weighing in on Wisconsin

So, today we get word that a circuit judge in WI has put the brakes on Gov. Walker's union-bashing efforts by issuing a temporary injunction against the bill. Whether the governor succeeds on appeal or pushing the law through again, it amounts to yet another lose-lose for this wannabe Reagan 2.0.

First, the judge's decision ensures that the issue will stay alive in terms of media coverage and protests, which, in turn, will keep the energy strong regarding recall efforts. Second, it forces the GOP to defend their union-busting goals all over again, which will be doubly hard now that there's no longer any way to pretend that such efforts are in any way related to fiscal matters, thanks to THEM removing this provision from the budget bill in order to pass it.

Talk about a gross miscalculation by the GOP. I get it though. Walker and his GOP cronies no doubt expected people to grumble but suck it up anyway. Sort of like we've done with all of the disastrous policies they've crammed down our throats for the past decade. They've got to be finding it mindblowingly ironic that these unions and their supporters are using TEA PARTY tactics (of all things!) to advance their cause amongst the public.

Truth is, I call it karma.

And I can't think of any group that deserves it more than this current incarnation of the GOP. Especially those who have gone out of their way to derail any chance of job creation and expansion in their states in their increasingly desperate attempts to continue blaming THEIR fiscal incompetence on Obama. Including Walker, who, after handing $137 BILLION in tax breaks to the same non-hiring businesses in his state who continue to NOT HIRE Wisconsinites, rejected the stimulus monies meant to fund a high-speed train line between Madison and Milwaukee on account of the jobs being temporary and thus, not the "right kind" for residents of his state.

Now is it just me, or does that sound as *ss-backward as it gets? Let's skip the fact for a moment that ALL construction jobs are temporary. Does no one care that he is ALSO ensuring the loss of those permanent jobs that would be created BECAUSE of the new high-speed line, from shops that service patrons at stations to businesses looking to fill a workforce with access to that line? Not to mention those suppliers who may finally feel compelled to hire more workers in order to meet the increased demand FOR supplies.

I can only guess that the GOP in Wisconsin feels that none of these potential jobs are the "right kind" either. And that taking this path is worth it so long as they find a way to "stick it" to Obama in the end. Problem is, no one besides Fox News sycophants buys it. Their pathetic attempts to paint state Democratic senators as "cowards" and attach Obama to the issue by talking about "union bosses" has been nothing short of an EPIC fail.

So now what?

and then THAT happened...

Those poor Republicans. Now they've gone and done it. Put themselves right in a corner. There was Coburn, waxing poetic on the nobility of doing nothing about the insanity of rising health care costs, when reality came crashing down.

Through the tears of suffering...

After weeks of watching Republicans "actin' a fool" at town halls across the country, the country was jolted into finally facing the reality of that party's "policy." A single woman, pleading for the help denied to her husband by the vaunted insurance companies, did what even the President's appearance at town halls could not do: put a human face on the "issue."

So now the tone has quietly shifted; the media is more forceful about challenging the complete and utter unwillingness of Republicans to either compromise or put forth any ideas of their own. Republicans have quieted themselves, no doubt spurred by fears of having more desperate parties showing up pleading for help at their town halls.

Trufizz, they'd probably prefer the hecklers.