Funding from national Democratic Party organizations, funding by George Soros backed organizations and funding by Unions on the national level; these are the combined Democrat resources coming to bear on the eight GOP state Senators in Wisconsin.
It’s all in the giant squeeze play to nullify the results of the November 2nd election.
These are the same groups who called the members, of the genuine grass roots efforts, of conservative citizens… Astroturf. Maybe, they didn’t like the way this grass roots movement borrowed Tea Party from the famous 1773 event in Boston Harbor (and the 1774 one in Charleston Harbor that was less famous).
Can anyone else see that the pot is now calling the kettle black? In 2009 and 2010, concerned and like minded citizens formed local “Patriot Groups.” There are some national groups like Tea Party Patriots, American Majority and Sam Adams Alliance to name a few. There are even more of the independent, local groups that popped up like weeds around the state. Local groups like Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty, Rock River Patriots, and Fox Valley Initiative to name just a few of the nearly 100 groups around the state. These groups reflected the true composition of the state and they these local groups weren’t bankrolled by those phantom billionaires. They are genuine, concerned citizens and patriots.
Yet with relatively few national organizations providing leadership, these people rallied and formed their own local groups to keep the movement going. They are the real thing, not Astroturf.
Now, we see the real Astroturf rolling out. These national groups are sending a message their minority is in control and the majority of Wisconsinites must kowtow to their progressive or socialistic, mantras and ideology. News reports today say that the Brad Traverse Group in Washington DC is seeking to hire people to to canvas recall petitions in Wisconsin. That is not genuine and it definitely fits the definition of… Astroturf.
As usual, these folks are the loud minority and they ignore the facts and truth. The current noise is coming from the unionize segment of the 175-thousand, state government employees in Wisconsin. This same group is acting as if they are some sort of disadvantaged group. Through the privilege of collective bargaining, most middle income, government employees are not disadvantaged and certainly not impoverished. These are a couple gems they get to enjoy like no other employee (union or otherwise):
1. Sick Leave Stacking – this is practice where an employee can call in sick for their assigned shift then later call back and volunteer for a later shift. The result, they collect sick pay for the initial shift plus Over Time for the volunteered shift. This is a great perk, 2.5x pay for a single day’s work.
2. Government Union Insurance – the WEA Trust is the health insurance arm of the teachers union, many school districts got themselves bargained into it exclusively. The big problem, the pricing is not competitive with comparable plans available on the open market. A typical family plan cost 10k to 15k more via WEA Trust. Taxpayer effect; a district with 2,000 teachers could be over paying by as much as $20 to $25 Million dollars for the district insurance plan.
What happened to the idea that government employees and elected officials at all levels are supposed to be jealously guarding the tax dollars to prevent unnecessary costs, expenses and abuses? The government employee unions figured out they can use the political system to make amazing gains in public sector wages and benefits. Now that they got caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar; they claim making changes is now a civil rights issue to deflect attention from the real issue of fiscal malfeasance.
A common liberal tactic is to launch a dis-informational press release on an issue and the conservatives typically lose a whole day generating a rebuttal.
A few classic ones of late:
1. Gov. Walker plans to kill your dog.
2. Government employees will have to pay 100% of pensions and health insurance.
3. Republicans bolts the Capitol windows shut.
4. Rep. Mark Pocan (D) claims that the $3.6 Billion dollar shortfall estimate is false.
With all this disinformation out there, it’s no wonder people have trouble finding the truth.
Now that the Wisconsin Senate striped out the fiscal appropriations (and left all the other parts including collecting bargaining privileges in the Budget Repair Bill) and voted for passing it, the state’s unionized government employees are hopping mad. The fleeing 14 Democrat Senators made all sort of excuses for not being in Madison doing their job representing the people. Senators Chris Larson, Lena Taylor, Mark Miller and 7 others were all on MSNCB’s “Ed Show” last night bemoaning the results of their selfish actions. Then, got onto their soapbox about the recall and calling for “changing the faces” in Madison. I guess they need a reminder that on November 2nd, the voters did exactly that with the election and it’s why there is a Republican majority in Madison.
Ultimately, the recall question and Astroturf label comes to a head in the next 75 days. Will the Astroturf led government employees succeed in creating recall elections for the eight Republican state Senators?
I’m calling out to all the conservatives who rallied at the Tea Parties and inundated the the Capitol phone lines to stop KRM-RTA bill, Gov. Doyle’s Vote Reform bill plus the WI Cap and Trade bill. It is, once again, the time for action.
If there is a recall in your area, you need to be active and support the conservative, Republican incumbents. If you want to dis-join the opposition’s efforts, help with the grass roots group’s recall of the Democrat Senators.
If this Astroturf led recall is successful, you have to get out there campaign and vote to return your conservative Senator to Madison.
Thomas Paine reminds us:
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
“A little matter will move a party, but it must be something great that moves a nation.”
We created the initial movement towards restoring fiscal sanity to the state on Nov. 2nd. We must not sit back for now. It is already time again for real conservative action and countering the real Astroturf that is invading Wisconsin.
