I've learned enough about politics over the last few years to become wholly moderate (which means in general terms that If I decide to voice my political views in public I'm either denounced as a communist by my friends or as a corporate fascist by my family), but the recent de-evolution in Wisconsin is taking me back to my hippy-dippy roots in a big way.
I can't really decide whether its more disturbing that Governor Walker's deliberate swipe at the knees of union workers is actually going to pass in Wisconsin, or that the the majority of wisconsinites (wisconsonians, wisconsinadors) back the current plan as it stands.
The Midwest is the union region, we have been for almost a century now. We just finished celebrating a Superbowl victory brought to our region by a football team characterized by its proud and blatantly obvious union heritage.
Apparently we were cheering for the Packers and planning to disband "the packers" at the same time.
Make no mistake, this isn't about balancing the budget (though it just might) it's not a temporary fix or a small step back in union rights, it's a wing clipping. I've voiced my frustration with union negotiation in the past. I watched some very competent teachers receive pink slips last year because of union-lobbied seniority laws. That said, I've never begged for union abolition. That's like watching a rabbit eat your cabbage, then exterminating all four legged mammals in a blind fury because those miserable skellions keep taking your lunch.
This is a dangerous game to play, but thanks to the 2010 midterms we're already rolling the dice and reading the instructions so the most we can do now is sit back and stock up on "go directly to jail cards."
It's a safe bet that they'll be devillishly useful in our benfit-free minimum wage futures.
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