For those who think the fight going on right now is simply about wages, benefits and Wisconsin state employee's collective bargaining power, think again. As she so eloquently does, last night Rachel Maddow explained why Gov. Walker and the GOP's attempt to undermine union's collective bargaining power is really a fundamental attack on the Democratic Party's ability to win elections.
Though long, the clip is as worthy of watching as any I've seen on television in a log time.
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It is honestly difficult to add to Rachel's tremendous analysis on the subject, but it is critically important that the truth behind this despicable maneuvering by the GOP is called out for what it is. Impassioned as always, Maddow is also well thought out and clear: perhaps not the first salvo, but the specific actions taken by Walker and his cronies is the first major step in the Tea Party era of attempting to completely dismantle the infrastructure of the Democratic Party.
It reminds me of growing up in the UK in the early 80's and how Thatcher (spit!) brought in sweeping cuts that broke the miner's union and others. I remember the strikes, the boycotts, and the faces of men and women who had broken their backs all of their lives (including the loss of 47 men in my town), only to see the fruits of their labour flushed down the toilet under the guise of fiscally prudent ideology which produced a legion of unemployed workers and a near generation of unemployable people. Some of them never recovered.
We cannot allow this to happen here. We must stand up and support local unions and democratic institutions, and those nationwide whose sole purpose is to help the workers of this country earn and live a productive and also healthy, rewarding and safer life for themselves and their families.