They are at it again in Wisconsin. The perpetual hissy fit that is the Union Democrat Party in this state has launched its campaign to recall Governor Scott Walker. The rallying cry of Walker's Republican supporters is "I stand with Scott Walker".
Well, not me. I don’t stand with Scott Walker.
Nope. I stand for the right to work. I stand against compulsory unionization. I stand for the right of every employee to join a union, and for the equal right of every employee to work free of union impairment. I stand for the right of every union to collect its own dues directly from its members. I stand for the right of every business owner to deal directly with his/her employees or to work through an intermediary as he or she sees fit. I stand for the right of any business to refrain from political activity altogether without being targeted for boycotts by extortionists.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand for fiscal responsibility. I stand for balancing the state budget. I stand for making government services both accessible and affordable. I stand for repaying our old debts and not taking on any new ones. I stand against raiding trust funds set up for one purpose to pay for another. I stand against increasing taxes on the overtaxed to fund lavish new benefits for the over-lavished.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand for choice and competition that will improve the quality and reduce the cost of our schools. I stand for letting local school boards, teachers, parents, and taxpayers decide how best to educate their kids. I stand for rewarding the great teachers and I stand against letting the bad ones waste one more hour of our children’s precious learning time. I stand against spineless administrators, conniving pension-grubbers, placeholders counting down their days to retirement and serial indoctrinators who see 4th graders as political props.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand for representative Democracy where a majority of citizens elect a government which serves its full term and then stands for re-election. I wish they would vote for Libertarians but I accept it when they don’t. I stand against voter fraud. I stand against rigged elections. I stand against one political party spending millions of taxpayer dollars to overturn an election they lost fair and square.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand against death threats. I stand against tormenting the families of public officials at their private residences. I stand against the profanity, vulgarity, and brutishness of the weak-minded who can only find courage in the anonymity of the mob or an alias on Facebook. I stand against the seizure of our public places, the occupation of our streets. I stand against those whose twisted moral compass equates breaking a monopoly with killing millions of Jews.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand for the right to bear arms. I stand for the right to defend myself, my family, and my property. I stand against those who would leave me defenseless simply because they do not value their own life enough to defend it. I stand for Senator Pam Galloway, who stood up for me and my right to carry.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand for jobs. I stand for job-creators. I stand for free markets, lower taxes, and sensible regulation. I stand for a business climate that attracts employers, not one that drives them away. I stand for private property rights for every citizen. I stand for developing our natural resources, for encouraging entrepreneurs, for rewarding hard work and for celebrating those who succeed in global competition.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand for less government and more liberty. I stand with the overwhelming majority of Wisconsinites who had the opportunity to vote for Democrats in 2010 and chose not to. I stand against shipping in busloads of paid operatives from out of state to nullify that choice. I stand against those who believe pro-choice means the right to inflict yours by force.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I am a Libertarian, not a Republican. I don't let the Koch brothers or Fox News or Rush Limbaugh or Vicki McKenna tell me what to think. I am a grown man, a self-sovereign with my own conscience and beliefs. Those beliefs do not include overturning election results because my side didn’t win. We have learned that the effort to recall Governor Scott Walker was initiated before he even took office; this has nothing to do with policy and everything to do with privilege.
The Democrat Party in the state of Wisconsin believes they have a Divine right to rule; perhaps it explains why so many are hostile to real Divinity. It is inconceivable to them that the citizens of this state would have decided to give the Republicans an opportunity to fix what the Democrats could not or would not. It is humiliating to them that their coarse and unrefined rivals achieved in just a few months what they could not do in a decade. Their panic is understandable, but that does not make it actionable for the rest of us.
I can't say whether or not I would vote to re-elect Scott Walker. If he is to win over libertarians, he has a lot of ground to cover between now and the next election for Governor, which is not until 2014. This recall process is not an election; it is a subversion of an election, and I will not vote to subvert elections. The reasons for or against this recall are irrelevant; every assassin has reasons. This is a contract hit; the motivation is money, and it is the taxpayer who will pay the contract.
So no, my dear Democrat friends, I will not be signing your recall petitions. When you come to my door I will not be ungracious; I will not be unkind. I will not tell you “I stand with Scott Walker” and slam the door in your face. I will tell you instead that I stand for Liberty, and then I will ask you why you will not stand with me. It is a reasonable question, and I expect you to answer it. It is the least you can do if you want me to help you turn the whole state upside down to rehash your grievance over again for the umpteenth time.
And don’t send the junior varsity, either. I don’t speak drum, I don’t cuss in mixed company, I am not going to learn those twinkly-thing hand signals, and “shame-shame-shame” just reminds me of a lame disco tune. When I point to New Berlin on a map, if that poor rent-a-mob kid in a Bucky tee-shirt with the tags still hanging on it says it like they do in Germany, I’m going to boot his bony ass all the way back to Ohio. Figuratively speaking, of course.
I’m ready. Bring it.
“Moment Of Clarity” is a weekly commentary by Libertarian writer and speaker Tim Nerenz, Ph.D. Visit Tim’s website www.timnerenz.com to find your moment.
Well, not me. I don’t stand with Scott Walker.
Nope. I stand for the right to work. I stand against compulsory unionization. I stand for the right of every employee to join a union, and for the equal right of every employee to work free of union impairment. I stand for the right of every union to collect its own dues directly from its members. I stand for the right of every business owner to deal directly with his/her employees or to work through an intermediary as he or she sees fit. I stand for the right of any business to refrain from political activity altogether without being targeted for boycotts by extortionists.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand for fiscal responsibility. I stand for balancing the state budget. I stand for making government services both accessible and affordable. I stand for repaying our old debts and not taking on any new ones. I stand against raiding trust funds set up for one purpose to pay for another. I stand against increasing taxes on the overtaxed to fund lavish new benefits for the over-lavished.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand for choice and competition that will improve the quality and reduce the cost of our schools. I stand for letting local school boards, teachers, parents, and taxpayers decide how best to educate their kids. I stand for rewarding the great teachers and I stand against letting the bad ones waste one more hour of our children’s precious learning time. I stand against spineless administrators, conniving pension-grubbers, placeholders counting down their days to retirement and serial indoctrinators who see 4th graders as political props.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand for representative Democracy where a majority of citizens elect a government which serves its full term and then stands for re-election. I wish they would vote for Libertarians but I accept it when they don’t. I stand against voter fraud. I stand against rigged elections. I stand against one political party spending millions of taxpayer dollars to overturn an election they lost fair and square.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand against death threats. I stand against tormenting the families of public officials at their private residences. I stand against the profanity, vulgarity, and brutishness of the weak-minded who can only find courage in the anonymity of the mob or an alias on Facebook. I stand against the seizure of our public places, the occupation of our streets. I stand against those whose twisted moral compass equates breaking a monopoly with killing millions of Jews.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand for the right to bear arms. I stand for the right to defend myself, my family, and my property. I stand against those who would leave me defenseless simply because they do not value their own life enough to defend it. I stand for Senator Pam Galloway, who stood up for me and my right to carry.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand for jobs. I stand for job-creators. I stand for free markets, lower taxes, and sensible regulation. I stand for a business climate that attracts employers, not one that drives them away. I stand for private property rights for every citizen. I stand for developing our natural resources, for encouraging entrepreneurs, for rewarding hard work and for celebrating those who succeed in global competition.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I stand for less government and more liberty. I stand with the overwhelming majority of Wisconsinites who had the opportunity to vote for Democrats in 2010 and chose not to. I stand against shipping in busloads of paid operatives from out of state to nullify that choice. I stand against those who believe pro-choice means the right to inflict yours by force.
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me.
I am a Libertarian, not a Republican. I don't let the Koch brothers or Fox News or Rush Limbaugh or Vicki McKenna tell me what to think. I am a grown man, a self-sovereign with my own conscience and beliefs. Those beliefs do not include overturning election results because my side didn’t win. We have learned that the effort to recall Governor Scott Walker was initiated before he even took office; this has nothing to do with policy and everything to do with privilege.
The Democrat Party in the state of Wisconsin believes they have a Divine right to rule; perhaps it explains why so many are hostile to real Divinity. It is inconceivable to them that the citizens of this state would have decided to give the Republicans an opportunity to fix what the Democrats could not or would not. It is humiliating to them that their coarse and unrefined rivals achieved in just a few months what they could not do in a decade. Their panic is understandable, but that does not make it actionable for the rest of us.
I can't say whether or not I would vote to re-elect Scott Walker. If he is to win over libertarians, he has a lot of ground to cover between now and the next election for Governor, which is not until 2014. This recall process is not an election; it is a subversion of an election, and I will not vote to subvert elections. The reasons for or against this recall are irrelevant; every assassin has reasons. This is a contract hit; the motivation is money, and it is the taxpayer who will pay the contract.
So no, my dear Democrat friends, I will not be signing your recall petitions. When you come to my door I will not be ungracious; I will not be unkind. I will not tell you “I stand with Scott Walker” and slam the door in your face. I will tell you instead that I stand for Liberty, and then I will ask you why you will not stand with me. It is a reasonable question, and I expect you to answer it. It is the least you can do if you want me to help you turn the whole state upside down to rehash your grievance over again for the umpteenth time.
And don’t send the junior varsity, either. I don’t speak drum, I don’t cuss in mixed company, I am not going to learn those twinkly-thing hand signals, and “shame-shame-shame” just reminds me of a lame disco tune. When I point to New Berlin on a map, if that poor rent-a-mob kid in a Bucky tee-shirt with the tags still hanging on it says it like they do in Germany, I’m going to boot his bony ass all the way back to Ohio. Figuratively speaking, of course.
I’m ready. Bring it.
“Moment Of Clarity” is a weekly commentary by Libertarian writer and speaker Tim Nerenz, Ph.D. Visit Tim’s website www.timnerenz.com to find your moment.
When I point to New Berlin on a map, if that poor rent-a-mob kid in a Bucky tee-shirt with the tags still hanging on it says it like they do in Germany, I’m going to boot his bony ass all the way back to Ohio. Figuratively speaking, of course.
ReplyDeleteTo coin a phrase from my UW days: What he said.
ReplyDeletewell said Tim
ReplyDeleteIt says it all Sharon M
ReplyDeleteTim Nerenz for Governor (after Walker goes to Washington.)
ReplyDeleteStated very well as usual. You always manage to get me looking at things from a different view. Thanks. And the best line? ' “shame-shame-shame” just reminds me of a lame disco tune.'
ReplyDeleteHow are you on first amendment rights? Like wearing signs in the assembly gallery?
ReplyDelete@anonymous2 - I am big on first amendment rights. Free speech is a right; time and place is not. The assembly is a workplace, and reasonable rules of decorum are not unreasonable infringements. I don't think anyone on any side in Wisconsin can claim their voices have not been heard. Our ears are still ringing!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for this article. There are 'many' points I would love to use with the liberals, not that they understand.
ReplyDelete“I stand for letting local school boards, teachers, parents, and taxpayers decide how best to educate their kids.”
ReplyDeleteFunny – Scott Walker and the Wisconsin GOP strictly limited the ability of local school boards and municipalities to raise property taxes to make up for the shortfall in state funds. Now, even if Waukesha or Dane Counties wanted to pay higher taxes to support better schools, state law prohibits them from doing so. So much for local control, eh?
Funny – Scott Walker and the Wisconsin GOP just passed a new law requiring public schools in the state of Wisconsin to promote abstinence in the teaching of sex education. Now, even if Waukesha or Dane counties wanted to center their sex education classes around safe sex and contraception, state law prohibits them from doing so. So much for local control, eh?
I don't stand with Scott Walker. Scott Walker stands with me. -Ditto!!
ReplyDeleteWisconsn Factcheck, how can you have a user name factcheck when facts are not given at all? Fact is Wisconsin in in the black and the republicans did what your democrats and unions failed to do in a decade. What, we should continue allowing the school boards to increase taxes to pay for bad teachers, and administrator salaries and nothing of it goes to the students? Please, they had their chance to improve with the money we gave them for decades and it all went to waste. It is about time they work with the money they have and prove they can manage money before getting more money.
ReplyDelete@factcheck
ReplyDeleteLet me help you with how the people of Realsville have to adjust. You see in the business world you estimate the value of the widget or service. If you are awarded the privilege for the customer to hand over their hard earned money, you are obligated to preform at that value, if you can't you need to figure out a way to reduce cost and waste from the product to make a profit.
Unfortunately our schools and municipalities just take more of our money, without our permission and knowledge, and continue to add more waste and less value to a product that we just don't want to pay for anymore.
Let's leave the taxes collected alone, and slash government "service" in half, then introduce lean management principals.
I too believe Walker stands with me!
@factcheck - I'll come to your rescue...sort of. I don't like what Walker did to dictate to local taxing districts, and in my list of things I stand for, that was not one of them.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you tell us who you will run against Walker if you are successful, and why don't you tell us what your guy will do. Will he stand with me?
My biggest frustration with the left during the whole winter of drum banging is that you guys had no viable plan to counter Walker's. I'm not going to vote for nothing just because I don't like a little bit of the something that somebody finally did after a decade of other guys yanking it.
@Fact Check You are a liar. Any school district that cares to can raise its taxes as high as it cares to if it can convince the taxpayers to approve.
ReplyDeleteWe operate under the same laws that we operated under a year ago as far as revenue limits with the exception of the specific limit for this year. The limit is changed every two years as a part of the budget (and has been changed mid-budget by budget repair bills in the past as well.)
What we no longer have is the one way ratchet of increasing pay scales. We have the ability to operate our districts as our citizens want, not for the convenience of WEAC. Doyle killed the QEO, changed WERC law to say that the ability of taxpayers to pay for an arbitration ruling did not matter and put a 1000 lb weight on the opposite side of the scale of justice from the taxpayers.
The change in statutes for sex education simply put back into place a perfectly sensible system that had been in place for a decade before Doyle got control of both houses and put in place the most over reaching changes anywhere in the country.
Scott Walker stands by me and the taxpayers of the state of WI and its cities and school districts.
Tim Nerenz said: 'This recall process is not an election; it is a subversion of an election, and I will not vote to subvert elections.'
ReplyDeleteLonny Niederstadt says: 'Can you provide more of an explanation of this recall process as subversion of an election?
Consider an employee - whether an individually contracted worker or one that is union represented and under union contract.
It is perfectly reasonable for the contract to specify performance and compliance reviews within the contract period, both at regular intervals and in response to any particular event during the contract period. Job termination can take place for poor performance, or violation of workplace rules.
Job termination in response to these reviews does not subvert the contract even if it leads to termination before the completion of the contract term.
The Wisconsin State Constitution provisions for impeachment and recall were already written at the time that Governor Walker campaigned and assumed his current office. It is not the case that provisions for the impeachment of a Governor were introduced after his election; I find this similar to allowing for event-based compliance reviews. It is not the case that provisions for the recall of a Governor were introduced after his election; I find this similar to allowing for event-based performance reviews.'
I disagree. Scott Walker and the Koch Brothers are destroying the middle class.
ReplyDeleteYou are dumb
DeleteI wish I had said it first. But be assured I will be sharing it with many others.
ReplyDeleteBravo Sir. I agree wholeheartedly!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo as the left is patting itself on the back for taking a step to overturn an election and get a do-over (costing the state an estimated $9 million and diverting energy and attention that could be focussed elsewhere), why do they have to lie and exaggerate so much if what they are doing is such a good thing? Example: The person trying to put himself at the lead of the attack, Ed Schultz, opened ...his show by stating the left had nearly 2 million signatures when they are claiming just over 1 million. He then plays part of a Limbaugh/Walker interview and follows it up by saying Limbaugh has never talked to anyone from Wisconsin (and making derogatory comments about Limbaugh, like that has anything to do with the Wisconsin do-over?) We have heard constant rantings about the Koch brother's contribution to Walker when no one said a word about the money the Koch brothers contributed to the last Governor (a Democrat), they want to criticize Walker for preparing another campaign when they are the ones forcing a new campaign; they want to talk about non-Wisconsin money and influence on Walker when they flood the state with out of state people solicitors and are financed by out of state money; they claim to have visited every home in my city to get a signature (at least once) when no one has come to my home (and I work from home and I answer the door); they claim photo ID for voters is racists and those in favor of it are trying to steal elections when they require photo IDs for those attending some of their functions and they are trying to reverse our last election, etc.
ReplyDelete@Inieders... True: The Wisconsin constitution does provide for recalls. In that regard, the recall is "legitimate".
ReplyDeleteAnd, as a Conservative, I do wrestle with this conflict: It is allowable, but, still...? C'mon. Can't you see an element of subversion here?
The whole Spirit of democracy is built on election cycles. A gang of representatives are voted in... they do their thing... then they are re-evaluated at the end of their term. Simple, predictable, straightforward, stable.
We, the people, need those stable, periodic election cycles to allow the democracy to run smoothly.
The recall was instituted for the extreme situations. (And, yes, here is where Left and Right part ways, with different definitions of "extreme situations".) Even though the state constitution does not require any "extreme reasons" for a recall, any logical voter can connect some dots here.
If the Left is correct, and justified in this recall effort, then, in essence, there are no longer any stable election cycles.
If a body can spend millions of dollars to instigate any recall they want for any reason they want... then, guess what, we are now in a perpetual state of election. No politician is safe, ever. And, we, the voters, will never expect to see a stable, government again.
What? Do you think you're the first generation of tax-payer/voter to ever be offended by an elected official? Do you think we, on the Right, won't immediately adopt this "new and improved" mode of democracy?
I've joked... (and, as time passes, I've wondered if I would really do it)... but, I am tempted to declare that if Scott Walker should lose a recall-election to some as-yet-unidentified Lefty, I would issue recall papers on that person within 24 hours of them taking office.
Why would I do that? Ans: Why not? It's the new norm, right? The Left has already declared that the constitution doesn't require any reason at all. All we need is the sheer will to do it.
The Left has blazed this new trail of reactionary politickery.
So... in this regard, I do see the recall as a subversion of the democratic process. True, it may be a legal provision. But, it's not the way a democracy was meant to be run.
And, if you need proof of that, you need simply consider the integrity issues that plague the petition-gathering process: there are no real checks on who signs these petitions; there are no teeth for ensuring the petition-sponsors are being legitimate; there are no checks on how many times a person signs; there is nothing to prevent someone for signing other people's names; there is nothing to prevent me (a Conservative) from signing my name, and then claiming I didn't.
It's a mess, and it's a crappy way to exercise what (yes) is a constitutional right to a recall.