Posted on 02/18/2011 4:18:10 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
A common theme of the union demonstrators in Madison today was that Governor Walker is a "dictator." This showed up on sign after sign. It sheds light, I think, on how public union members in particular, and liberals in general, think. What is going on here is that the voters of Wisconsin have elected a Republican Governor and--overwhelmingly--a Republican legislature, precisely so that they can get the state's budget under control.
What the Democrats don't like isn't dictatorship, it is democracy. That is why the Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate fled the state en masse--they prevented a quorum, so that a vote they were going to lose couldn't take place. Once again, it is democracy they are trying to frustrate, not dictatorship.
One could make the point more broadly about the organized labor movement. The unions' top priority is to eliminate the secret ballot in union certification elections. Why? The secret ballot has been the cornerstone of American labor democracy for generations. In the early days, it was assumed that the secret ballot was needed to protect workers from possible retaliation by employers if they voted for the union. That is no longer the case. Employers now universally favor the secret ballot. It is unions who are trying to abolish it through card check legislation. Why? So their goons can threaten to beat up, or worse, any employee who won't sign the card. The last thing labor unions want is democracy. They want thugocracy, as was on display in Madison today.
UPDATE: Via Ann Althouse, a screen grab from a video of some of today's union protesters: Since liberal teachers are people of unquestioned brilliance, I assume they knew they were quoting John Wilkes Booth, who also styled himself an enemy of dictatorship.
Three subsequent tries resulted in the Connector banner with the star no longer there.
I am going mad.....I DID see the star, I DID punch the star....they're coming to take me away, away......help!
Leni
When they start protesting down in Chattanooga, we’ll be there in force to counter the union thugs. I’ve seen a handful of purple SEIU shirts at city council meetings, so I know that there are at least a few commies hiding in the woodpile.
I've never seen unionists being "timid". I think what happened in New Jersey is that the silent majority woke up and started fighting back. The union thugs aren't used to people refusing to bend over for them.
What an amateur move! What a way to blow your credibility!
Do you think the guy holding the sign is a transplant from here, or is he actually educated?
I think it’s a matter of definition. For unionists “timid” is not using violence.
He probably only knows the 3 words from other protester’s signs.
This is very simple: Wisconsin teachers, Obama, and the labor movement are defending the Brezhnev doctrine - “the armies of socialism march in only one direction” - and I suspect they are prepared to go quite far to do so.
I agree.
LLS
It is also what John Wilkes Booth shouted after he shot President Lincoln.
Right. That John Wilkes Booth shouted Sic Semper Tyrannis after assassinating President, my mind went fuzzy on that when I made my 1st post.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.