Walking Like an Egyptian in Madison Wisconsin

Not long ago Rush Limbaugh suggested that people should "Go Egypt on Obama" over Health Care - but it appears that what he suggests is already happening, but it's already happening in Madison Wisconsin.




The issue for those who don't already know is the Governor Walker's attmept to fix the $130 Billion Million State Budget shortfall -Which just 2 Weeks Ago was Running a SURPLUS, until the Governor signed a massive business tax cut ill - by taking out of the Pay, Pensions and Health Benefits of State Union Workers. He hasn't done this by coming to the Unions and striking a deal, in fact he 's refused to negotiate at all, instead he has tried to ram these cuts through the legislature and at the same strip the Unions of their right to collective bargaining ensuring that he'll NEVER have to bother coming to the table and negotiating.

As a result thousands of people, tens of thousands have appeared to protest the Governors action - in response he's gone Full-on Mubarak and threatened to call out the National Guard.

Sometimes Rush, you really should wish for something when you don't really realize what you'll get.

VAN SUSTEREN: You have the Guard on alert. Why, if that is true?

WALKER: No, in our case we have contingency plans that we put into place that are updated from where they were before. The National Guard is part of that. They would be part of that whether it is a snow emergency, tornado, earthquake, flood, anything else. And a work walk-off is part of contingency plan.

Most of our local workers are going to continue to be professionals, they're going to continue to show up for work. And while there's a handful upset about this - the bottom line is that most of the Union leaders are upset about this because part of our plan is to - also says for state and local workers - you can no longer be forced by law to be in a union you get to have the option.

More from John Nichols on Scott Walker and how he's out to Destroy Government.

Nichols: Scott Walker is out to Destroy Government.

Rachel Raps this up by documenting how destroying the public section, and especially public unions, has become part of the open plan of the Republican movement to ro
ll back the overall rights of workers, including suggesting the return of child labor...

Missouri State Sen. Jane Cunningham (R) is pushing a bill which would dramatically claw back state child labor protections. As the bill’s official summary explains:

This act modifies the child labor laws. It eliminates the prohibition on employment of children under age fourteen. Restrictions on the number of hours and restrictions on when a child may work during the day are also removed. It also repeals the requirement that a child ages fourteen or fifteen obtain a work certificate or work permit in order to be employed. Children under sixteen will also be allowed to work in any capacity in a motel, resort or hotel where sleeping accommodations are furnished. It also removes the authority of the director of the Division of Labor Standards to inspect employers who employ children and to require them to keep certain records for children they employ. It also repeals the presumption that the presence of a child in a workplace is evidence of employment.

And while we putting children into the workplace, we might as well stick mom back home making babies where she belongs - the better to open up that fresh new job for junior - by cutting head start funding as has been moving through the Maryland Legislature.

In yet another example, the Frederick County, Maryland, Board of County Commissioners voted to end the county’s contribution to its Head Start program, cutting overall funding for the program by more than 50 percent. Two of the Republican officials justified their decision to cut Head Start — which provides early childhood education to the children of low-income parents — by saying that women should really be married and home with their kids, thus rendering the program unnecessary:

COMMISSIONER C. PAUL SMITH (R): I think its very significant that we did make this marriage week announcement today, because that is the best long-term way to help our children, as marriage is strengthened in our community. As many of you know, I had a lot of kids, and my wife stayed home, at significant sacrifice, during those early years, because she knew she had to be with those kids at that critical age. I know everybody isn’t able to survive doing that, but clearly, as we can strengthen marriage we can decrease the children that we have to reach.

COMMISSIONER KIRBY DELAUTER (R): My wife, college educated, could go out and get a very good job. She gave that up for 18 years so she could stay home with our kids, we had to give up a lot to do that. I agree again with Commissioner Smith, you know, the marriage thing is very important. I mean, education of your kids starts at home, okay? I never relied on anyone else to guarantee the education of my kids.

This is not just an attack on the middle-class, this is an attack on the American Dream - the ability to buy a home, start a family, provide for that family and offer them a a better future while working a trade. This is an attack on the ability to have a trade and build a future for your family working with your hands to improve your community. It's an attack on the ability to enter the middle-class in the first place and create a new permanent caste system of workers and managers. The owners and the owned.

This movement has to be fought and it has to be stopped. If State Governments want to work with their public sector Unions and renegotiate to helps these states gradually pull themselves out of debt until the economy begins to recover - that could be accomplished, but that's not the goal. The tax issue is merely a means to an ends.

If Walker manages to break the Unions in Wisconsin - which by his own words is his ultimate goal - it'll begin a wave across the nation and as the public sector Unions lose rights and the ability to protect their working conditions and work environment - so will the private sector.

This movement has to be stopped, and Egypt has shown us the way. The time to stop them is NOW - the place to stop them is in Madison, and then spread that resolve across the country to protect the rights of workers.

Vyan