Monday, February 23, 2015

Scott Walker: Union-Buster And Polarizer


Koch brothers cipher and coward Gov. Scott "Kochhead" Walker (the twit whose bald spot has it's own Facebook page) is succeeding in advancing the plutocrats' agenda: bust the public sector unions, then go after all unions by making Wisconsin a "right to work" State:
The anti-union law passed here four years ago, which made Gov. Scott Walker a national Republican star and a possible presidential candidate, has turned out to be even more transformative than many had predicted. 
Walker had vowed that union power would shrink, workers would be judged on their merits, and local governments would save money. Unions had warned that workers would lose benefits and be forced to take on second jobs or find new careers. 
Many of those changes came to pass, but the once-thriving ­public-sector unions were not just shrunken — they were crippled.
Not only has Walker succeeded in crippling the public sector labor unions (teachers, professors, police, fire,  trash collection, etc.), he's also managed to polarize the public into a bitter "us versus them" frame of mind toward public sector employees:
While some union members have been energized by the fight, they say they notice a new, more vocal animosity toward them. It has been particularly pronounced in rural areas, where public-sector jobs were some of the most prized gigs in town. 
In King, population 1,700, [union member and nursing assistant Terry] Magnant said she couldn’t change a sign at the union hall without someone giving her the finger. Farther west, in Stanley, prison workers said they ditched their favorite pizza pub because the owner stood by while other customers called them “leeches."
No wonder this tool guy is a favorite of the far right.  Walker's managing to make life poorer and meaner for these union members while at the same time getting middle class Wisconsinites to feel resentful against their middle class neighbors.  Meanwhile, Walker and his like accuse Democrats of "dividing America," when their strategy all along has been "divide and conquer."

Walker's really earning his keep as the Koch brothers' employee of the year, and he wants to do for America what he's done for Wisconsin.

BONUS:  Unless you're thoroughly sick of the twit by now, here's some additional Walker reading, courtesy of Charles P. Pierce.

(Image:  via Mock Paper Scissors)