Employee Freedom Does Not Enable “Free Riders,” Union Contracts Do
March 22, 2012 at 5:35 am | Posted in Political | Leave a commentTags: Dave Thompson, Employee Freedom, free rider, gop, Labor, minnesota, Right-to-Work, Steve Drazkoswki, unions
I have a friend who I’ve known longer than I haven’t, an unapologetic conservative who happens to serve the City of Minneapolis as a firefighter. Last week, he told me he could no longer vote ‘yes’ for the proposed employee freedom constitutional amendment in good conscience. Why? Because his union had told him that the passage of employee freedom would enable employees to obtain all the benefits of union membership without paying dues. “That’s not what I thought it was,” he told me.
Although he wants the choice to be part of the union or not, he said he believes the freedom of association should work both ways. I agreed and suddenly found myself in the uncomfortable position of not having a good answer for a legitimate concern. Was it true that unions would still have to represent people who did not pay dues if employee freedom was ratified? If so, how does that jive with free market principles? Continue Reading Employee Freedom Does Not Enable “Free Riders,” Union Contracts Do…
GOP Must Go All-In on Employee Freedom
February 3, 2012 at 5:00 am | Posted in Political | 5 CommentsTags: Dave Thompson, David Hann, Doug Wardlow, Employee Freedom, Ernie Leidiger, gop, Labor, Mary Franson, minnesota, Photo ID, Right-to-Work, Steve Drazkoswki, unions, voter ID
We should clone Senator Dave Thompson. At a recent meeting of the Southwest Metro Tea Party in Chanhassen, the freshman legislator joined Senator David Hann along with their House colleagues Representatives Mary Franson, Ernie Leidiger, and Doug Wardlow in previewing the Reform 2.0 initiatives proposed for this year’s legislative session. At one point, Thompson declared that he would not weigh his prospects for re-election in his decision to support employee freedom (also known as right-to-work). The line earned rousing applause, and for good reason. Thompson understands that he was not sent to St. Paul to advance his political career. He was sent to advocate for his constituents’ fundamental rights.
Unfortunately, if murmurs through the grapevine are true, there are a significant number of Republican legislators who are skittish about joining Thompson and Representative Steve Drazkowski in pursuit of employee freedom. They worry about the effect it may have on their re-election campaigns. That concern misses a number of points, both principled and practical. Continue Reading GOP Must Go All-In on Employee Freedom…
Echoes of the Tea Party Louder Than Whining Over Ryan Budget
April 24, 2011 at 10:00 am | Posted in NewsRealBlog | Leave a commentTags: budget, David Weigel, Government Unions, Labor Unions, Madison Protest, Michael Barone, NewsReal Blog, Paul Ryan, Public Employee Unions, Public Unions, spending, taxes, tea party, Town Hall, unions, Wisconsin
by Walter Hudson, contributed to David Horowitz’s NewsReal Blog
In the wake of passing Representative Paul Ryan’s budget plan, some members of Congress have hosted town hall meetings upon returning to their home districts. Slate’s David Weigel notes a curious lack of anger at these proceedings, particularly compared to the outrage over Obamacare which swept the nation during the August 2009 recess.
If the Ryan budget is so unpopular, where are the town-hall meltdowns?
The Washington Examiner’s Michael Barone takes a stab at the answer.
… One should note that there was some very loud—and violent and abusive—protest to Governor Scott Walker’s plans in Wisconsin. But organizing those protests was mostly the work of paid union staffers, not citizen volunteers, and the union folks were able to draw on street people/university town types who live in great numbers in Madison. The union folks, as Weigel notes, don’t seem to be sending people into town hall meetings.
If they were, it still wouldn’t impress as much as those angry constituents who were roused in droves to combat Obamacare. That’s because, as Barone points out, the ruckus at 2009 town halls was intrinsically motivated.
As Taxpayers Cough Up Dough, Government Unions Demand More
April 18, 2011 at 12:22 pm | Posted in NewsRealBlog | 1 CommentTags: AFSCME, FairTax, Government Unions, IFO, Jennifer Munt, Labor Unions, minnesota, NewsReal Blog, progressive, Public Employee Unions, Russ Stanton, Tax Rate, taxes, unions
by Walter Hudson, contributed to David Horowitz’s NewsReal Blog
Imagine going to the grocery store and noting that all the price tags have been changed. Instead of showing how much each item costs in plain dollars and cents, the new tags show a percentage. Perplexed, you track down a manager to ask what gives.
The answer: That’s what percentage of your income you must pay for each item.
That would be an outrage, would it not? After all, why should your income affect what you pay for produce? Yet that is precisely how we charge taxpayers for services provided by government.
In Minnesota, residents rushing to postmark last minute tax forms will be subjected to a leaflet campaign organized by the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), aided by volunteers from the Inter Faculty Organization (IFO). These government unions will be chanting their tiresome old manta – soak the rich.
Herman Cain Berated for Telling the Truth About Public Unions
April 10, 2011 at 9:00 am | Posted in NewsRealBlog | 1 CommentTags: Communism, Herman Cain, Labor Unions, NewsReal Blog, Public Employee Unions, Socialism, ThinkProgress, unions
by Walter Hudson, contributed to David Horowitz’s NewsReal Blog
Political correctness has fostered a thoughtless political discourse where arguments rest on whether someone is offended. There’s no need to determine whether a claim is right or wrong, only whether it hurts someone’s feelings.
A recent example comes from ThinkProgress, who reported earlier this week on a radio appearance by Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain. The former Godfather’s Pizza CEO directed criticism at public employee unions.
Constitutional Fail: 7 Ways the Left Abuses the First Amendment
March 20, 2011 at 1:50 pm | Posted in NewsRealBlog | 1 CommentTags: constitution, First Amendment, Freedom of Assembly, Freedom of Association, freedom of religion, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, islam, morality, News, NewsReal Blog, objectivism, Public Employee Unions, secession, Socialism, tea party, unions, Wisconsin protests
by Walter Hudson, contributed to David Horowitz’s NewsReal Blog
It is perhaps the most renowned sample of law in the Western world, the first of ten amendments anti-federalists insisted upon adding to the Constitution. It’s purpose has been bemoaned by the sitting president of the United States.
…the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties, says what the states can’t do to you, says what the federal government can’t do to you. But it doesn’t say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf.
Despite the First Amendment’s intended purpose of prohibiting federal encroachment upon individual rights, the Left has masterfully twisted its guarantees into both rhetorical bludgeons and demands for provision. It seems increasingly common to encounter mindless cries of “freedom of speech” or “religious freedom” from people who do not understand what those or other rights actually are.
Gimme Gimme: A Tour of the Entitlement Mentality
March 18, 2011 at 9:00 am | Posted in NewsRealBlog | Leave a commentTags: Collective Bargaining, entitlement, Force, Labor Unions, liberty, NewsReal Blog, Public Employee Unions, Scott Walker, unions, Wisconsin protests
by Walter Hudson, contributed to David Horowitz’s NewsReal Blog
Words have meaning. If they did not, communication would be impossible. Unfortunately, in our political discourse, words are often sapped of their meaning and reduced to empty rhetoric. This handicaps our capacity for thoughtful deliberation. After all, if you can’t find common ground in the dictionary, what chance is there to find it elsewhere?
In the comment section of a recent NRB post regarding public employee unions and the related protests in Wisconsin, one of our readers demonstrated a curious inability to distinguish force from choice. The exchange was instructive of the entitlement mentality propagated by the Left. It is a worldview which includes relativism so extreme that it disputes the definition of words. Consider these excerpts.
pjz29: As a taxpayer with two non-union jobs, I am more than happy to pay good wages to public employees. Just because the “private sector” labor jobs are being reduced to match the 3rd World, it doesn’t mean that we should be bitter against those who [are] still… living comfortably.
NRB: Good for you. Then here’s what you can do. Take some of that hard-earned cash you have left over after the federal, state, and local governments have punished you for having the audacity to work hard in the private sector at multiple jobs to stay off the dole, then contribute as much as you can to parties, candidates, and political action committees which will work to insure other people (not you or your family) continue “living comfortably.” That is your right. It doesn’t have to make sense to me.
All I insist upon is a level playing field, that contributions to such causes be motivated by genuine desire such as yours, and not compelled(…)
Conservatives Must Rise Up and Shout “I’m Wisconsin!”
March 17, 2011 at 9:11 am | Posted in NewsRealBlog | Leave a commentTags: Collective Bargaining, Democracy for America, Hollywood, Howard Dean, huffington post, Labor Unions, NewsReal Blog, Public Employee Unions, Recall Elections, Scott Walker, Spartacus, unions, Wisconsin protests
by Walter Hudson, contributed to David Horowitz’s NewsReal Blog
It’s been many years since I watched the 1960 Academy Award winning epic Spartacus, spiritual predecessor to Ridley Scott’s rousing Gladiator. I don’t recall every detail. However, I do remember that much referenced scene toward the end.
Roman soldiers have finally routed a ragtag army of rebel slaves led by Kirk Douglas’ title character. The Romans offer to spare the defeated mob, and return them to their lives of slavery, if they will only give up their leader. As Spartacus rises to offer himself up for his men, one of them leaps to his feet.
I’m Spartacus!
Then another arises. And another. Soon the entire mob is risen, all contending to be the leader their enemy seeks.
A similar moment is called for in aid of besieged Republicans in Wisconsin. As The Huffington Post reports, conservatives are ill-prepared to fight back against the enraged union-fed beast they successfully stung earlier this week.
Who Are Wisconsin’s True “Forces of Evil?”
March 15, 2011 at 10:30 am | Posted in NewsRealBlog | Leave a commentTags: American Federation of Teachers, Collective Bargaining, Evil, Labor Unions, Madison Protests, morality, NewsReal Blog, objectivism, Public Employee Unions, Scott Walker, unions, Wisconsin protests
by Walter Hudson, contributed to David Horowitz’s NewsReal Blog
Over the weekend, public employee unions held a rally in Madison where the list of speakers included Bill Franks of the American Federation of Teachers. Franks had this to say about rank-and-file Republicans:
… the would-be Republicans, anybody making $30-40,000 who think they can afford to be a Republican is not living in any kind of reality. Real Republicans don’t recognize them. Because the real “haves” are them. And these people who think they can afford these [conservative] principles, they can’t afford them. That’s not in their self interest. That’s what we gotta cure as a pathology.
This is a common claim from the Left, that middle class conservatives are “lackeys” or “wanna be” dupes beholden to super-rich overlords. As a black Tea Party activist, I get double-takes for being both a “have not” and a racial minority. Why are you voting against your interest? I am asked. Don’t you know conservatives are holding you down?
In fact, I know the opposite. It has been the policies of the Left which have retarded opportunities for those with low-incomes.
Blitz! Wisconsin Taxpayers – 1, Truant Democrats – 0
March 10, 2011 at 1:16 pm | Posted in NewsRealBlog | Leave a commentTags: MoveOn, News, NewsReal Blog, Public Employee Unions, Scott Walker, The Blaze, unions, Wisconsin protests
by Walter Hudson, contributed to David Horowitz’s NewsReal Blog
This is not supposed to happen. Republicans are docile, accommodating creatures. They’re supposed to kowtow to their opponent’s sense of “civility.” They’re supposed to let their opponents win. They’re supposed to do anything to avoid being called names. They’re supposed to get elected, then shift to the so-called “middle.”
Republican state senators in Wisconsin didn’t get that memo. Wednesday night, they took bold and decisive action to end weeks of juvenile political theater.
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