Wisconsin ...Again

Well it is all over but the shouting. Wisconsin state workers have been stripped of their collective bargaining rights. Democrats are enraged that Walker stripped the collective bargaining portion of the bill from the rest, thus making it officially non financial, and this make it something that can be voted on without a quorum in the Senate.

A truthful statement made by some Republicans that this is much the same thing Democrats in the U S Senate did last year in passing the health care bill last year through a relatively little used parliamentary procedure.

In both cases the opposite side feels enraged, more by their helplessness than any thing else.

Unions have been hurting in this country for a long time and they will continue to for the foreseeable future. The gap between rich and poor continues to grow. Republicans have a demographic problem as this country becomes older in the white shades and younger in the brown and black shades. All the money and campaign contributions in the world will not protect them from those numbers in the future. For now they are holding on with all the can and much as we dislike some of their ideas and tactics it is their right.

This battle has crystallized a fact that we too often forget. Elections have consequences. The fault for this is not with Republicans. They knew what they wanted, what they voted for and have achieved it. The fault for this is with Democrats, especially traditional union workers and those Democrats of the middle class who fall or have fallen for the standard we need to cut this and that, limit welfare, foreign aid, help business create jobs and lower your taxes. Polls show that a significant portion of the union households in Wisconsin voted for Walker. Now did Walker do a bait and switch, some say yes some say no.

Here is a hard fact. Any union member, educator, or person of traditional Democratic constituencies who votes for a Republican gets the government they deserve. This is a class battle. This is big business and the wealthy wanting more and more. What Republicans always do better in election time is convince those who are not on thier team to play with them so that after the election they can beat them up. i liken it to the gym teacher letting an unpoplular kid choose the activity and the rich kids convincing him to play the game of thier choice by being nice to him and making promises of putting him on thier team. Once the game starts that youg man is on the bench and will see less playing time than before.

As much as we all want to be Americans we have to accept that thier are sides. Elections have consequences. Democrats wuld be wise to remember this from here on out.