Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Wisconsin's Recall Movement Sputters

 

 

Time Magazine recently wrote on the sputtering and splintering "recall Walker" labor movement in Wisconsin but left out the reason why the recall movement has lost steam: you can't protest success that saved teacher jobs.

... the campaign to recall Walker is sputtering, and the governor has pulled ahead in the polls with a little over two weeks to go until the June 5 election.

Progressives, as evidenced by Time's piece, are convinced the problems faced by the recall movement are due to the lack of a consensus candidate.

To begin with, recall proponents could have used a consensus candidate to pit against the incumbent. Tom Barrett, the Milwaukee mayor who will square off against Walker on June 5

It's not lack of a "consensus candidate" that plagues Wisconsin progressives, it's lack of a good candidate. Tom Barrett's economic record is an embarrassment; the city of his mayorship has a record-high unemployment rate among blacks, and the greatest number of job losses in a recent report came from Milwaukee.

Contrast this with Governor Scott Walker's record: a projected $154 billion-dollar surplus, savings of over $800 million, no loss of teacher jobs, no taxes raised, and increased business (read as: job creation) confidence within the state.

Progressives claim cash flow is a problem for the recall campaign, which is disingenuous. The DNC may have pulled out, but big labor is pouring millions of dollars into the state.

The recall movement is slowing because it can't claim Walker's reforms didn't benefit the state -- or save their unions. The cover is blown: it's not about Wisconsin; it's about out-of-state labor bosses.

Big Government