Legal Commentary

On Wisconsin!

By Big Tent Democrat

I still have not had a chance to delve into the substance and specifics of the "Battle of Wisconsin," but I am struck by the fact that whether purposefully or not, the Republican and Democratic parties are stumbling into a class based political battle. Even President Obama has gotten into the act:

President Obama thrust himself and his political operation this week into Wisconsin's broiling budget battle, mobilizing opposition Thursday to a Republican bill that would curb public-worker benefits and planning similar protests in other state capitals. Obama accused Scott Walker, the state's new Republican governor, of unleashing an "assault" on unions in pushing emergency legislation that would change future collective-bargaining agreements that affect most public employees, including teachers.

This is very unObama-like. The Republican Party seems eager to take the other side of this battle:

Speaker of the House John Boehner today credited Wisconsin’s Republican Governor Scott Walker for taking “courageous action” and “daring to speak the truth” about his state’s financial difficulties and ripped President Obama for criticizing Walker’s proposed reforms and failing to show leadership on the economy.

[. . .] “Republicans in Congress – and reform-minded GOP governors like Scott Walker…are daring to speak the truth about the dire fiscal challenges Americans face at all levels of government, and daring to commit themselves to solutions that will liberate our economy and help put our citizens on a path to prosperity,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement Thursday. “I’m disappointed that instead of providing similar leadership from the White House, the president has chosen to attack leaders such as Gov. Walker, who are listening to the people and confronting problems that have been neglected for years at the expense of jobs and economic growth.”

One of the important aspects of this fight, at least to me, is how deleterious The Deal was to these discussions. Because, at the end of the day, the Battle of Wisconsin is the same fight - how do we pay for government and what do we want the government to do.

Instead of fighting for the working class, the Democrats surrendered in December. Perhaps they are willing to fight now, but the gave up the high ground in December. More on this and related issues in later posts.

In the meantime, On Wisconsin!:

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 18, 2011 (boomark / email).