Blaska's Blog: doing that which must be done, to the beat of a different drum
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I like a little extra pepper on my T-bird.
Ann of Althouse is convinced that Russ Feingold will run for governor should the recall petition drive succeed.
The former U.S. senator remains a super hero to the Left: Spiderman with a PAC. But he is still trying to digest the rancid meat of his defeat one year ago. The Squire has tasted defeat himself and it does not come with stuffing and gravy.
Feingold appeared at the weekend Capitol recall rally and again denied his candidacy. (One more time and the cock will crow.)
Whether Gov. Scott Walker's challenger is Russ Feingold, Jon Erpenbach, The (Former) Kathleen, or the Charismatic Firefighter -- the question is the same. What would they do different? Put another way, how much would they raise taxes?
Not even Russ Feingold hath the powers to bring the statewide teachers union to heel. Does anyone believe the Milwaukee teachers union, the one that demands taxpayer-subsidized Viagra, would wear sackcloth just because Russ said pretty please? They want their political muscle back. You think they won't exercise it after putting a Democrat in the East Wing?
Having invested what is left of their compulsory dues into the recall and subsequent election, if successful, the unions will thrust sharpened knives into the fatted bird. Government workers and their chattels in the service-provider industry will have restored the circle: government of, by and for government employees!
You owe it to yourself to watch the nine-minute online video on the It's Working website to understand how Wisconsin dug itself out of the $3.6 billion budget hole that Scott Walker inherited despite the tax hikes, one-time federal stimulus, patient compensation fund raids, and other gimmicks of the Doyle-Miller-Pocan regime.
Or see the 60-second version here:
Walker and the Republican legislature:
- balanced the budget
- did so without raising taxes
- restored power to local elected officials vis-a-vis their employees
- continued essential services (unlike Minnesota)
- without layoffs (unlike Michigan and Illinois)
- enabled government employees (not the union bosses) to decide for themselves if they want to contribute to political campaigns
- helped break the power of the anti-reform teachers unions.
Ask the nearest Progressive and Liberal what, exactly, is not working? And why are government employees entitled to better perks than the private sector and more collective bargain rights than federal employees and 90 percent of the private sector? Remind them that you do not speak drum.
- My sincerest condolences to my comrade, John Nichols, on the passing of his father, Harrison Nichols, a worthy Wisconsinite, at the age of 83. John well turns a phrase that the Squire, reprobate Republican, can identify with:
It doesn't work to get too mad at anyone. You're going to see them the next day. And if your car slides off a country road on a winter night, you're going to need their help.
Unless they're the ones who pushed it. - Here's a holiday giving idea! Send Blaska's Blog to your friends -- the gift that keeps on giving. Follow the handy dandy hyperlink direct to the Stately Manor, now gaily decorated (in a manner of speaking) for "Christmas" (as Gov. Walker likes to call it).
- The question is not whether but how will the student section at Camp Randall Stadium humiliate their Penn State foes? I'm guessing they make a show of wearing shower caps and bath towels. Just a guess. I know that's gross and insensitive but so are those college kids, as were we at that age.
- Hey kids! Snap out of your tryptophanic-Thanksgiving lethargy by tuning in to Miss Vicki's show, where I will appear with guest host Brian Schimming from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Friday, November 25 -- a day that will live…
