…writes Doug Powers
in his post If Ya Can’t Beat ‘Em, Extort ‘Em
MichelleMalkin.com
3/12/2011
WTMJ radio has a letter that was apparently sent last week to Wisconsin business owners who supported Scott Walker for governor.
The crux of the threat is as predictable as the sun rising in the east or a visit from Jesse Jackson wherever there’s a media horde and the irresistible “moth to bug zapper” draw from television camera lights:
In the event that you cannot support this effort to save collective bargaining, please be advised that the undersigned will publicly and formally boycott the goods and services provided by your company. However, if you join us, we will do everything in our power to publicly celebrate your partnership in the fight to preserve the right of public employees to be heard at the bargaining table.
Read the letter, signed by members from a teachers’ union, a couple of police associations, a fire fighters’ local and other Wisconsin illuminaries, at MichelleMalkin.com. We were wondering…does this mean the police and fire fighters won’t answer calls from pro-Walker businesses…and is that legal?
The letter also reminded us of this:
Related: Fleebaggers Return to Wisconsin Capitol After Skipping State for 3 Weeks and Wisconsin Republicans Advised to Skip St. Patrick’s Day Parade Due to Death Threats
Todd Herbst from Cross Plains, Wisconsin pickets in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol Building in Madison, Wisconsin March 12, 2011. (Reuters)
At GatewayPundit:
…66%, or two of every three, swing voters support Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) in the latest national poll conducted by the Free Enterprise Nation.
PR Newswire reported, via Free Republic:
The Free Enterprise Nation (FEN) today released the results of a national poll that shows strong support for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker among Independent voters. The poll of voters outside of Wisconsin, taken from March 3rd to March 9th, included 500 Democrat, 500 Republican and 500 Independent voters.
FEN spokesman, Jim MacDougald stated that “This poll contradicts some of the other polls we’ve seen. According to our poll, 95% of Republicans agree with the Governor, and 92% of Democrats agree with the union. There is not much of a surprise there. But 66% of Independent voters agree with the Governor, and this group is what swings most elections.”
The support for the Governor’s position was even stronger when the question specifically addressed his plan to require teachers to pay 5.8% of their salary toward their pension and 12.6% of their health insurance costs, with 71% of all respondents saying that measure was fair.
When asked if it is good public policy to allow public sector workers to retire at age 55 or earlier, 61% of all voters said “no”, and they were evenly divided when asked if public sector employees should be allowed to unionize with 48% against, 48% for, and 4% undecided…
Also at GatewayPundit, Iowa House Votes to Curtail Public Employee Bargaining Rights
Update: Wisconsin: The Union Thug veto over who gets to attend parades (with video), and Wisconsin cops & firemen break their oaths:
…It would seem that loyalty to their union masters take precedence over loyalty to the people of Wisconsin…public sector union members are supposedly public servants – and they are expected to avoid even the hint of impropriety in their labor disputes. This is a barely-veiled threat from the cops and the firemen that organizations subject to the anti-labor reform boycott cannot expect a prompt and effective response from them in case of emergency. Simply put, there are different standards of behavior for emergency responders. Stricter ones, because being a repository of the public trust carries with it an expectation of behavior that is appropriate for that trust. This letter harms that trust…
At Chicago Boyz (with video), Union Rule:
…The state Senators had passed the limited budget bill that included only the collective bargaining provisions. The Democrats had blocked the fiscal portions of the bill by fleeing the state two weeks ago. Walker has had this option since they left but he and Majority Leader FitzGerald, were negotiating with the Democrats in hopes the standoff could be ended. The negotiations (not reported by the MSM, of course) broke down when it became apparent that the Democrats are nationalizing this controversy. Walker then encouraged the Senate Republicans to go ahead with Plan B. They did and the law was signed by Walker yesterday.
Why has this issue been so inflammatory? There are even leftist academics who are advocating serious violence…
…Here is a respected academic advocating political violence on the pattern of the Palestinians. The Cloward-Piven Strategy lives again ! Naturally, the two authors were sociologists.
Why has this rather routine process in a midwest state gotten such national attention? There are at least two reasons. One is that Obama has to win Wisconsin next year to be re-elected. Wisconsin has been a blue state for many years and was the origin of Progressivism with the La Follette family. It is even the origin of the public employee unions, as the AFSCME began there. However, the Republicans swept state offices in the 2010 election. Why ?…
Read the whole thing
