Scott Walker...the "Big Shot"

About Us

Tour

FAQ

Signup

Login

Welcome to our New Political Community - Take a Quick Tour of our Features including our Discussion Forums custom designed for U.S. politics. SIGN UP today to join in the discussion.

Forums > All Posts > Scott Walker...the "Big Shot"

Displaying 1 - 15 out of 17 Forum Posts

1 2 Next

You must be logged in to reply to a post.

03-02-2011, 07:38 AM

Schmidt
Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 1058

Back in the 1950s and 1960s in my former hometown of Butte, Montana, the miners frequently used the words "big shot" to describe a company man or anyone that acted with self importance to show off his power. Although the dictionary defines that term today as an important, influential person, in the miners jargon of the day, it was meant to be more derogatory...a person placed in power that relished his power in a self-delusional way, a "boss is always right" attitude, but without the necessary knowledge and experience to back it up.

As I have watched the authoritarian Governor Scott Walker bungle through his first two months as Governor of Wisconsin and his illusions of grandeur revealed in the prank phone call from the "pretend David Koch," I thought of those words so aptly used some 50 years ago when the miners union and the Anaconda company where so often at odds....Big Shot.

When Walker told the fake David Koch, "he's not one of us," it revealed a lot about his view of society...one of a centuries old conflict between the peasant workers and the oligarchs. The "us" in this case is David Koch and those that emulate him and his corporatism. Scott Walker considers himself one of the "us."

Then there is this:

"And I stood up and I pulled out a picture of Ronald Reagan, and I said, you know, this may seem a little melodramatic, but 30 years ago, Ronald Reagan, whose 100th birthday we just celebrated the day before, had one of the most defining moments of his political career, not just his presidency, when he fired the air-traffic controllers. And, uh, I said, to me that moment was more important than just for labor relations or even the federal budget, that was the first crack in the Berlin Wall and the fall of Communism because from that point forward, the Soviets and the Communists knew that Ronald Reagan wasn’t a pushover. And, uh, I said this may not have as broad of world implications, but in Wisconsin’s history — little did I know how big it would be nationally — in Wisconsin’s history, I said this is our moment, this is our time to change the course of history. And this is why it’s so important that they were all there. I had a cabinet meeting this morning and I reminded them of that and I said for those of you who thought I was being melodramatic you now know it was purely putting it in the right context."

Yes Scott Walker you are a Big Shot...today. But tomorrow you'll join the ranks of the unemployed when you are recalled for your incompetence, lies and arrogance. Public opinion has turned against you. But you don't know that yet....you're still living in your delusional state that your actions will "change history." Well yes you may change history but not in the way you think. Rather you have reawakened what the fight is all about...oiligarchs versus the workers...and in the process have renergized the union movement across the country.

03-03-2011, 03:32 PM

rachelwowdog
New Brighton, MN
Posts: 1

Honestly Frank, GET OVER YOURSELF. If you could think about all of the good things that could come out of this. Like how about, not as many layoffs and everything else. I'm a teacher from Minnesota and I'm all for Walker. This will help in so many ways! I wish it would be this way all over the country! And at least he's trying to do something, instead of you sitting at your computor typing harsh critizism. So next you open your mouth you should think about the people you are hurting!

03-03-2011, 06:00 PM

Schmidt
Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 1058

Well Rachel, I can assure you that it is not my intention of hurting anyone by what I write. I do spend a lot of time checking facts before I render an opinion on a politcal candidate or an issue.

First, in the case of Scott Walker, it is true that he did not campaign on busting the public sector unions in Wisconsin. You can check my posting on that or go directly tp Politifact. Governor Walker claims otherwise and he is lying. I just have a problem with politicains that openly lie to their constituents. I can appreciate that sometimes they "misspeak" but Walker has repeated his claim over and over again so that makes him a liar. Prove Politifact wrong if you disagree. I don't see how that hurts anyone to expose his lie to a wider audience.

Secondly, I am a big supporter of the middle class workers including teachers...especially teachers, and I have observed how they have slowly gotten screwed by the rich as they use lobbyists in Washington to shift more and more wealth in their direction at the expense of the middle class. That is also a fact...just Google it. I do not have any problems with those rich that have truly earned it. But so much of their wealth has not been about wealth creation but rather wealth redistribution...upwards. So I don't apologize for standing up for them...and you.

Governor Walker like many Republicans seems to associate himself with the rich...like David Koch, who by the way inherited his wealth. He's not a self made man. I don't have any problem with that either except that the Koch brothers are hiding behind astro-turf organizations like Americans for Prosperity while pumping money into the campaigns of political candiates that will answer to them. Governor Walker is one of them, and if you not sure, just listen or read the transcript of his conversation with the fake David Koch. Sounds like a cozy relationship to me, but it is not something that is good for Wisconsin.

Third, the so called budget crisis in Wisconsin was aggravated by Walker and the Republican legislature by dishing out $140 million in tax breaks for businesses first. And the budget shortfall is claimed to be $137 million. I won't get into the dispute about the actual numbers, but why would they approve a tax break for businesses when they knew it would push them into the red? My opinion is that they needed that shortfall to make the case against the public sector unions. And since the unions quickly caved on the proposed benefit cuts, it exposed why Walker is persisting in carrying out his venedetta against the public sector unions. Public opinion supports my position on this. Rachel you are in the minority...like 61 to 33 according to Gallop.

I notice you are from New Brighton, MN. Are you also a member of Education Minnesota? I read about all the great things they are doing for education and teachers in Minnesota, and now including their support for the public sector unions in Wisconsin. I would hope that you are not denying to the Wisconsin teachers what you are getting in benefit from Education Minnesota.

If some teachers are being laid off it certainly has not been at the behest of the teachers unions. I stand behind all teachers and don't think any of you are paid enough. Politicians like to pick away at teachers to cover their own ineptitude, but if I had my way, all teachers would deserve a raise instead of a cut.

Keep up the good work educating our youth, but don't knock the unions. They are the only entities standing in the way of the corporatists having a free rein to screw the middle class even further. And when the unions die, the American middle class will become just serfs to their free wheeling, unrestricted corporate masters.

I think that the only people that my posts are hurting are the corporatists like the Koch brothers and their surrogates like Governor Walker. Exposing the truth is a part of that process.

03-03-2011, 06:44 PM

CARLITOS BAM-BAM
Dallas, TX
Posts: 897

These Rightwing trolls are a really sad and pathetic bunch of people. Frank your points regarding the Battle of Wisconsin have been a tremendous aid to us all. Keep up the good work. The trolls can't stand an honest man when they see one. Expect more of this. Consider it a badge of honor.
The great spirit of the Bull Moose is with us now....."We Stand at Armageddon, and we battle for the Lord"....T.R.

Kaboom

03-12-2011, 07:09 AM

Schmidt
Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 1058

I admit to being very discouraged about what Wisconsin Governor Walker and his fellow Republican Senate and Assembly pulled on the Democrats. I shake my head in wonderment...this is the 21st century. Stuff like this should not happen in America. By "stuff" I mean the same tactics that have been used by totalitarian regimes over history...trouncing on workers rights to further the coffers of the rich...the oligarchs.

I always hesitate to use the "f" word....fascism...but their tactics do indeed have some of the ingredients of fascism. Those characteristics can be complicated, and there is no universally accepted definition. I have read books by historical scholars that have disagreed with each other on some points. Lawrence Britt in 2003 is one scholar that has attempted to simplify the characteristics in his article entitled The 14 Characteristics of Fascism published in Free Inquiry magazine. I'll just extract a few...

Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause
The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

Controlled Mass Media
Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

Corporate Power is Protected
The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

Labor Power is Suppressed
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed .

Fraudulent Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

There are 14 overall. They are quick reading at the above link. What has been hard for me to understand is how some middle class workers are perfectly happy to follow the authoritarian leader, Scott Walker, and go against their best economic interests. It suggests to me that the right wing media have been very successful in conditioning people to hate unions...the stereotype of the old union boss that is hardly representative of the more democratic unions of today. Yes some of that criticism was warranted at one time in the past, but the modern union movement is much more professional and educated and willing to negotiate.

Wisconsin is just one state that this is being played out. Just look at the news of Michigan...and Florida...and Ohio...and Indiana...and Pennsylvania. In all of these states there are sinister elements at work to deprive workers of their rights and also to deprive some demographic groups of their voting rights...groups that would most likely vote Democratic. I'll leave it for now and pick up some of those "f" word tactics in other forum posts. For now I am just feeling so bad for the labor movement in this country...and Democrats if the union movement is ultimately crushed.

03-12-2011, 08:05 AM

CARLITOS BAM-BAM
Dallas, TX
Posts: 897

I had a conversation the otherday with a libertarian-conservative.

"I just want the government out of our lives," he said.

"Well, how do you feel about labor unions?" I asked.

"I fucking hate them. They're like organized crime."

This took me back a bit. "So you're for using government to protect the rights of employers?"

"Uh....it's not like that. The government forces employers to make concessions to Unions."

"What about right-to-work laws?"

"What about them?"

"Employers cannot negotiate a closed-shop even if they wanted to. An individuals right to employment cannot be based upon membership in a union."

"So?"

"You support using government to deny two entites from entering into this type of agreement?"

"But...employers would never want to do that...."

..."by law they can't"...

03-13-2011, 12:51 PM

CARLITOS BAM-BAM
Dallas, TX
Posts: 897

To continue where I left off yesterday.....

This exchange illustrates the depraved cognitive gap between the rhetoric of 'small government' and what conservatives and right-libertarians actually support in practice.

They're not for small government. They're for using government to protect powerful corporate interests....they're for using the state to advance their own profit-seeking agendas.
For example, their position is not to let the labor unions duke it out with employers.....No, right-to-work laws take closed shops off the table...they're illegal....unions cannot 'win' them as a concession by employers, because employers legally can't concede to them. The state has made sure of this.

And let's not forget about the informal arrangement between the state and buisness in right-to-work states. Employer's can't discriminate against non-union workers, but do you think this goes both ways? Do you think they prefer new workers, who have been union members before? In reality what happens in right-to-work states, especially in the south, is that while it remains illegal to fire an employee or discriminate against workers because of union membership, these laws are weakly enforced, and the deck is stacked against unions from forming. Employers' rights are protected, while employee rights are trampled on, that's the status quo.

03-14-2011, 08:24 AM

Schmidt
Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 1058

Reference: Time Magazine, May 9, 1938, INDUSTRY: Anti-Monopoly

"Unhappy events abroad have retaught us two simple truths about the liberty of a democratic people. The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic State itself. That, in its essence, is fascism—ownership of government by an individual, by a group or by any other controlling private power.

"The second truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living. Both lessons hit home. Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Roosevelt made his statements to Congress in 1938. They ring true today. The bolding is mine.

01-17-2012, 05:00 PM

Schmidt
Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 1058

Washington Post, January 17, 2011: Groups seeking recall of Wis. Gov. Walker say they’re filing 1 million signatures to spur vote

Feeling really good on this day in history as the Washington Post reports that "groups seeking to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker submitted nearly twice as many signatures Tuesday as required to force an election, an overwhelming number that may make a vote later this year inevitable."

"The 1 million signatures that United Wisconsin, the coalition that spearheaded the effort along with the Democratic Party, said were collected far exceeds the 540,208 needed and amounts to 23 percent of the state’s eligible voters."

I have waited for this day for months and will eagerly await the next step...the election that will finally remove "Walker the Big Shot" from office. I have re-posted this old thread to celebrate. Time for a Schmidt beer.

On Wisconsin!!

01-18-2012, 10:38 AM

llagerdog
Hagerstown, MD
Posts: 72

I will try this again since my most recent post was removed. The efforts to create a recall election
against Scott Walker are flawed. Hundreds of thousands of the signatures are a fraud. There are
signatures from cartoon characters. There are signatures from the deceased. There are multiple
signatures from single persons. This is all too typical from what has historically been seen from the
Democratic left. But the Liberal media will not report it! This is machine style politics at it's best. It is well
organized, and well financed (mostly from the corruptions of big labor). I have an opinion here, it was
not allowed to be read by others. What else does that tell you? Is it any wonder that Conservatives
do not trust the Liberal agenda, or the Obama Presidency? I wish for the editor to allow my view to
stand this time, so others my comment on it...whether they agree or disagree. It is an outrage that
political correctness means running away from views of other people.

01-18-2012, 11:41 PM

Schmidt
Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 1058

Llagerdog,

You seem to have some insight on the numbers of invalid signatures..."hundreds of thousands of signatures"...huh?? Where did you get those numbers because as I understand it the petitions have been secure and no one has had a chance to verify them yet? The Government Accountability Office is just getting started assessing the magnitude of the effort.

I do understand that as a delaying tactic, Republicans are planning to challenge every single signature (which they can legally do). So yes I'm sure they'll find some invalid signatures in the mix...some of them have probably been put there by Republicans. But to invalidate the entire recall, the number of invalid signatures will indeed have to amount to almost half of the signatures collected...like maybe a half million invalid signatures??

You also state that voter fraud has been all too typical from what has historically been seen from the Democratic left. Really. Where did you learn that from? If you're thinking about the crap peddled on Fox News about ACORN, that has been discredited. As you know, it is unlawful to alter or destroy any voter registration data before it is turned into the registrar's office. ACORN, however, flagged all suspect names before turning them in. Fox News ignores that part in telling the story over and over and over again.

And now that Fox News muckraker James O'Keefe has been caught committing voter fraud while attempting to prove non-existent voter fraud. Why isn't Fox News showing that story to their viewers?

One thing for sure. If Republicans find just one Mickey Mouse signature amongst all the recall petitions, Fox News will play that story again and again.

01-19-2012, 11:39 PM

llagerdog
Hagerstown, MD
Posts: 72

I was born in Illinois, on the west side of Chicago. I moved to Wisconsin as an adult; a Badger for 19 years.  I got transfered
by my company to the East Coast in 1997. I'm now a resident of Maryland. Where did I ever get the idea that the Democrats
are the kings of election fraud? From Mayor Richard J. Daley. I was grew up near the "Chicago Machine". Face it, without
40,000 Cook County tombstones voting in 1960, JFK would have never been President.

As far as the Wisconsin recall petitions, I cannot reveal my sources. However, I campaigned for every Wisconsin
GOP gubernatorial candidate from 1978 until 1992. Things aren't always as air tight as reported. I will leave it at that.

p.s. I still laugh that the Gore campaign cheated in Florida in 2000, and still ended up losing. Live by the un-registered
        voter, die by the hanging chad.

01-20-2012, 11:30 PM

Schmidt
Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 1058

Okay I'll accept your example of Chicago voter fraud in the 1960s. That was a long time ago.

But your assertion that Gore tried to steal the 2000 Florida election from Bush is just playing with my mind. I won't bother even going there. Wow...I hope you're not serious.

01-27-2012, 12:23 AM

llagerdog
Hagerstown, MD
Posts: 72

Dem's & Gore in 2000 FLA? IMHO, yes.

04-03-2012, 06:06 PM

Schmidt
Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 1058

Lagerdog wrote on January 18th:

"The efforts to create a recall election against Scott Walker are flawed. Hundreds of thousands of the signatures are a fraud. There are signatures from cartoon characters. There are signatures from the deceased. There are multiple signatures from single persons. This is all too typical from what has historically been seen from the Democratic left. But the Liberal media will not report it! This is machine style politics at it's best. It is well organized, and well financed (mostly from the corruptions of big labor)."

Upon being challenged on the source of his information, Lagerdog wrote this on January 19th:

"As far as the Wisconsin recall petitions, I cannot reveal my sources. However, I campaigned for every Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial candidate from 1978 until 1992. Things aren't always as air tight as reported. I will leave it at that."

Maybe I should have just left this alone, but I thought I should bring closure to this aspect of the recall. Here's what the Government Accountability Board reports:

931,053 signatures submitted; 900,938 signatures validated

Recall election day is June 5th. On that day Wisconsin voters will rid themselves of the biggest election mistake they ever made. And when that happens I'll regurgitate this post one more time...just because it makes me feel good.

You must be logged in to reply to a post.

About Us

FAQ

Advertise

Links

Login

Sign Up

Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy

OBAMA ACCOMPLISHMENTS - REPUBLICAN DIVORCES - REPUBLICAN INFIDELITY & AFFAIRS - REPUBLICAN SCANDALS & CONTROVERSIES