In February 2011, thousands upon thousands of peaceful
protestors converged on the capitol building to protest Scott Walker’s new
budget proposal. Many people viewed these changes—including stripping unions of
collective bargaining rights and cutting healthcare for 65,000
Wisconsinites—were unnecessary and immoral. These views were reinforced when a
non-partisan group, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, showed deficit figures
significantly lower than Walker’s administration did, and also proposed a
refinancing measure that would alleviate the issue until another proposal could
be agreed upon. Walker rejected that proposal, and the bill passed amongst remarkably
partisan voting.
When the bill passed, protestors went
into hibernation. Walker was sticking to his guns, so there seemed no hope in
convincing him to repeal it. Instead, protestors waited until the date for
Walker’s recall eligibility to pick up steam and momentum again. Walker’s
opponents claim that his bill is intended to cripple the middle class in order
to allow more income to flow to the upper class and big business like the ones
that admitted to illegally funding his campaign. His defendants say that this proposal
was mentioned throughout his campaign and that it was only picked up on and
amplified by people too close-minded to accept a Republican governor for
Wisconsin. Walker himself has consistently claimed that the majority of
protestors opposing this bill are from beyond Wisconsin’s borders.
The Capital Times here in Madison
rails against Walker as an ethical and economic failure. He claimed that his
administration would create private-sector jobs, but in the eleven months since
he was elected into office, unemployed rose half a percentage point, which is
higher than the national average. His plan also includes cutting health care
plans for some 65,000 Wisconsinites, including 25,000 children like my brother,
while increasing health insurance rates as well. I think this article was very
effective in riling up those already opposing Walker, but it takes too strong
and offensive of a stance to convince current supporters to change camps.
UnitedWisconsin.org reinforces the
claim that Wisconsin is losing jobs at the fastest rate in the
nation—obviously, Walker’s administration isn’t helping. Furthermore, over
300,000 out of the total necessary 504,208 signatures for recall were collected
in the first 12 days since it became eligible—that’s a rate of about 1,000
signatures an hour. This website is one of the main hubs for recall efforts
across Wisconsin and is a large source of information for those opposing
Walker.
A conservative website, newsmax.com, interviewed Walker who said that recall efforts are “cross[ing] the line.” He claims that his family and friends have been harassed over this bill, which is not “the Wisconsin way,” to do things. The Wisconsin way is debate and mutual understanding, not attacks. At the end of the interview, Walker reaffirmed his confidence in his position and held out hope that Wisconsin voters will have restored confidence in the political system when he retains his office.
A conservative website, newsmax.com, interviewed Walker who said that recall efforts are “cross[ing] the line.” He claims that his family and friends have been harassed over this bill, which is not “the Wisconsin way,” to do things. The Wisconsin way is debate and mutual understanding, not attacks. At the end of the interview, Walker reaffirmed his confidence in his position and held out hope that Wisconsin voters will have restored confidence in the political system when he retains his office.
FairWisconsin, an organization
dedicated to LGBTQ rights in Wisconsin, points out several policy issues that
specifically allow discrimination against gays in the workplace and by police
officers. Their article has been circulating throughout my friends and seems to
have a strong impact on my age group, which is generally very accepting of all
sexual orientations regardless of political affiliation.
A Fox News interview November 30th had Walker claiming his budget balance protects seniors, “needy families” and gives more money to classrooms. I haven’t seen any further mention of this interview and conclude it has had little to no impact on Walker’s opposition, at the very least.
A Fox News interview November 30th had Walker claiming his budget balance protects seniors, “needy families” and gives more money to classrooms. I haven’t seen any further mention of this interview and conclude it has had little to no impact on Walker’s opposition, at the very least.
Another Fox article, however, gave
perhaps the most two-sided and nuanced article on the situation I have read
yet. It was far from subtle, but it openly bashed both Walker’s measures and
the protestors, ridiculing the situation for what it has become without ever
pointing a finger in blame. It admits that Walker accepted illegal funds and
his supporters are taking immoral measures to prevent his recall, but also acknowledges
that Wisconsin Democrats aren’t prepared to replace Walker yet—they just want
him out of office, and might leave a gaping hole in his place. Because it was
truly two-sided, I found this article to be the strongest out of everything I
read. Sadly, I think its impact is probably the least, because most Fox News
readers want something more conservative and most liberals will throw out
anything written under the Fox banner.
Personally, I don’t believe Walker’s
claim that he proposed this bill before he was in office. I don’t remember any
mention of my brother’s health care being cut. I think I would recall if it had
been brought up. Also, in his campaign he promised to create more jobs, but
once in office his administration predicted it would be impossible to meet the
goals they had set. If Walker can lie about his campaign in such a way, he can
lie about having brought the budget reform up before his election. He also
claims that the protestors are not Wisconsinites, using only online polls as
proof of Wisconsin residents support him; short of a Gallup poll, internet
surveys can be discarded offhand as biased. I also find it hypocritical that he
makes this claim with little to no evidence, as recall petitions are being
signed at this very moment, when his campaign received illegal amounts of funds
from all over the place. I was also at the capitol building the first time Tea
Partiers showed up in force to oppose us—they were bussed in from Illinois, I
believe. Walker’s ignorance and hypocrisy are astounding to me. As for his
claim that debate and discussion are the Wisconsin way, it’s clear he’s not
from Wisconsin himself, as he refused to listen to not only Democratic but
nonpartisan concerns about the proposal. Furthermore, in his Fox interview, the
three groups he mentions are the ones he’s targeting the hardest in his
bill—I’m assuming that “needy families” means “those with disabled members”. I
feel I’m free to assume that because “needy families” isn’t defined once in the
interview. Also, his claim that money will be added to schools is a half-lie:
he is cutting funding to public
schools but is allowing for charter schools to be set up. Some charter schools
are successful, but generally only in affluent areas where parents directly
fund the institution; wide-area charter schools like those set up in Detroit
often fail to educate students to proper national standards. There’s no way
Walker is being honest with us. When we find that the people we elected in
trust to help us prosper are siphoning off our life force, it is not only our
right but a necessity to remove the parasite.
-Sirius
