Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Which Side Are You On



By Jeff Simpson

Yesterday I pointed out that the weekend messages between Mary Burke, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and Scott Walker is virtually indistinguishable.

Apparently Zach @bloggingblue took some umbrage with pointing out the truth, so he dug up an OLD quote from Marty Beil.

The problem is, and I know that Zach understands this, that quote is 3 years old when the state was incredibly different.   In 2010 the left and all of their supporters got their ass kicked badly in the election.   They knew that the first thing that the republicans would do is come to them for their pound of flesh.

The union leadership understood this and offered it up.  As  John Mccain says "elections have consequences" and when 40% of the union membership votes for people who want their scalp, then you have to pay the piper when those people get elected.  That is the way the world works these days. 

So to use a three year old quote that was said while ACT10 was being debated, is downright dishonest.   It also assumes that the world or the state has not changed since then.   In the real world, we know that ACT10 was an abject failure.   It has been responsible for the state lagging behind in pretty much economic indicator that is measurable.

If you want to compare what Mary Burke says now to what Marty Beil says now, you should ask him!

Sly did just that yesterday:



"For her to say they should have paid more is a stupid thing to say" Marty Biel











17 comments:

  1. Bad analysis in so many ways. Pulling a single thread and then claiming that proves the validity of the whole cloth is silly.

    To say there is no difference between Walker and Burke is just plain wrong. But, your argument really ignores the situation immediately before Walker's coronation. The unions were reconciled with the fact that they'd be paying more for their pensions, even if Barrett hadn't proven to be an unelectable mope.

    I'm not a Mary Burke fan, but smearing her with faulty logic doesn't advance anyone's cause

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    1. You and Jeff are both right. Burke's position on Act 10 is not the same as Walker's and it is insulting to say it is. However, Burke implies in the Isthmus interview that concessions happened because Act 10 was passed into law. The unions agreed to those outside of Act 10 mandates, but Walker and WisGOP decided to IMPOSE those contributions outside of a union agreement.

      That's my problem with Burke's response, is that it assumes the GOP position of "unions would never accept concessions, why is why we had to do Act 10." THIS IS FALSE.

      Burke isn't as bad as Walker and neither is Abele, but just because both are true doesn't mean we shouldn't demand more, nor be prohibited from looking to someone else to end the Walker era.

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    2. I think it goes beyond that. Burke is stating that concessions were necessary to balance the budget.

      They were necessary only in that the republicans were going to take their pound of flesh from the working class and would never touch the upper 1% because that is THEIR base.

      The cuts did not have to be to balance the budget. We did not have to send some public workers to food stamps to balance the state budget.

      Delete
    3. She also said that the union members needed to pay "their fair share" as if their negotiated contracts, agreed to by both sides, which over the years had included lower or no raises specifically so they could keep health care costs low, were not fair. That's the part I don't like.

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  2. The point is the message is the exact same coming from the Walker camp as it is coming from the Burke camp.

    Yes the unions were reconciled with the fact that they would be paying more, I wrote that above.

    The problem with Burke is, 3 years removed from the Act 10 battle we see what a horrible bill it was so why would she then say it was needed to "balance the budget'?

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  3. The book Death Of the Liberal Class demonstrates why Mary Burke and most of the democratic leadership will alwYs fail unless playing good cop to the republicans bad cop is somehow winning

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  4. Someone should ask Burke what the saving were when act ten was used to cut Uw hospital employees wages which in fact are payed from the fees the hospital collects rather than from tax dollars

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  5. Dear Democratic Party, The people don't want Act 10. That's what the biggest demonstrations in our state's history were all about. We need at least one party which gets it.

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    1. At least half the state supports unions. Like me, I've never been in a union but I support their right to collectively bargain.

      Also, at least half the state is sick to death of the corruption in the Walker administration and the divisiveness in which Walker excels.

      Delete
  6. Let's be honest here, the "Unions" agreed to concessions without ever asking their members. As a union activist and negotiator, I found that very irritating. The fact is public unions paid various amounts toward their health insurance pre-Act 10, various plans, deductibles etc. No one ever asked me at the table in thirty plus years of bargaining to pay half of my WRS contribution.
    The Democrats need to start putting bills on the floor, now, dealing with Act 10, at the very least the unfairness of the union certification piece. We didn't get the previous law at once and we won't get Collective Bargaining back with one election.

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  7. When did Burke say public workers should pay more?

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  8. So - I listened to the the real Marty interview - I did not hear Marty say that.

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  9. BTW - your Sly link is messed up.

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  10. Sly's interpretation of Burke's statement is a little bit out of wack especially in hiw he quotes Burke. She didn't say "yes" in that manner.

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  11. WHAT DO WE WANT?
    A PROGRESSIVE!
    WHEN DO WE NEED IT?
    NOW!

    We need a Primary, with a Progressive, it will turn out the votes need to defeat Walker and begin to clean up the mess he created.

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  12. Anonymous DPW staffer at 6:30- What part of this statement don't you understand from Burke?

    "Yes, I do believe [state employees] paying a fair share of health care and pension costs is something we needed in order to be able to balance the budget."

    Don't try to BS us, kiddo. Dealing with the reality-based world is a big reason why we're not GOPpers. And your type trying to lie to us (and not have the guts to put your name on it) convinces a lot of us of the need for a primary even more.

    Listen, don't talk.

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  13. What upsets me most about Act 10 is the lies the Republicans told about the state employees compensation package. I'm with you Jake, the Burke remark is terrible. Is she ignorant or not going to tell the truth?

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