How did that work out the last time?

How will the labor movement rebound from two years of defeats in what had been home turf for unionism?  Politico previews their strategy to organize efforts to defeat Republicans in key gubernatorial elections in 2013 and 2014: Labor unions, stung by an unexpected setback in Michigan, where Republican Gov. Rick Snyder signed a right-to-work law [...]

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Fighting for their right to party.

When the teachers in Chicago walked out on strike this week, some wondered whether that might provide a boost to Barack Obama — perhaps an opportunity to intervene and resolve the issue.  Three days later, the Washington Post doesn’t sound too hopeful.  Given the fact that Obama’s first chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is now [...]

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Going where the votes are.

Color me skeptical on this argument — to a point. Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Al Checchi tells Fox News today that we can expect to see the Democratic Party and Big Labor going their separate ways after the recall election in Wisconsin — and perhaps especially the two city-wide pension-reform referendums in Checchi’s California, two [...]

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The watershed moment.

Actually, I don’t disagree with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on this point, but I do disagree with her on what it means.  Maddow argues that efforts to roll back collective bargaining privileges for unions — which she defines too broadly — means that unions will have less cash to spend on political activism, and that without [...]

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Plus, would Barrett cut benefits more than Walker?

Well, on one hand, it’s more robust than last night’s single Tweet.   On the other hand, an Election Day e-mail blast isn’t exactly wrapping your arms around an ally: President Barack Obama followed up his tweet in support of Mayor Tom Barrett’s efforts to unseat Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker today with a blast email to [...]

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"Whether my neighbor voted or not is none of my business."

Late last week, the progressive group Greater Wisconsin Political Fund sent mailers to registered voters in the state demanding that people hold their neighbors accountable for their vote.  Jazz Shaw wrote about it this weekend, linking back to a first-person account from Ann Althouse, who posted the mailer on her blog, and our own Madison [...]

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Obama avoids it, that's what.

Popquiz, hotshots*: You have public-employee unions that force public-sector employees to pay dues and make the state act as their bagman.  The state refuses to collect dues and changes the law to make dues and union membership entirely voluntary.  What do people do? That’s easy … they quit paying the dues: Public-employee unions in Wisconsin [...]

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Plus, did Milwaukee misreport violent crime?

Will Wisconsin voters make their decision in the June 5 recall election based on their pocketbooks or their principles?  For everyone except union organizers, that choice won’t be necessary.  Wisconsin voters can cast their ballots to rebuke Democrats for an unnecessary recall as well as reward Walker for saving them a lot of money — [...]

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Rematch.

Rasmussen gets out of the gate first in post-primary polling for Wisconsin’s gubernatorial recall election, and the news is … mixed.  Scott Walker has a small but significant lead among likely voters against Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, who sailed to victory over Big Labor candidate Kathleen Falk in the Democratic primary:  Embattled Republican Governor Scott [...]

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Costs.

Democrats and Big Labor — pardon the redundancy, but it matters in this story — teamed up to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, and a handful of Republican state senators over the public-employee union reforms passed by Walker and the state legislature.  One would then expect that the recall election would [...]

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Lifeline, please.

That will be the real question for Wisconsin voters in June, when recall elections take place. The state has balanced its books under Scott Walker and a Republican-led state legislature, which closed a big budget hole without raising taxes — and in some cases, lowering them.  The effort saved Badger State taxpayers more than a [...]

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70 million reasons why.

Small wonder Democrats poll so poorly against Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin, even when surveys come from their own allies.  Their two main candidates in the recall election in June have both demanded an end to the caps imposed on property-tax hikes implemented by Walker and Republicans in the legislature — even though they balanced [...]

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Double dose of Democrat downers.

The Government Accountability Board will meet at 9 am tomorrow to set the ballot for all six recall elections (for governor, lieutenant governor and four state Senate seats). The staff has recommended that the Board reject the Democrat Party of Wisconsin’s attempt to toss the 6 “protest candidates” the Republican Party of Wisconsin recruited to [...]

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Delivering.

The unions have succeeded in putting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s recall on the ballot in June, but perhaps less well known is that his running mate Rebecca Kleefisch is included in that recall, along with a handful of legislators. The Republican Lieutenant Governors Association (RLGA) has begun an ad buy in Wisconsin defending Kleefisch’s performance [...]

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Not a political act?

Gannett Wisconsin thought they had a big scoop when they exposed 29 sitting judges in the state that signed petitions for the recall of Governor Scott Walker.  Unfortunately, the scoop blew up in their face when they had to admit this weekend that nearly as many of their own reporters had signed the same petitions.  [...]

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Plus, a Rust Belt Revolution?

Unions and Democrats — but I repeat myself — insist that they need to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker because of his arrogance and unreasonable approach to governing in shoving public-employee union reforms through the legislature after, er, campaigning in part on the issue.  How reasonable are unions and Democrats prepared to be if they [...]

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