009, with Washington controlled by Democrats, it would sail through Congress and President Obama would sign it. After all, neither Obama nor congressional Democrats have bucked organized labor even once.
In his speech in Virginia Beach yesterday, Senator McCain took on Obama's knee jerk support for big labor:
"Senator Obama is measuring the drapes (in the White House), and planning with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to … take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections."
CNN Political Ticker did a fact check on McCain's statement:
The Facts
McCain is referring to a plan supported by labor union leaders. Currently, workers must get a majority of their colleagues to sign an authorization form to ask for union representation — then hold a secret-ballot vote to finalize it. The change Obama supports would let a union be recognized by the National Labor Relations Board immediately after a majority of workers sign the authorization.
Supporters of the change, including the AFL-CIO and other unions, say it would cut down on the ability of employers to pressure their workers to vote against a union. Business groups, meanwhile, say the opposite — that the secret ballot allows workers who don't want to unionize to publicly sign off on the plan, pleasing union leaders, then privately vote against it.
The change is part of the Employee Free-Choice Act, which Obama co-sponsored. The plan is designed to make it easier to create unions in the workplace, and both supporters and opponents agree it would increase the number of union members in the United States. Backers say it will lead to better wages and benefits for workers and increase the size of the middle class, while opponents say it will hurt businesses by costing them more at a time when profits for many are already thin.
The bill passed the House last year by a vote of 241-185. It was also supported in the Senate, 51-48 — but that didn't reach the 60 votes that would have been needed to survive a filibuster on a final vote. That's also not enough to override a veto by President Bush, who is against it. Obama and running mate Sen. Joe Biden voted on June 26, 2007, to move the bill forward, while McCain voted against it.
Verdict:
True. McCain accurately represents Obama's stance, although the candidates disagree on the merits of the plan. Organized labor backs Obama's position, while business groups and some non-union workers support McCain's.
McCain isn't the only one upset about the effort of big unions and Democrats to take away the right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections. Even the Democrats' former presidential nominee, George McGovern, thinks it's a terrible idea.
Watch the following video, in which McGovern explains why he opposes with what the Democrats have the nerve to call the "Employee Free Choice Act:"
Hillary's Pennsylvania Primary victory celebration is being held in the Bellevue-Stratford hotel, a nonunion hotel and the location of the first recognized outbreak of Legionnaires' disease.
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