Free Republic

".......His political career started in 1993, when he was elected to Wisconsin’s State Assembly. After four terms in the legislature, Walker was elected to serve as county executive of Milwaukee in 2002. According to the governor’s official bio, Walker cut the county’s workforce by upwards of 25 percent, reduced debt by 30 percent, and authored nine consecutive budgets that did not increase property tax levies. Keen observers of Wisconsin’s political scene would have, even at this early stage in his career, seen in Walker a potential threat to public unions, whose pension demands often act as parasites to the public...

Last week I grabbed a cup of coffee and had a chat with Democratic National Committee member Jason Rae, one of a spate of Democrats vying to succeed Mike Tate as Chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. I met with Jason at his request, but rather than sit and interview him, he wanted to pick my brain about the DPW Chair race and the state of the Democratic Party here in Wisconsin. As I shared my thoughts on the DPW Chair race, I started by noting the many, many criticisms of the poor messaging efforts on the part of...

On the final day of legislative debate over a proposed Right to Work law in Wisconsin, union protesters proved once again they are unable to replicate the massive crowds generated during Wisconsin’s historic 2011 Act 10 debate. While unions attempted to hold an outside rally during the midday, which mustered about 300 people, the hour long outside rally completely failed to move inside the statehouse and support Wisconsin Assembly Democrats as they debated against the bill. While Assembly Democrats were able to draw debate out to 24 hours by using poetry, claims of racism, and references to Moses delivering the...

After debating all night, the Wisconsin Assembly passed a right-to-work bill Friday which is designed to end mandatory union membership in the state. The policy, which has passed in 24 states, outlaws forced union dues as a condition of employment. After a state version of the policy passed the Wisconsin Senate last week it was sent to the Assembly where representatives heard testimony from labor experts, union leaders and the public before voting 62-35 in favor of the legislation. Mark Mix, the president of the National Right to Work Committee, praised the Assembly for moving the legislation to Gov. Scott...

Organized Labor: The assault on a Fox News contributor protecting women and seniors in a tent is but the latest example of the civil discourse and respect for democracy the president's union supporters really have. Imagine the outrage and the mainstream media feeding frenzy had it been a Tea Party member punching an MSNBC contributor covering a protest over ObamaCare. Or if Tea Party members had descended on a tent full of Occupy Wall Street supporters, flattening and tearing it apart with total disregard for the people inside. Yet that is precisely what happened to conservative comedian and Fox News...

Big Labor: Indiana unions, opposed to becoming the first right-to-work state in the Rust Belt, may disrupt Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. Their unnecessary roughness will cost the Hoosiers needed jobs. On Friday, as the Indiana Senate was scheduled to take up legislation supported by Gov. Mitch Daniels to make Indiana the 23rd right-to-work state, Indiana unions considered copying the disruptive and coercive tactics of Occupy Wall Street to disrupt arguably America's premier sporting event, the Super Bowl, to be held in Indianapolis on Feb. 5. As in Wisconsin, where embattled GOP Gov. Scott Walker faces a recall election over...

"I thought I've seen all, but now this administration is acting like a bunch of thugs. I mean they really are trying to bully and intimidate, not just Boeing, they are attacking every right to work state," Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) about White House union ties possibly blocking a move of Boeing to South Carolina.

Union Influence: The White House picks its most frequent visitor to sit on its deficit commission. He believes in big government, in big spending, and that the workers of the world should unite. What could go wrong? Computer security firms have been known to hire the best former hackers because they know best how to stop others like them. But the appointment of Andy Stern, president of the Service Employee International Union (SEIU), to a bipartisan commission to come up with ways to deal with the rapidly rising federal budget deficit is like having a serial arsonist organize Fire Prevention...