Wisconsin moves on Collective bargaining and other Democrat Disasters

G.O.P. Tactic Ends Stalemate in Wisconsin Union Fight

The bitter political standoff in Wisconsin over Gov. Scott Walker’s bid to sharply curtail collective bargaining for public-sector workers ended abruptly Wednesday night as Republican colleagues in the State Senate successfully maneuvered to adopt a bill doing just that.

After a three-week stalemate, REPUBLICAN SENATORS PUSHED THE MEASURE THROUGH IN LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR EVEN AS THE SENATE’S DEMOCRATS REMAINED MANY MILES AWAY, trying to block the vote. Democrats in the State Assembly complained bitterly, and protesters, who had spent many days at the Capitol, continued their chants and jeers.

The Republicans control the Senate but had been blocked from voting on the issue after Senate Democrats left the state last month to prevent a quorum. INSTEAD, THE REPUBLICANS USED A PROCEDURAL MANEUVER WEDNESDAY TO FORCE THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING MEASURE THROUGH: they removed elements of Governor Walker’s bill that were technically related to appropriating funds, thus lifting a requirement that 20 senators be present for a vote. In the end, the Senate’s 19 Republicans approved the measure, 18 to 1, without any debate on the floor or a single Democrat in the room.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/us/10wisconsin.html?_r=1


Only in the liberal media would the Republican move be called a procedural maneuver while the Democrats fled the state. If anything this was a counter maneuver.



More on the Wisconsin vote and aftermath

Wisconsin Democrats got just what they deserved and what they should have seen coming, but NEVERTHELESS THEY ARE GOING INSANE. Ann Althouse reports that Democrat Party THUGS HAVE STORMED THE STATE CAPITOL, OUTNUMBERED OR OVERPOWERED SECURITY, AND HANDCUFFED THE DOORS SHUT FROM THE INSIDE. They apparently are barricading themselves inside the Capitol to keep police out.

Let's hope that the authorities have finally had enough, and the Democrats and union thugs are arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/03/028556.php


I thought that the left was always civil. I thought it was the TEA Party that was the trouble makers when they don’t get their way. I guess I should listen to the left wing press.



Votes backfire on Senate Dems

SENATE DEMOCRATS SUFFERED A WAVE OF DEFECTIONS WEDNESDAY AS THEIR PROPOSAL TO CUT JUST OVER $6 BILLION FROM FEDERAL SPENDING THIS YEAR WENT DOWN TO DEFEAT.

The Democratic bill attracted two fewer votes than the rival GOP measure that would cut spending by another $57 billion this year. The 11 defections will give Republican leaders ammunition in subsequent talks, as they were able to keep their caucus more unified.

The GOP measure lost by a vote of 44 to 56, while the Democratic bill was rejected, 42-58.

“ELEVEN SENATE DEMOCRATS JUST VOTED AGAINST THEIR LEADERSHIP’S PROPOSAL,” said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). “The bill supported by Sen. Reid ... proved less popular than the ‘draconian’ House Republican proposal in the Democrat-controlled Senate.”

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/148577-votes-backfire-on-dems


With 23 Democratic Senate seats up for reelection this coming year and 95% of likely voters rating the deficit as a problem, it’s surprising any Democrat would vote for a bill that only cuts 6 billion out of a $1.65 trillion deficit. The Democrats lost 11 Democratic Senators and the Republican lost 3 of theirs for the same reason: they thought the cuts were too small. But with only 9 days to go on the Continuing Resolution, something has to give and it appears it will have to be Reid.



$862 Billion Over 10 years

THAT’S HOW MUCH THE HOUSE REPUBLICAN PLAN TO CUT $61 BILLION IN NON-DEFENSE DISCRETIONARY SPENDING OVER THE NEXT SEVEN MONTHS WOULD ACTUALLY REDUCE THE DEFICIT. By lowering the initial spending baseline (however slightly), and thus reducing the need to keep borrowing — and paying interest on — money from China, et al., the savings would eventually add up to quite a substantial sum.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) says: “[Republicans'] fervor for spending cuts is not grounded in deficit reduction at all. INSTEAD THE FAR RIGHT WING HAS DELIBERATELY CONFUSED TWO SEPARATE ISSUES. They’ve conflated reducing the deficit — which is not their true priority — WITH CUTTING GOVERNMENT — WHICH IS.”

Sen. Jeff Session (R., Ala.), ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, explains why he’s wrong:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/261805/862-billion-over-10-years-andrew-stiles


I don’t agree with Schumer very often, but he is right that the Republicans want to cut government. And the problem is????? This looks like a win/win to me.



O’Keefe: More NPR Material ‘Coming Out Very Soon,’ Could Make Story Even ‘Bigger’

For NPR, the public relations nightmare may have just begun: JAMES O’KEEFE IS PLANNING TO RELEASE MORE OF THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN HIS GROUP, PROJECT VERITAS, AND NPR EMPLOYEES.

“We’ve got more material coming out very soon that will shine more light on things,” O’Keefe tells National Review Online. “It’s going to cover after the lunch as well [as before the lunch].”

O’Keefe says he doesn’t know if the current video will result in a loss of federal funding for NPR. “It’s unclear. WE HAVE MORE MATERIAL. IT MIGHT EVEN MAKE IT [THE STORY] BIGGER.”

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/261789/o-keefe-more-npr-material-coming-out-very-soon-could-make-story-even-bigger-katrina-tr


As you can see, things are not going well for the left. And here's an update.  Patterico questioned a tweet sent out the NPR's ombudsman.  Seems like the left has a difficult time checking their facts even when it was laid out for them.  Just another reason to defund NPR. 

http://patterico.com/2011/03/10/reckless-disregard-for-the-truth-my-incredible-interchange-with-the-npr-ombudsman/



Is O’Keefe’s Next Video of PBS?

PBS CONFIRMED WEDNESDAY THAT LIKE NPR, ONE OF ITS EXECUTIVES ATTENDED A LUNCH WITH PEOPLE WHO POSED AS MEMBERS OF THE MUSLIM EDUCATION ACTION CENTER TRUST, a fictional group. When those people had lunch with NPR executives, they falsely claimed that they wanted to donate up to $5 million to public media. The NPR executives were secretly videotaped at the lunch.

Anne Bentley, a PBS spokeswoman, said PBS’ senior vice president for development, BRIAN REDDINGTON, ATTENDED A LUNCH WITH THE FAKE DONORS IN FEBRUARY. She said she had “no sense at all” of whether Mr. Reddington was taped during that lunch; WHEN ASKED IF PBS WAS CONCERNED ABOUT A POSSIBLE TAPE SURFACING, SHE DECLINED TO COMMENT

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/261791/o-keefe-s-next-video-pbs-katrina-trinko


Hmmm, I wonder what he has to say about the TEA Party. This is getting interesting.

Obama: Get off the bench


By A.B. Stoddard

Even before a member of his own party scolded him on the floor of the U.S. Senate for failing to lead, IT WAS ALREADY PAST TIME FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA TO GET INTO THE GAME ON BUDGET REFORM that tackles entitlements and the tax code. HE IGNORED THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF HIS OWN DEBT COMMISSION, gave lip service to the burden of mandatory spending in his State of the Union address, and THEN INTRODUCED A BUDGET THAT CONFIRMED HE WOULD INDEED DODGE THE HARD STUFF. Yet while Obama willfully completed his third strike in another round of politics-as-usual, the unthinkable has happened. All around him, Republicans and Democrats are gripping the third rail, delving openly into a discussion of entitlement reform. WILL OBAMA SHOW THE SAME GUTS?

http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/ab-stoddard/148529-obama-get-off-the-bench


If anyone thinks Obama is a leader, please say "Present" to signify it.


Meanwhile Britain faces the problems with Public Employee benefits

SWITCHING PUBLIC SECTOR PENSIONS FROM A ‘FINAL SALARY’ TO ‘CAREER AVERAGE’ BASIS MAY SOUND LIKE A TECHNICAL POINT BUT COULD CUT PAYOUTS BY 40PC, ACTUARIES CALCULATE.

The professional mathematicians who advise pension funds say YOUNG PEOPLE AND HIGH FLYERS WILL BE HIT HARDEST by the changes recommended in Lord Hutton’s report.

John Wright, head of public sector pensions, at Hymans Robertson said public sector workers who achieve promotion during their career and currently retire with final salary pensions worth £60,000 might expect this to fall to just over £35,000 under the new career average pension proposals…..

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ianmcowie/100009742/hutton-cuts-public-sector-pensions-by-40pc-mps-must-lead-by-example/


Reality is reality around the world. When are the Democratic leaders going to finally face reality?


Bachman right: $105 billion in spending in Obamacare bill

Today former Congressman Ernest Istook testified before the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee about the $105 billion slush fund in advance appropriations liberals tucked inside Obamacare. THE $105 BILLION BYPASSES THE TRADITIONAL YEARLY BUDGETING PROCESS AND IS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE 2,700 PAGE LEGISLATION. It took the Congressional Research Service (CRS) seven months to identify all the disparate funds and it was not until February (11 months after the bill passed) that all of the funds could be totaled up.

REP. MICHELLE BACHMANN (R-MN) HAS BEEN BEATING THE DRUM to raise awareness of this unprecedented level of advance spending. But the liberal media has been attacking her for calling it “hidden” funding. In reality, Rep. Bachmann said that “practically no Member of Congress even knew that $105 billion of funding was” in the bill. FACTCHECK SAYS THAT THIS FUNDING WAS KNOWN TO “THOSE WHO READ THE BILL … including members of Congress.” But does FactCheck really believe that any member of Congress read all 2,700 pages of the bill? Do they have any evidence at all that any member of Congress knew about the $105 billion figure before CRS published their report this February?

http://blog.heritage.org/2011/03/09/politifact-factcheck-and-wapo-all-confirm-the-105-billion-obamacare-slush-fund-exists/#more-54283


Has any previous bill in history ever had such a deceitful passage? Pelosi appears to be right. We needed to pass the bill to find out what’s in it and then it took 11 months to get this little ditty.

The Final Stretch

Something we are all asking

President Obama Heads into Midterms at Lowest Approval Rating of Presidency


Two-thirds of Americans believe country going off on the wrong track

NEW YORK , N.Y. - October 25, 2010 - President Obama is spending the next week crisscrossing the country in support of Democratic candidates before this year's midterm elections. While the president may do a great job of energizing the base, he may not be able to convert any Independents who have yet to decide for whom they will vote. Currently, TWO-THIRDS OF AMERICANS (67%) HAVE A NEGATIVE OPINION OF THE JOB PRESIDENT OBAMA IS DOING WHILE JUST OVER ONE-THIRD (37%) HAVE A POSITIVE OPINION. This continues the president's downward trend and he is now at the lowest job approval rating of his presidency.


These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 3,084 adults surveyed online between October 11 and 18, 2010 by Harris Interactive.


It's perhaps not surprising that nine in ten Republicans (90%) and Conservatives (89%) give the job the president is doing negative ratings. WHAT MAY BE SURPRISING IS THAT ONE-THIRD OF DEMOCRATS (34%) AND LIBERALS (33%) ALSO GIVE HIM NEGATIVE RATINGS, AS DO SEVEN IN TEN INDEPENDENTS (70%) AND SIX IN TEN MODERATES (60%).

Obama is now in George Bush territory.

http://www.harrisinteractive.com/Hi_assets/TopHitPageNews.html


RCP Battle for the House


Latest numbers from RCP shows that the Republicans continue to gain in the area of safe, likely and leans Republicans which now stands at 225 (7 more than needed for control of the House). The Democrats stand at 178 and there are 32 toss ups.

IF REPUBLICANS WOULD WIN HALF OF THE TOSS UPS THEY WOULD END UP WITH 241 SEATS A PICKUP OF 62 SEATS. 


Military Tribunals begin

Three thousand, three hundred and thirty-two days after the attacks of 9/11, a Guantanamo Bay detainee yesterday proved military tribunals are the way to go in bringing accused Al Qaeda terrorists to justice.


OMAR KHADR, CAPTURED IN AFGHANISTAN IN 2002, PLEADED GUILTY TO LOBBING A GRENADE AT U.S. SOLDIERS, KILLING ONE, AS WELL AS TO PLANTING 10 ROADSIDE BOMBS. Although there was no doubt that Khadr had committed the acts, he became a cause célèbre among self-styled human rights activists.


A hue and cry went up because Khadr was 15 when he killed Army Sgt. Christopher Speer outside an Al Qaeda compound near the Afghan city of Khost. It was said, nonsensically, that Khadr was too young to be tried as an enemy combatant……..


A deal has been reached and he will be sentenced with the maximum he can get is 8 more years. It isn’t enough for what he did, but at least it is a start.

I wonder what is the current status of trying the ringleaders of 9/11 in civilian trials in NYC?

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/10/26/2010-10-26_enough_with_the_little_fish.html#ixzz13SUbwISI


What PBS is really up to

Last week, National Public Radio CEO Vivian Schiller took a break from her crusade for a government takeover of the media to swat a fly. With now-former NPR analyst Juan Williams suitably splattered across the evening news after politically incorrect comments he made on Fox News, Schiller can return to her real passion – THE CREATION OF A NATIONAL NETWORK TO ENSURE THAT IN THE FUTURE, YOU GET YOUR NEWS FROM THE GOVERNMENT in general and NPR in particular…..


They are beefing up their staffs in local news markets with herds of public news reporters to “take over” coverage as commercial media fails. Nationwide, this will cost $40 billion to $60 billion over a decade, they believe. Their plans, according to the FCC’s Future of Media report, are to raise this money BY TAXING FOR-PROFIT NEWS ORGANIZATIONS – the ones whose reporting Schiller is supposedly trying to “save.” They want to charge “spectrum fees” of five percent of broadcast station revenues for use of the public spectrum and airwaves, which the government controls. They figure that could bring in $1.8 billion a year. A one percent tax on all electronic devices like cell phones, televisions and laptops could bring in billions more. So would a monthly fee on internet subscriptions.

This is absolutely ridiculous. In an age with multiple sources of news, Shiller is proposing a taxpayer sponsored mega-giant news organizations similar to the BBC. JUST ANOTHER REASON TO VOTE FOR REPUBLICANS AND DEFUND NPR.

http://townhall.com/columnists/TaraServatius/2010/10/25/npr_ceo_vivian_schiller_key_architect_of_fcc_govt_takeover_of_the _news/page/full/


Grayson headed for the dumpster

Here’s a story that renews your faith in the American public. Alan Grayson a Neanderthal of a politician is significantly behind his Republican opponent, Daniel Webster.

Holding a steady 7-point lead over a controversial and increasingly malodorous incumbent, Republican Daniel Webster is poised to knock out U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, a new Sunshine State News Poll shows.

WEBSTER, A FORMER STATE SENATOR, LEADS GRAYSON, D-ORLANDO, 48-41. Florida TEA Party candidate Peg Dunmire garnered 4 percent, No Party Affiliation candidate George Metcalfe got 1 percent, and 5 percent of respondents were undecided.


In a previous poll, conducted Sept. 25, Webster led Grayson 43-36, an identical 7-point margin.

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/poll-daniel-webster-beats-down-angry-alan-grayson



Enthusiasm gap

Despite across-the-country rallies by President Obama and get-out-the-vote efforts by his allies, ONLY 37% OF DEMOCRATS AND DEMOCRATIC -LEANING REGISTERED VOTERS REPORT MORE ENTHUSIASM THAN USUAL ABOUT VOTING, a decline from early in the year.


Meanwhile, 63% OF REPUBLICANS AND REPUBLICAN-LEANING REGISTERED VOTERS SAY THEY ARE MORE ENTHUSIASTIC THAN USUAL, the biggest advantage for either party on this key measure in any midterm election since Gallup began asking the question in 1994. Then, Republicans had a 9-point enthusiasm advantage in a year Democrats lost control of the U.S. House and Senate.


Now, the enthusiasm gap is 26 points.

Two points. First the enthusiasm gap is almost 3 times what it was in 1994. Second, Obama is out there trying to get the Democrats pumped up and their level of enthusiasm has declined.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2010-10-26-1Apoll26_ST_N.htm


Voter fraud

Ever wonder what voter fraud can look like.? This was very interesting

A new video by conservative activist James O’Keefe appears to show a New Jersey union official describing voter fraud during a Jersey City mayor’s race several years ago.


O’Keefe would not tell The Daily Caller how he obtained what appears to be audio of Wayne Dibofsky, the associate director of the New Jersey Education Association, admitting that voter fraud took place inside the union’s Jersey City office in 1997.


The incident Dibofsky seems to describe took place during a race that pitted conservative Republican Bret Schundler, the incumbent, against Democrat


Jaime Vazquez. On O’Keefe’s video, a man identified as Dibofsky recalls that on election day 1997, a man arrived at the Jersey City union office and dropped off two voting machines.


“I said, ‘we’re not a voting precinct,’” Dibofsky explains. “And the guy says, ‘I don’t care, I was told to deliver them here.’ I said, ‘nobody is going to come and vote,’ and he winks at me and he says ‘doesn’t matter,’ which meant the machines were already loaded, locked and voted, vote tallies were added.”

http://dailycaller.com/2010/10/26/o%E2%80%99keefe-video-appears-to-show-new-jersey-union-official-describing-voter-fraud/#ixzz13UwVWS7o


Race and Obama

Recently the President of the United States of America said in a radio interview that aired on Univision.

“If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, ‘WE’RE GONNA PUNISH OUR ENEMIES and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us,’ if they don’t see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it’s gonna be harder and that’s why I think it’s so important that people focus on voting on November 2.”


This is an obvious racial call to action. It is completely unacceptable to use this kind of language in 2010 by any mainstream politician. This is not a post racial President, but someone appealing to the worst in us all.

In Search of Racism in Middle America

Rich Benjamin embarked on a treacherous journey into the heart of enemy territory. No, he wasn't a soldier stationed in Afghanistan. And, no, he didn't masquerade as a veiled woman in Saudi Arabia.


A black man, Benjamin lived for three months at a time in these lily-white communities: St. George, Utah; Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; and Forsyth County, Georgia. HE ANTICIPATED A GAUNTLET OF RACIAL HATE. And yet he describes his journey this way, in his book, Searching for Whitopia.


In St. George, I fell in with a hospitable, if rowdy, poker crew, gathering for Texas hold 'em at least twice a week. Being a proud Episcopal, I regularly attended the Sunday services at Grace Church. ... I hiked up Taylor Creek in Zion National Park with the Episcopalian Seniors social group ... In Coeur d'Alene, I fraternized with retired LAP cops, attending their annual charity golf tournament to support wounded brethren. ... Finally, in Forsyth County, I got to know IgNite, the youth ministry of First Redeemer, and attended the Baptist mega-church's main service every Sunday morning. This drew me into a whirlwind: lunch with the youth after service, Friday night socials, volleyball and pickup basketball in the church's gleaming indoor gym ...

I hosted about ten dinner parties and luncheons, some spontaneous, some formal ... Ben, a twenty-six-year-old cobbler who arrived with Kina, his longtime girlfriend, teased me because they felt the meal was "fancy." TO THIS DAY, I WEAR A HANDSOME PAIR OF SANDALS THAT BEN COBBLED FOR ME ...

Sorry, libs, your bigotry of assuming racism in fly over country and with tea party activists just doesn’t hold true.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/10/looking_for_racism_in_all_the.html