Political Ruminations

Morning Quote: Gloria Steinem

In Florida to rally for a group seeking to defeat Florida Amendment 6, which would, if enacted, restrict women’s reproductive rights, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, had a few descriptive words for Mitt Romney:

“[Mitt Romney is] the most undemocratic, anti-equality, authoritarian, extremist candidate I have ever seen, and there is the most distance between what he says and what he does.”

Morning Quote: Claire McCaskill

On Morning Joe today, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo) discussed how far to the right her challenger, Todd Akin (R), actually is by noting that in contrast, Michele Bachmann, with her odd assortment of completely crazy-ass views, looks like a “hippie”:

“I mean, this is somebody who kind of makes Michele Bachmann look like a hippie.”

If you’re unfamiliar with Todd Akin, he’s the guy who differentiates between “rape” and “legitimate rape”. Akin is a certified member of the He-Man Woman Haters Club, so ladies, if you have a few bucks to spare, help Sen. McCaskill beat this guy by donating to her re-election fund!

Adding…yesterday, Akin accused Sen. McCaskill of not being as “ladylike” as she was in 2006. Republicans, after insisting that Akin drop out of the race at the time he made his controversial comments about women and their ladyparts, they are back on board with supporting this woman hating Neanderthal. Yet another reason why we can not allow McCaskill to lose.

Quote of the Day

Booman on Ohio’s lean to the left:

“If you think white working class guys in Ohio are lining up to vote for the "plutocrat married to a known equestrian," you are quite mistaken. Ask them who is better on the economy and they will tell you 'Obama.' This is evidence that the GOP is no longer a national party. Ohio is supposed to be a right-leaning state that Democrats can occasionally win. But, right now, it is a left-leaning state. And it will probably stay that way, just like Michigan and Pennsylvania.”

Morning Quote: David Axelrod

Top Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod to Fox News host Chris Wallace who repeated the completely false Republican claim that the Obama administration is trying to prevent the military from voting early in Ohio, emphasis mine: 

“I absolutely do and the way you stated it and the way, frankly, Gov. Romney has stated it, is completely false and misleading! What that lawsuit calls for is not to deprive the military of the right to vote on the final weekend of the campaign -- of course they should have that right. What that suit is about is whether the rest of Ohio should have the same right.

And I think it's shameful that Gov. Romney would hide behind our servicemen and women to try and win a lawsuit to try and deprive other Ohioans of their right to vote. ”

According to Crooks and Liars “Ohio's Republican-controlled legislature last year enacted new voting restrictions that prevented most voters from casting early ballots after the Friday before the election. Members of the military, however, had their rights preserved, giving them until Monday to vote.” and the Obama Campaign is suing to restore that right to cast an early ballot just prior to the election to all voters in Ohio.

Morning Quote: Tea Party Co-Founder Amy Kremer

At a Tea Party event yesterday, the Party’s co-founder, Amy Kremer, declared that Gov. Rick Scott’s (R-Fl) illegal voter purge is necessary because, according to Kremer,

“ If the Democrats cannot win it  [an election] fair and square, they will steal it.”

As Steve Benen noted this morning, Kremer made this oh so ironic remark without a “hint of irony”. Benen also pointed out that “87% of Scott's purge list is made up of minorities, minority voters tend to support Democrats, and the scheme is being executed five months before Election Day, the partisan motivations behind the governor's agenda is rather transparent”.

Image via Flickr/Gage Skidmore

Morning Quote

Roy McDonald (R), NY state senator, as he voted to legalize same-sex marriage:

“Fuck it, I don’t care what you think. I’m trying to do the right thing.”

Kudos to the state of New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and to Roy McDonald for voting his conscience.

Via Bob Cesca

Morning Quote: Chris Christie

Republican Gov. Chris Christie says that school districts in New Jersey should be able to decide for themselves on the question of whether or not to teach creationism.

Evolution is required teaching. If there’s a certain school district that also wants to teach creationism, that’s not something we should decide in Trenton.

Republicans hate science.

Delaware's Democratic Governor Makes Civil Unions Legal in Delaware

Yesterday, Delaware’s Democratic Gov. Jack Markell signed legislation which makes civil unions legal in Delaware, becoming the eighth state to legalize civil unions.

Yesterday morning there were 43 states that did not have a legal classification for same-sex relationships -- marriage, civil unions, domestic partnerships, etc.  By yesterday afternoon, that number dropped to 42 when Delaware's Democratic Governor Jack Markell signed into law the country's latest civil union legislation.

Progress.

Via Maddow Blog

Constituents Verbally Attack Republican Legislators at Town Halls Over Ryan Budget & Tax Cuts for the Wealthy

Really, I feel like jumping up and down for joy because there has been so little indication over the past 2 years that the average voter even pays an iota of attention to what’s happening in our politics. 

But last night, after I watched the clips from the town hall meetings, I felt something distinctly strange…..I think it might be….hope - even if it is an infinitesimal amount. Why? Because it seems that people are finally starting to get it.

Watch:

Still, knowing how Republicans operate, we can probably rest assured that they will find a way to spin this to their advantage.

Let’s not let them. 

Detroit EFM, Robert Bobb, Salary Paid in Part by Billionaire Conservative Foundation

Whatever happened to ethics? E.D. Kain on Forbes, emphasis mine:

So who is Robert Bobb?

It turns out, he’s a recent graduate of the Broad Foundation’s Superintendent Academy. The Broad Foundation, along with the Kellogg Foundation, pays Bobb $145,000 a year on top of his $280,000 government salary. For those of you not familiar with Broad, it is one of the leading foundations promoting school choice and privatization across the country. One might almost think that paying a public official hundreds of thousands of dollars a year might amount to nothing short of bribery, especially given the very specific agenda of a foundation like the Broad Foundation.

Now, Bobb is proposing to create charter schools for 16,000 students from 41 schools slated for closure. He argues that this will save millions of dollars. I have to wonder, however, at the conflict of interest.

And the money quote:

This is nothing short of a coordinated effort between the billionaire foundations pushing school reform and Tea Party conservatives intent on slashing benefits and ending collective bargaining rights. Public schools are under assault by the forces of privatization, and public school teachers face benefit and salary cuts while the very rich are promised tax cuts.

Teabag Fascist Movement to Restrict Voting Rights of Main Street

Stoking yet another false right-wing meme which proclaims that voter fraud is rampant in this country, Republican majorities in 22 statehouses across the country, have moved to enact laws which dramatically restrict the voting rights of college students, rural voters, senior citizens, the disabled and the homeless…in other words, of the young and the poor, both constituencies which tend to vote Democratic. Think Progress, emphasis mine:

As part of their larger effort to silence Main Street, conservatives are pushing through new photo identification laws that would exclude millions from voting, depress Hispanic voter turnout by as much as 10 percent, and cost taxpayers millions of dollars. In the next few months, a new set of election laws could make going to the polls and registering to vote significantly more difficult — in some cases even barring groups of citizens from voting in the communities where they live.

Conservative legislators across the country have said these laws are necessary to combat alleged mass voter fraud. But these fears are completely overblown and states already have tough voting laws on the books: fraudulent voters face felony charges, hefty fines, and even lengthy prison time.

Think Progress goes on to report on 8 of the states attempting to enact these restrictive voter id laws, so be sure to read the full article.

Meanwhile, on March 24th, the state of Ohio passed the most restrictive voter id legislation in the nation, disenfranchising as many as 900, 000 Ohioans

In just eight days, House Republicans hustled through HB 159, a bill that would require voters to show one of five forms of ID to vote in person: an Ohio driver’s license, state ID, military ID, U.S. passport, or “a new, free photo ID that State Bureau of Motor Vehicles would dispense to indigent citizens who qualify.” Currently, voters must show a photo ID or present a utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government document with a current name and address. Unlike other states’ photo ID laws, HB 159 would not even allow students to use IDs issued by state colleges.

The bill sponsor, state Rep. Bob Mecklenborg (R) “said the bill is necessary to combat voter fraud and the perception of fraud.” But after failing to produce any actual evidence of such voter fraud, Meklenborg defended his theory with the inexorable proof that “I believe it happens” and “it’s impossible to prove a negative”:

While Republicans produced no evidence of voter fraud from impersonation, Mecklenborg and other GOP leaders say they believe it is going on unreported. “I believe it happens, but it’s proving a negative,” Mecklenborg told reporters after the vote. “It’s impossible to prove a negative. How do you prove that fraud doesn’t exist there?”

However, Cuyahoga County Board of Elections head Jane Platten, a Democrat, said she has never seen a case of voter impersonation in the seven years she has been with the local elections board.

I am beginning to wonder if the U.S. will survive the right-wing as a democracy with out a full blown civil war. Hyperbole? Maybe. But I don’t think so.

Rep. Ron Paul Endorses Unconstitutional Nullification Movement

During the civil rights era, after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling by the Supreme Court, a majority of Southern congressmen signed a document titled the “Southern Manifesto,” . This document claimed that the states were free to ignore federal laws.

Almost 50 years later, led by right-wing historian Thomas Woods, Conservatives have returned to that blatantly unconstitutional idea, and the nullification movement has been gaining steam.

The nullification movement, which asserts that in order for states to legitimately get around the U.S. Constitution, they just need to nullify federal laws, has now been endorsed by Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), Libertarian whacko:

Corporations Behind Michigan's Unconstitutional EFM Law, Including Amway and Koch Industries

Trust me when I tell you that this is the most tangled web you have ever seen in your life.

Last week Michigan's Republican Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation giving him what many have called “dictatorial” powers. The much despised EFM law gives Snyder the power to hand pick emergency financial managers (or emergency financial "corporate persons"), who then have the authority to take the following actions:

1. Consolidate or dissolve local governments and dismiss the officials elected by the people.
2. Consolidate or dissolve school districts, close schools, and dismiss elected school board members.
3. Sell off public property. Public. Property. Parks, buildings, licenses, permits, and so forth. All of it.
4. Privatize government services, with all that entails.
5. Shred all contracts agreed to by local governments and schools, including union contracts.

Which people or what organizations are behind Snyder’s EFM law?

Andy Kroll at Mother Jones enlightens us:

Since 2005, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy has urged reforms to Michigan law giving more power and protection to emergency financial managers, state-appointed officials who parachute into ailing cities or school districts and employ drastic measures to fix budgets on the brink of collapse. In January, the free-market-loving center published four recommendations, including granting emergency managers the power to override elected officials (such as a mayor or school board member) and toss out union contracts. All four ended up in Snyder's legislation.

"The Mackinac Center has been tied at the hip with the Republican Party establishment for years," says Doug Pratt, public affairs director at the Michigan Education Association. "It goes to their funding sources; it goes to their ideology."

But wait, according to a statement on their "Purpose" page, the Mackinac Center is non-partisan, emphasis mine:

Michigan Voters Support Constitutional Amendment to Protect Collective Bargaining

From Public Policy Polling, emphasis mine:

59% of folks in Michigan think that public employees should have the right to collective bargaining while only 32% are opposed, and 49% of voters even favor a state constitutional amendment to guarantee collective bargaining rights while 37% are opposed to such a measure. While union households are obviously the most supportive of collective bargaining, nonunion households support it by a 53/39 margin as well so the voters Snyder is antagonizing on this issue go beyond who you might expect.

Michigan Senate Democratic leaders have already announced such an effort to amend the Michigan Constitution to protect collective bargaining rights.

LANSING - Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D - East Lansing) and House Democratic Leader Rick Hammel (D - Mt. Morris) announced at a Capitol Rally this afternoon that they would be introducing an amendment to the Michigan Constitution to guarantee the right of Michigan workers to collectively bargain, a right many workers feel is currently under attack.

I’m just wondering how they plan to get that amendment passed when we are saddled with a Republican majority in the Michigan House and in the Senate. My best guess is that it won’t pass, and the proposal is just for show.

Michigan Protest Updates & Coverage for March 16

Following the protests in Lansing, Michigan throughout the day. [WHY I'm not there]

11:31AM - A bald eagle was just erected on the lawn of the Capitol building in Lansing, Michigan. Via @mitchellrivard on Twitter.

LIVE streaming coverage throughout the protest via Michael Moore.

Manistee residents protest Snyder budget

12:15 PM - President of the American Federation of Teachers speaking:
“THIS is our house”, “WE are Michigan!” “Some elected officials are using the financial crisis to undercut working people.” “Do we provide EMF managers with the opportunity to say, no thanks, NO collective bargaining!” “We fight back. We unite because WE are the People. WE are ONE.”

12:22 PM - Michigan's Senate minority leader Gretchen Whitmer speaking: "We didn't start this fight, but we sure don't plan to lose it!"  Sen. Whitmer also announced the introduction today of a  constitutional amendment to protect collective bargaining rights.

VIDEO: Statewide Protests in Michigan March 14

A local news report on the protests in Michigan yesterday, March 14, which were all about Michigan’s Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s planned budget cuts, which would slash corporate taxes to almost nothing, and penalize the poor and the elderly in order to pay for it. Fact sheet (pdf).

Watch:

Think Progress:

Ohio Gov. John Kasich FORBIDS Broadcast of Budget Announcement

Unbelievable. Just who do these Republican governors think they are?

Chanel 12 in Cincinnati:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Reporters have been told they will not be allowed to broadcast sound and images from the Tuesday release of Ohio Gov. John Kasich's budget plan.

Spokeswoman Connie Wehrkamp says journalists can bring only pens, notepads and tape recorders to the afternoon briefing, where Kasich is to announce the first details of his state spending blueprint for the next two years. She says videos and photos will be prohibited and the audio may not be used for anything but checking accuracy.

Members of the Statehouse press corps registered complaints with the governor's office on the matter. They noted a lack of precedent for such limits on their ability to cover a governor's budget release. An invitation-only town hall meeting later Tuesday will be broadcast on government television.

Morning Quote: Rep. John Conyers Calls Michigan Martial Law Unconstitutional

In response to the anti-Democratic martial law being enacted in Michigan, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) fired back, calling the bill unconstitutional, emphasis mine:

Worse yet, this bill raises serious constitutional concerns. Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution explicitly prohibits any State from impairing a contract, which is exactly what this legislation does. As the Supreme Court has held in Home Building & Loan Association v. Blaisdell (1934), the sanctity of contracts cannot be impaired by a state law “which renders them invalid, or releases or extinguishes them . . . . Not only are existing laws read into contracts in order to fix obligations as between the parties, but the reservation of essential attributes of sovereign power is also read into contracts as a postulate of the legal order.”

Rep. Conyers also inferred that some parts of this bill may be racially motivated, something Karoli at Crooks and Liars has also suggested:

The takeover provision of the legislation – allowing the dissolution of locally elected bodies — implicitly targets minority communities that are disproportionately impacted by the economic downturn, without providing meaningful support for improved economic opportunity.

Finally, Conyers also pointed out that by forcing a community in to bankruptcy (which will likely be done to force union consessions for public sector workers or just to break the collective bargaining contracts which the EMF also has the legal authority to do), the financial situation of the community will actually become worse.

Further, the bill empowers this financial czar with the Governor’s approval to force a municipality into bankruptcy, a power that will surely be used to extract further concessions from hardworking public sector workers. And, by making the risk of bankruptcy a reality, the bill will make it more not less expensive for municipalities to obtain financing given this risk, which will make the financial circumstances of municipalities even worse.

Taking it through the courts could take years. In the meantime, thanks to the Republican controlled House and Senate in Michigan, along with our new Dictator Republican Governor Rick Snyder, the people of Michigan will suffer, because this bill is the most draconian, the most un-Democratic piece of legislation in this country right now.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Trickery Shields His Tax Referendum From Voters

Unbelievable. Turning the state in to a dictatorship wasn’t enough, he had to pull this out of his CorporateBastard bag of tricks. Detroit Free Press:

LANSING -- One $100 bill could block voters from a chance to stop more than a billion dollars in higher taxes.

Whether you think it's a dirty trick or a smart move, a House bill to implement Gov. Rick Snyder's proposal to eliminate tax credits and exemptions contains a $100 appropriation -- enough to make the plan immune from a voter referendum.

The plan has incensed some Michiganders. On Tuesday, AARP is holding a rally at the Capitol for senior citizens angry about Snyder's plan to tax pensions and other retirement income while cutting business taxes.

In 2001, the state Supreme Court ruled that legislation with a state expenditure -- even just $1 -- can't be repealed by voters.

On Thursday, minority House Democrats assailed the move to block a potential repeal vote."I think there's a natural, built-in constituency that would sign that petition" to repeal tax changes, said Rep. Vicki Barnett, D-Farmington Hills.

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley said the $100 appropriation in the 180-page bill is legitimate, and would be increased to cover the cost of implementing the new tax code.

So, what this means is that a petition drive to repeal the tax changes (you know, the changes where Snyder increases taxes on the poor and elderly, but NOT on the rich guys with the big businesses) won’t help where his budget is concerned.

Protests and a recall petition are it, unless someone goes after his entire scheme based on the unconstitutionality.

A List of Top Contributors to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder

UPDATE JUNE 24, 2011: For further information on the effort to recall Gov. Rick Snyder, or to volunteer for the recall effort, please go here. SIGNING AN ONLINE PETITION DOES NOT COUNT TOWARD LEGAL RECALL!!

The list is derived from information found on Follow the Money, is a work in progress, and depicts the top contributors of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. I was shocked to see the University of Michigan at the top of the list.

1. University of Michigan contributed $65,851 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
2. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan contributed $46,376 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
3. Dow Chemical contributed $41,062 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
4. PriceWaterhouseCoopers contributed $35,600 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
5. DTE Energy contributed $32,448 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
6. Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone contributed $31,850 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
7. Dykema Gossett PLLC contributed $28,786 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
8. Deloitte & Touche contributed $24,350 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
9. Walbridge Aldinger Co contributed $24,150 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
10. Meijer, Inc contributed $24,080 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
11. Amway/Alticor contributed $21,220 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
12. Masco Corp contributed $18,140 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
13. Foley & Lardner contributed $17,450 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
14. Ford Motor Co contributed $15,059 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
15. CMS Energy contributed $14,250 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
16. Dow Corning contributed $12,904 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
17. Northwestern Mutual Life Ins contributed $12,343 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
18. Dickinson Wright contributed $12,110 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
19. Delta Dental contributed $12,025 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
20. Ernst & Young contributed $10,953 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
21. Quicken Loans contributed $10,900 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
22. Arbor Investments Group contributed $10,200 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
23. General Motors contributed $8,730 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
24. Merrill Lynch contributed $8,600 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
25. Sterling Equities contributed $8,400 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder
26. JP Morgan Chase & Co contributed $8,275 to Michigan Dictator Governor, Rick Snyder

UPDATE - MARCH 15 Although followthemoney.org has listed the University of Michigan itself as the second largest contributor, after seeing a reader comment, and then checking out additional records, I found that the University actually only contributed $2,250, and the employees of UMICH, contributed $63,601, probably through a PAC. It is a distinction, however in my opinion, it is not much of one, since the school itself and its employees are intertwined. In other words, the school is still responsible to the extent that they sure hired a lot of Conservative employees. As long as Follow the Money has it listed as I originally posted it, I am going to leave it as is, however I did want to add this explanatory note. 

Morning Quote: Thanks, Firebaggers, From Michigan

The Firebagging opportunists spent two years shrieking endlessly, ostensibly   because President Obama didn’t bend down and tie their shoelaces for them.

Then they told Democrats not to vote. Gotta make a point, they said.

In Michigan, which is now essentially a dictatorship, 2 million fewer Democrats voted in 2010 as opposed to 2008. 2 million. And now, we are in deep, deep trouble thanks to the teabagging Republicans that were voted in to office in 2010, and we owe that partially, maybe even primarily, to the Firebaggers.

Fellow Michigander, Eclectablog, rags on Ed Schultz, who makes a fine whipping boy for that group, emphasis mine:

Ed Schultz has been on fire on MSNBC these past three weeks, hasn't he? Nothing like pure, unadulterated union-busting by Republicans to get old Ed fired up and ready to go. A let's not pretend Ed didn't have a plan for this all along, right? Remember this from him last fall?

[ED SCHULTZ] And I’m announcing today, I’m not going to vote in the midterms. I’m not going to do it. You can say it’s un-American. No, it’s rather revolutionary is what it is. I’m at that point. I’m checking out. I’m checking out of the Democrats because they are proving to me that they don’t know how to handle these big babies over on the right that say no. You know what you do? You get in the driver’s seat, you hit the throttle, and you run over them.

Un-American? Hell no, Ed! That's as American as it gets. Hell, it's practically Republican, it's so American! Create a problem that you yourself can benefit from. Help make sure the GOP takes control by helping suppress the Democratic vote then watch your rating positively SOAR when you get to be on television almost non-stop when they start crushing unions like cockroaches.

Man, you sure showed them, Ed. Obama has really got to be feeling this now, what with all those union people getting crushed and taxes being cut on the backs of the poor and the elderly.

Happy NOW, Firebaggers? And yeah, I am talking to Hamsher, Greenwald, et al.

Just sayin’…

VIDEO: Rachel Maddow & Michael Moore - GOP Stripping the Rights of People in Michigan

Watch:

Adding.....for some reason, this video  keeps "vanishing", and nothing I do seems to correct the situation. So, if you don't see the video here, click here to go to MSNBC to watch the vid. Sorry for any inconvenience.

 

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder Now Has the Power to Suspend the Rights of the People

For the backstory, read here and here.

Michigan is in deep trouble. What makes me really angry is that people voted for this TrojanCorporateBastard, even though he told them that he would “run the state as a business”. What did they think that would look like? (in the next week or so, I’ll be doing a piece on Snyder’s campaign, including the financing-stay tuned) And, more critical now, why weren’t we paying attention?

PoliticusUSA has a piece on the implications for Michiganders [which includes moi]. Scary stuff.

While we were venting our outrage at shenanigans in Wisconsin politics, in fact while Republicans were planning last night’s attempted coup, the Michigan state legislature quietly passed a bill giving the Governor of Michigan martial control over the state.  Except instead of using actual military, the Governor is more likely to use private security. But make no mistake–rights would be suspended.

Here’s how it works:

The governor, on his own initiative, can declare an economic emergency in any town and appoint an administrator.  The administrator can be any person, including a corporate person.

The administrator has the power to do anything in the name of economic stability, including void contracts, void collective bargaining agreements, dissolve the town council, dissolve the school board, fire anyone including elected officials, hire private security, unincorporate the town, and sell off public property.

The people of the town have no say in this. They can neither demand nor turn away the administrator. That is because this provision is meant to be used against the people.

What might constitute an emergency in the Governor’s eyes?

A labor strike is the first thing that comes to mind.  Too many foreclosures.  Crime!  In short, anything he wants it to be–and with billionaire backers, any controversy can be created.

What might the administrator do in that emergency?

First, privatize everything. Fire public workers and take over all public functions–running schools, police and fire service, and so on.  Michigan just made this legal.

Second, imprison dissidents, shutter businesses, and seize property by eminent domain. This is not legal, but hey, that didn’t stop the Wisconsin Republicans.

In short, take over control and turn it into a corporate town.

We need to pay attention to Michigan because they are farther along the road to corporate statehood–to where the Republicans want to take all of us.

Privatization is going to happen first. And they aren't going to play around. They will go after towns en masse, with people unable to catch their breath long enough to fight back.

Wisconsin Passes the Public Worker Union Ban Without Democrats

Bastards. Hard to know how this will pan out. Keith Olbermann says that Republicans have committed suicide. We’ll see.

I will say that next up for reversal will be minimum wage laws, the 40 hour work week, and so on. This is what they’re working toward at the direction of their corporate masters.

Reuters:

Republicans in the Wisconsin state Senate passed the most controversial portions of Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill late on Wednesday, stripping out the sections that required the presence of their 14 absent Democratic colleagues in the upper chamber.

In an 18-to-1 vote, the Senate approved the curbs on collective bargaining by public employees that Walker has insisted are needed to help the state's cash-strapped municipalities deal with a projected $1.27 billion drop in state aid over the next two years.

Adding….Twitter is going crazy over this news. The hacker group known as “anonymous” appears to have decided to stand with the workers. The link on that tweet is to a chat room, currently inundated with 7000+ people.

Adding….

Michigan's Republican Gov. Rick Snyder Granted Broad & Unprecedented Power

The Republican controlled Senate passed the emergency financial manager bill today, and the Republican controlled House passed a version of the same bill yesterday.

Gov. Rick Snyder did an end run around the people by forcing cities, towns and school districts closer to financial emergency via his own state budget cuts. This is nothing more than a union busting power play, no matter how Snyder tries to spin it.

The powers of the emergency financial managers, who would be appointed by Snyder at his whim, since the law does not require that an entity actually be in dire financial straits, are so broad it is likely that they are unconstitutional.

From my previous post, EFM powers include the following:  

~ Authority to dismiss all or any elected officials
~ Authority to privatize all or any city services, including schools
~ Authority to break any and all contracts entered in to by your city via your elected officials, including collective bargaining contracts
~ Authority to disincorporate a town or city
~ Authority to merge one school district with another school district

The Detroit Free Press:

LANSING -- The Senate has passed a bill to give much broader powers to emergency managers appointed to overhaul the finances of cities or schools facing collapse.

The 26-12 vote capped two days of debate, punctuated by protests from union supporters in the halls of the Capitol who object to giving emergency managers authority to nullify employee union contracts in municipalities or school districts where they're appointed. All Republicans voted for it; all Democrats voted against.

A demonstration Tuesday filled the inside of the Capitol and was called the largest protest ever seen inside the usually decorous building.

Democrats blasted the bill as a government power grab that would undermine collective bargaining in targeted communities with appointed, high-paid managers that have almost unlimited authority.

Rick Ungar of Forbes, emphasis mine:

What makes this law so unique is its extensive reach.

Not only can an emergency manager wipe out collective bargaining agreements, he or she can literally push aside duly elected city officials and prevent them from doing the job they were elected to do.

Clearly, this raises some questions of constitutionality and state overreach.

Be sure to watch Rachel Maddow discussing this travesty with Naomi Klein, and stay tuned.

Gov. Rick Snyder and Michigan Republicans Engaging in Disaster Capitalism

Today, the Republican controlled Michigan Senate will vote on a bill giving newly elected Governor Rick Snyder, unprecedented power to:declare any town, city, or school district in fiscal emergency, and to appoint a fiscal manager to such a town or school district.

The fiscal manager, which can be a corporation, then gains the following powers:

• Authority to dismiss all or any of your elected officials
• Authority to privatize all or any city services, including schools
• Authority to break any and all contracts entered in to by your city via your elected officials, including collective bargaining contracts
• Authority to disincorporate your town or city
• Authority to merge your school district with another school district

Union busting, disaster capitalism at it's finest. The Michigan Messenger:

Critics argue that the deep cuts in school funding and revenue sharing proposed by Snyder and Republican legislators could push many cities over the brink into bankruptcy, dramatically increasing the number of cities under the control of state-appointed emergency managers that will, after the passage of this bill, have unprecedented and — many argue — unconstitutional powers.

Rachel Maddow discusses this situation, and Republican plans for disaster capitalism with Naomi Klein. Watch:

For reference purposes, it may be helpful to note that Rick Snyder is a former CEO of Gateway, the same guy who sold it to the Chinese.

Adding……this is the Michigan House bill that has already passed. And, a quote from Mark Gaffney, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO.

We are Wisconsin on the installment plan, Collective bargaining in Michigan is dying a death by a thousand cuts.

Morning Quote: Boehner Lies

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network last weekend, Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH), characterized public employees as a public enemy that has  a “machine gun at the heads of local officials”:

Governors are trying to find ways to balance their budgets, which they’re required to do. In some of these states you’ve got collective bargaining laws that are so weighted in favor of the public employees that there’s almost no bargaining. We’ve given them a machine gun and put it right at the heads of the local officials and they really have their hands tied. And I think what you’re seeing in these states is they’re trying to bring some balance to these negotiations that when you look at the pay of public employees today and you look at their retirement benefits they are way out of line with many other working Americans. So all of these Governors are going to have big challenges and it’s not just going to be the Governors. You’re going to see every political jurisdiction in America grapple with what do we need to do as opposed to what do we want to do. All of them are going to go through a very difficult period.

Watch:

Boehner lies. Think Progress:

Boehner is sorely mistaken about the role of public employee unions in state budget crises. In 80 percent of the states that do not have collective bargaining rights for public employees, the budget crises are worse than in Wisconsin. Also, public employees in Wisconsin have already agreed to reduce their salaries — which, contra Boehner, are not “way out of line” with other working Americans.

Aside from contradicting Boehner’s plea for more civility earlier this year, his characterization of machine-gun wielding public employee unions belies a popular conservative talking point that nobody is trying to defame public workers. “No one’s demonizing or vilifying public employees,” said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) yesterday. “People are not denigrating state workers,” said Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R).

Reminder – Solidarity Rallies

Just a quick reminder re the solidarity rallies being held in all fifty states tomorrow. You can find the schedule here.

Help us save what’s really at stake in Wisconsin and elsewhere, the American dream!!

Adding... you can also sign up to attend, or to volunteer, with MoveOn.org. All organizations promoting these events will be attending the same rally, so you do NOT have to sign up in order to attend any specific rally, just check with MoveOn or DefendWisconsin for the schedule in your state. All rallies are being held in each state's respective statehouse.

You can also sign a solidarity petition.

Walker Breaks Another Promise as the Wisconsin Assembly Passes the Anti-Union Bill Via Trickery

Gov. Scott Walker’s promise:

He promised to sign legislation if elected governor that prohibits the Legislature from voting after 10 p.m. or before 9 a.m.

Early this morning, the anti-union bill made it past Wisconsin’s Assembly, effectively stripping public sector workers of their collective bargaining rights. Think Progress, emphasis mine:.

Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly approved legislation stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights, in the face of ongoing protests that have gripped Madison for well over a week. The bill passed at 1:17 a.m., and Republicans only held the vote open for “seconds.” The vote was called while many Democrats were outside the Assembly chamber, preventing them from casting no votes. Only 13 of the Assembly’s 38 Democratic members got their votes in on time.Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) praised the Assembly’s action in a statement.

Gov. Walker, praised the Wisconsin lawmakers, never mentioning the trickery involved, nor the fact that Democrats were out of the Chamber when the vote was called:

Day after day Assembly Republicans and Assembly Democrats showed up and did the jobs they were elected to do.  After an unprecedented amount of debate, they continued to do their jobs by casting their votes.  Republicans should be commended for their willingness to cast a vote that will fix this budget and future budgets.  Democrats should also be commended for coming to work every day and giving their constituents a voice at the State Capitol.  Now all the attention is on the Senate.  The fourteen Senate Democrats need to come home and do their jobs, just like the Assembly Democrats did

The bill still has to get through the Wisconsin Senate, and since the Democratic lawmakers remain out of state, they have no quorum for a vote.

Meanwhile, protests are planned throughout the country to fight the Republican goal of ending the middle class in America.

Morning Quote: Another Idiot Denier

Montana State Rep. Joe Read (R) introduced legislation this week which purports that "global warming is beneficial to the welfare and business climate" of Montana.

In an interview with Brad Johnson of Think Progress, Read had this to say:

The science is driven by grant money. It’s all on the side for writing studies that global warming is happening. There’s nothing on the side that says I wish to write a paper that global warming is not an issue. Money has been flowing into the grant purse.

Typical formulaic GOP drone answer to global warming. I just have to wonder if Rep. Read considers the fact that the glaciers in Glacier National Park are expected to be completely gone by 2030 to be a boon for Montana’s tourism industry, since, you know, "global warming is beneficial to the welfare and business climate"….

As recently as 100 years ago, Montana's Glacier National Park had more than 150 glaciers throughout its more than one million acres.

In 2005 only 27 remained. Today the total is down to a just 25 and those that are left are mere remnants of their former frozen selves.

With warmer temperatures and changes to the water cycle, scientists predict Glacier National Park will be glacier-free by 2030.

Daniel Fagre, a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) ecologist who works at the national park believes that even those estimates are too conservative and says the park's namesakes will be gone about ten years ahead of their predicted demise.

"The glaciers have been around for the last seven thousand years," he told CNN, "and if we are going to lose them in the next 10 or 20 years that is a pretty radical shift."

The rapid melting of glaciers has led scientists to believe that mountains are more susceptible to global warming than the lowlands beneath them.

Protests Spreading Across the US

Catch the fever!

In Indiana, as state legislators debate “right-to-work” legislation that would destroy the ability of unions to organize, thousands protested at the Indiana state capitol, and Democratic legislators have walked out in order to protect the right of workers to engage in collective bargaining.

In Ohio, thousands of public sector workers gathered at the state capitol today to protest legislation which would cost workers their right to collectively bargain.

 

In Wisconsin today, protests continued, and Democratic legislators remained absent, as Gov. Scott Walker threatened layoffs.   Act Blue has raised $357,000 in support of Wisconsin’s stand-up Democratic lawmakers, and if you’d like to contribute, just click on the Act Blue link.

BREAKING: It seems that  Gov. Scott Walker has censored internet access in the state capitol.

According to pro-labor protesters in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker (R) may be taking a page from former Egyptian Dictator Hosni Mubarak and cutting off internet access to key protest organizers within the state Capitol building.

If you are in the Capitol attempting to access the internet from a free wifi connection labeled “guest,” you cannot access the site defendwisconsin.org. The site has been used to provide updates on what is happening, where you can volunteer, and where supplies and goods are needed to support protesters. Administrators of the website were notified on Monday that the page is being blocked. Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate says that the site was put on a blacklist typically used to filter out pornography sites so that protestors inside the Capitol could not access this key site.

On Saturday, February 26, in solidarity with Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio, protests will be held in all fifty states at the respective state capitols. Go here to get the specifics for your states protest.

Be sure to sign the petition in support of Wisconsin workers!

We are all Wisconsinites now.

UPDATE 7:30 EST:   Koch Industries Front Group Americans For Prosperity Launches Ad To Support Walker’s Union Busting

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Threatening Layoffs

Now Walker is threatening to begin sending out lay-off notices to state employees if they don’t do what he wants. What an asshat.

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker warned Tuesday that state employees could start receiving layoff notices as early as next week if a bill eliminating most collective bargaining rights isn't passed soon.

Walker said in a statement to The Associated Press that the layoffs wouldn't take effect immediately. He didn't say which workers would be targeted but he has repeatedly warned that up to 1,500 workers could lose their jobs by July if his proposal isn't passed.

Honestly, I think Walker needs to reassess because I do not think he is going to win this fight.

Poll Shows Strong Support for Wisconsin Protesters

Greg Sargent:

Wisconsin poll finds strong support for public employees: With the standoff in Wisconsin intensifying, the well-respected Dem firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner has released a new polling memo -- bankrolled by unions -- finding strong opposition to Governor Scott Walker's proposal to roll back bargaining rights. Key finding: When read a very detailed explanation of Walker's proposal, 52 percent of Wisconsin voters oppose it, 42 percent strongly so. Meanwhile, 42 percent support it, only 24 percent strongly.

The poll finds that since the standoff began, "Walker has seen real erosion in his standing, with a majority expressing disapproval of his job performance and disagreement with his agenda."

And: "When asked more specifically, 58 percent oppose eliminating collective bargaining, 57 percent oppose reducing wages for public employees and 50 percent oppose reducing pension benefits for public employees." And 59 percent of independents oppose the collective bargaining piece, too.

Read the full poll report here.

Just so you know, Conservatives are making noise about Obama’s support for the protests, with some even talking impeachment, which is, of course, a reach. You can read a couple of these posts here and here. HT Balloon Juice

If you’d like to contribute to the effort to support Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin while they’re away from the capitol, go here.

My posts on the protests in Wisconsin.

Morning Quote: Rachel Maddow

Rachel Maddow on the Wisconsin protests

If you break the public unions in Wisconsin you can break them everywhere.

And as Maddow points out in the video, the Democratic Party can not survive with out the unions. (thank you again, SCOTUS, for the Citizens United ruling).

The Truth About Wisconsin Public Sector Employee Compensation

First of all, just to ensure that we’re on the same page, when I say “paid” in this piece, I am referring to total compensation which includes not only salary, but health care plans, and so forth.

That said, a ubiquitous Republican meme is the one where in their world, public sector employees get paid wayyy more than than they’re worth in the real world, and wayyy more than their counterparts in the private sector are paid, which they also rant, is totally unfair and against all that is righteous. Sigh.

The chart depicts the results of a study by the Economic Policy Institute which should lay this stupid meme to rest, although of course it won’t, the right wing will keep spewing the lies, but at least you’ll know exactly how to respond.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, the exact opposite is true; public sector workers in Wisconsin are compensated less than their counterparts in the private sector.

In Wisconsin, which has become a focal point in this debate, public servants already take a pretty hefty pay cut just for the opportunity to serve their communities (Keefe 2010).  The figure below shows that when comparing the total compensation (which includes non-wage benefits such as health care and pensions) of workers with similar education, public-sector workers consistently make less than their private–sector peers.  Workers with a bachelor’s degree or more—which constitute nearly 60% of the state and local workforce in Wisconsin—are compensated between $20,000 less (if they just have a bachelor’s degree) to over $82,000 a year less (if they have a professional degree, such as in law or medicine).

It is necessary for making true apples-to-apples comparisons to control for worker characteristics such as education in order to best measure a worker’s potential earnings in a different sector or industry.  Controlling for a larger range of earnings predictors—including not just education but also age, experience, gender, race, etc., Wisconsin public-sector workers face an annual compensation penalty of 11%.  Adjusting for the slightly fewer hours worked per week on average, these public workers still face a compensation penalty of 5% for choosing to work in the public sector.

For Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) to attempt to blame his budget woes on public sector workers, to force them not only to take pay cuts, but to give up their collective bargaining rights, is wrong. And if you know that this same Republican governor created his own budget crisis via tax cuts for corporations the minute he took office, you know he has no moral ground to stand on in this face-off.

Adding....According to Stark Reports, the cuts Walker is demanding amount to about $100 per week for public sector workers in Wisconsin. That is one hell of a lot to cut for someone earning $52k, which is what Stark says is the median teacher's salary in Wisconsin.

I mean, when all is said and done, the Governor is reaching into these workers’ pockets and taking out about $100 from every week’s paycheck.

Via Ezra Klein

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RELATED: Koch Industries Slashed WI Jobs, Helped Elect Scott Walker, Now Orchestrating Pro-Walker Protest

Privatization Really Does Suck

This is just unbelievable, and has me wondering why Floridians have not gotten out the pitchforks.Outsourcing to India in order to privatize state services? Christ. Ed Wallace:

This really struck home a week ago. ABC News did a story about Florida's privatizing its food stamp operations to J.P Morgan - which in turn contracted a call center in India to process the claims. Imagine that. Florida gives taxpayers' money to J.P. Morgan, which to make a greater profit uses that money to hire people in India, putting Floridians out of a job. Then out-of-work Floridians have to call India to get approved for food stamps. Now that's ironic.

Most surprising to me was J.P. Morgan's involvement in this......since when did the big financial firms begin dealing in this kind of thing?

Missouri Republicans Want to Roll Back Federal Child Labor Laws

Over the past thirty years, GOP has become the party of two classes of people – the ignorant, and the very wealthy. In the process, they have shredded Democratic achievements and reforms in their wake. Next up, federal child labor laws.

In January, Sen. Mike Lee [R-UT] claimed that federal child labor laws are unconstitutional.

Congress decided it wanted to prohibit [child labor], so it passed a law—no more child labor. The Supreme Court heard a challenge to that and the Supreme Court decided a case in 1918 called Hammer v. Dagenhardt. In that case, the Supreme Court acknowledged something very interesting — that, as reprehensible as child labor is, and as much as it ought to be abandoned — that’s something that has to be done by state legislators, not by Members of Congress. [...]

This may sound harsh, but it was designed to be that way. It was designed to be a little bit harsh. Not because we like harshness for the sake of harshness, but because we like a clean division of power, so that everybody understands whose job it is to regulate what.

Now, we got rid of child labor, notwithstanding this case. So the entire world did not implode as a result of that ruling.

Currently in Missouri, state Sen. Jane Cunningham (R) is pushing a bill which would remove many of the protections of federal child labor laws from the children of Missouri. From the bill’s official summary:

This act modifies the child labor laws. It eliminates the prohibition on employment of children under age fourteen. Restrictions on the number of hours and restrictions on when a child may work during the day are also removed. It also repeals the requirement that a child ages fourteen or fifteen obtain a work certificate or work permit in order to be employed. Children under sixteen will also be allowed to work in any capacity in a motel, resort or hotel where sleeping accommodations are furnished. It also removes the authority of the director of the Division of Labor Standards to inspect employers who employ children and to require them to keep certain records for children they employ. It also repeals the presumption that the presence of a child in a workplace is evidence of employment.

So, the influence of the Koch brothers founded Tea Party rocks on to the detriment of all but the power mongers.

Updating Daily Political News Brief

What we're reading today:

Good news for the Affordable Care Act came in the form of a Mississippi judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit.

Egyptian government officials have joined the protests in Cairo, as the cries for Mubarak’s resignation grow louder.

Gov. Jan Brewer [R-AZ] struck out at Mayor Bloomberg [I-NYC] over the Arizona gun sales sting conducted by his administration.

President Obama will take questions from reporters today at a press conference regarding the crisis in #Egypt. There is chatter on the Hill that he is talking to Egyptian officials regarding a plan for Mubarak to resign immediately. UPDATE: the Obama administration is now in talks with Egyptian officials, and has said that the U.S, wants Mubarak to resign immediately.

What happened to the Republican chatter about shutting down the federal government?

We know that thanks to the rulings of activist judges in the matter of the Affordable Care Act, the case will very probably go to the Supreme Court sooner rather than later. Looking forward, Sen. Orrin Hatch [R-UT] is calling for Justice Elena Kagan to recuse herself from the consideration of the case, because she is partisan. Using that criteria, of course we should also excuse Alito, Thomas, Roberts, Scalia, and Kennedy. Ridiculous. H/T Ashby

The government has agreed to grant full collective bargaining rights to 40,000 airport screeners. Stay tuned for the massive Republican meltdown! H/T Ashby

Are the decisions Clarence Thomas made serving on the Supreme Court making his wife rich?

A Republican wants to raise taxes? Sen. Saxby Chambliss [R-GA] believes a tax increase is essential for deficit reduction.

No, President Obama did not order blackouts.

Morning Quote: Sarah Palin

Last weekend in Reno, Nevada, former half-term governor, Sarah Palin, addressed the Safari Club International’s annual convention. Notably, she warned the audience that President Obama wants to take their guns. Yee haw!

This recent talk coming from the White House about President Obama's attempts to perhaps infringe further upon our Second Amendment rights. We need to keep tabs on what the White House is telling us. Just think if we had even stricter gun control laws! Imagine, though—imagine making life even more miserable for the liberals who want that gun control. Here's how I figure it. Remember that weird guy in Wisconsin was so angry, so upset, watching a Palin win slot after slot each week on Dancing with the Stars that he shot Bristol through his TV? He blasted his Panasonic? Well, I'm thinking, 'Imagine more gun control. Then he'd have to attack his Panasonic with a butter knife.'

Meanwhile, yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg’s probe announced their findings that guns are easily purchased illegally in Arizona.

On Monday, Bloomberg trumpeted the findings as proof that current gun-control regulations are ineffective at keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals, the mentally ill and others who are barred by law from purchasing them.

Private gun merchants are not required to run background checks when they sell firearms, but are barred from providing them to individuals who the seller "has reason to believe" are prohibited from purchasing weapons. In one video, however, a seller at the gun show tells the investigator, "Just need to see an Arizona ID and that's it with me." When the investigator replied that he "probably couldn't pass one," the seller looks down, shakes his head and proceeds with the sale.

The investigators also purchased a Glock 9mm -- similar to the gun alleged Tucson shooter Jared Loughner used -- without a background check from a private seller at the gun show, which is legal under a loophole in federal firearms laws. Although federally-licensed gun-dealers are required to make background checks before selling guns, private and supposedly "occasional" dealers are not required to conduct such checks.

Critics of the current sales law say the gun-show loophole allows criminals and other prohibited buyers an easy avenue for purchasing guns, but legislation to change that has stalled in Congress. After the Tucson shooting earlier this month, several lawmakers introduced bills to strengthen gun laws, including a bill that would require background checks for all gun sales, but they are unlikely to pass.

The constant lies from the Right Wing just make me freaking tired.

Michigan School District Allows Students to Wear Ceremonial Swords to Classes

WTF?  This is just asking for trouble. While the blade is required to be short and dull, the fact that it’s pointed and is seen as a weapon, is a real problem.

PLYMOUTH, Mich. (WXYZ) - Students of the Sikh faith will be allowed to wear ceremonial swords in the Plymouth-Canton school district.

CLICK HERE to read announcement from Plymouth-Canton Community Schools.

The blade of the Kirpan must be dull and no longer than two and one-forth inches long and the ceremonial sword must be worn under clothing and not visible in any way. [……]