Wisconsin's Idiot Governor Gets Punked Reveals Union Busting Plans

Could this tea bagger governor be a bigger idiot? This is so damn funny that if you read it with a full bladder you'll be changing your underwear very soon. I have to post this conversation. It certainly proves exactly what I said in an earlier thread. This is about union busting and not the state's budget and here is your proof whether you can put your ideology aside and recognize it or not. My guess is that if you are fringe Right wing, you can NOT!!!

On prank call, Wis. governor discusses strategy
By RYAN J. FOLEY, AP


Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker talks to the media at the state Capitol in Madison

MADISON, Wis. — On a prank call that quickly spread across the Internet, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was duped into discussing his strategy to cripple public employee unions, promising never to give in and joking that he would use a baseball bat in his office to go after political opponents.

Walker believed the caller was a conservative billionaire named David Koch, but it was actually the editor of a liberal online newspaper. The two talked for at least 20 minutes — a conversation in which the governor described several potential ways to pressure Democrats to return to the Statehouse and revealed that his supporters had considered secretly planting people in pro-union protest crowds to stir up trouble.

The call, which surfaced Wednesday, also showed Walker's cozy relationship with two billionaire brothers who have poured millions of dollars into conservative political causes, including Walker's campaign last year.

Walker compared his stand to that taken by President Ronald Reagan when he fired the nation's air-traffic controllers during a labor dispute in 1981.

"That was the first crack in the Berlin Wall and led to the fall of the Soviets," Walker said on the recording.

The audio was posted by the Buffalo Beast, a left-leaning website based in Buffalo, N.Y., and quickly went viral.

Ian Murphy told The Associated Press he carried out the prank to show how candidly Walker would speak with Koch even though, according to Democrats, he refuses to return their calls.

Murphy said he arranged the call Tuesday after speaking with two Walker aides, including the governor's chief of staff. He placed the call using Skype and recorded it.

Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie confirmed that it was Walker's voice on the call. At a news conference, Walker acknowledged being deceived but stuck to his message that the union changes were needed to balance Wisconsin's budget.

"I'm not going to let one prank phone call be a distraction from the job we have to do," Walker said. "The things I said are the things I've said publicly all the time."

On the call, the governor said he was ratcheting up the pressure on Senate Democrats to return to the Capitol a week after they fled to block the legislation. He said he supported a move to require them to come to the Capitol to pick up their paychecks rather than have the money deposited directly.

He also floated an idea to lure Democratic senators back to the Capitol for negotiations and then have the Senate quickly pass the bill while they are in talks.

Walker said aides were reviewing whether the GOP could hold a vote if Democrats were not physically in the Senate chamber but elsewhere in the building. At the news conference, he insisted that idea was not a trick but an effort to get Democrats back to work.

Democrats seized on Walker's recorded comments as evidence that the governor plans to go beyond budget cuts to crushing unions.

"This isn't about balancing the budget. This is about a political war," Rep. Jon Richards of Milwaukee yelled Wednesday on the floor of the state Assembly.
Cont'ed.....

On prank call, Wis. governor discusses strategy | General Headlines | Comcast.net

 

Seems to me he's not the brightest bulb in the box.

Now if the Repulican Governors are in a "union busting mode" I really have to ask why did they let Walker go at it first?
He can talk tough all he wants but it doesn't seem to be working so well. Then he gets punked?

 

Even someone on Fox News finally gets it. I wonder if he has typed up his resume?

Shepard Smith’s conversation today with commentator Juan Williams would likely surprise loyal viewers of both Fox News and MSNBC. Shep’s repeated assertion that there is no longer a budget crisis in Wisconsin and that the battle in the state is all about politics and union-busting was most shocking because that’s the exact argument many of MSNBC’s commentators have made, and continue to be suggesting.

Shep suggested that the Democratic party could be in big trouble if their biggest donors, the unions, lose their power and summed it up as “bust the unions – it’s over.” Furthermore, Shep brought up the fact that the “Koch brothers, among others, were organizing to try to bust labor – it’s what big business wants to do.” Given that the Koch brothers contributed to the campaign of Wisconsin Governor Walker, Shep said people should not be surprised that now they want unions busted. Despite Shep claiming “I’m not taking a side on this, I’m telling you what’s going on,” Williams warned Shep that “just by telling the facts, you’re angering a lot of people.”

Oddly, it seems Shep’s unexpected disclosure of facts does give some credence to at least the Koch brothers component of Ed Schultz’s argument that the union showdown is part of a right wing “master plan.” However, given that Shep adamantly declared “to pretend this is about a fiscal crisis in the state of Wisconsin is malarkey,” it seems like Fox News’ participation in such a “master plan” isn’t what Schultz might have suspected.

 

He probably knew he was being punked.

 

Mr Moen, lets be brutally honest here.
When a Dem gets the same treatment, you call it manufactured news, and attempt to discredit the source. Now, it's in your favor, and you love it and support it.
Let me ask you this, do you support ambush journalism or not.....yes or no.
I am not taking an opinion on this, just checking on your value and moral compass.....you either endorse it or you dont.......

 

Somehow I REALLY doubt that.

Seriously OKC. Explain the logic in your statement (or total lack thereof). How would it help Walker?

 

Shiots getting ugly, isn't it Dan. I hope one of us here has the solution, I sure dont.

 

Moen has been playing with his "slinky" again .

 

I'll be honest and say I do not like the tactic no matter who is doing it. But interestingly enough, this isn't a doctored tape. No edits have been done. It is simply Walkers words. When you can trick someone into saying something and you do not doctor or edit the conversation, aren't you really just getting an honest opinion? If I were to find out that statements were rearranged and made to sound like something that was not actually said, then I would be against it.

 

Wis. Governor Explains Falling for Prank Call, Stands Ground on 'Budget Repair' Bill - Union Protests - Fox Nation

 

Yeah, doubling down on idiocy. I found his defense interesting. He already admitted in public that he considered planting agitators in the crowd of protesters to make them look bad? When exactly did he say that in public? I’d sure like to see a clip of that previous statement.

I think it is pretty hard to deny that this is all about union busting from the git-go and never was about the state's budget. Surprise surprise.

 

I believe it's only going to get uglier Jack. I'm sure you know the Dems have walked out in Indiana as well. Although I don't like him Governor Mitch Daniels is a lot more shrewd than Governor Walker.

Don't be surprised to see Ohio and Michigan next. They'll be taking on some strong unions (as in Indiana) and one should consider the overall affect that could be had when it comes to shipping on the Great Lakes.

Now you folks might not believe this but Jack and I come from similar backrounds in our younger days. That being both of us grew up in more industrial and heavily unionized areas. I still reside in "mill country".

STRONG unions and although I think they DID get too powerful they have made a lot of concessions over the years.

Whether or not you agree with the actions of the Decocrats or unions is starting to become a moot point IMHO. If you pi$$ off enough people at once expect repurcussions. There's a LOT of pi$$ed off people in the midwest these days.

 

If you take the top 10 campaign contributors, the first 7 contribute almost exclusively to Republicans. The bottom three are unions and contribute almost exclusively to Democrats. Eliminate unions and Democrats will have no big campaign contributors left. The only party that will have any money will be the one owned lock stock and barrel by corporations. The middle class will pretty much cease to exist. I just can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would want that outcome. How could it possibly benefit this country? What good can possibly come from that scenario?

 

Madison Police Chief Wants Answers from Governor​

Madison Police Chief Noble Wray Thursday asked Gov. Scott Walker to explain his "troubling" and "unsettling" statements captured in a secretly recorded phone conversation that he "thought about" planting troublemakers among the thousands of peaceful demonstrators at the Capitol.

The protests, heading into their 11th day, are aimed at a bill Walker proposed to strip most bargaining rights from state and local unionized employees in Wisconsin.

"I spent a good deal of time overnight thinking about Governor Walker's response, during his news conference yesterday (Wednesday), to the suggestion that his administration 'thought about' planting troublemakers among those who are peacefully protesting his bill," Wray said in a statement issued this morning." I would like to hear more of an explanation from Governor Walker as to what exactly was being considered, and to what degree it was discussed by his cabinet members.

"I find it very unsettling and troubling that anyone would consider creating safety risks for our citizens and law enforcement officers. Our department works hard dialoging with those who are exercising their First Amendment right, those from both sides of the issue, to make sure we are doing everything we can to ensure they can demonstrate safely.

"I am concerned that anyone would try to undermine these relationships. I have a responsibility to the community, and to the men and women of this department — who are working long hours protecting and serving this community — to find out more about what was being considered by state leaders."

Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie pointed to Walker's statements at the Wednesday press conference.

"People have brought up all sorts of different options," Walker said." As you saw if you've listened to the tape, we shot that down."

Walker added that it was his "biggest fear" that opposing protesters would clash last Saturday. But in the phone call with what Walker thought was a campaign supporter, the governor did not mention public safety but said such a tactic could backfire on his effort to pass his budget-repair bill.

 

Why shouldn't a worker be allowed to decide for themselves whether they want to join a union or not?

 

Great question, David! I don't like the concept that workers MUST join unions.

 

Actually, it isn't automatically a done deal by any stretch of your vivid imagination.

Do you have to join a union?

Yes and no. It depends on the type of relationship detailed in the collective bargaining agreement between the union and your employer. Even if you have good reasons for refusing to join, you may not have any choice, unless you live in a state that has right-to-work provisions.

Your agreement with the union may provide for one of the following:

(1) an open shop: there is no need to join or pay dues.

(2) an agency shop: you don't have to join, but you will have to pay the same dues as if you were a member.

(3) union shop: you do not have to be a union member prior to taking your job, but once accepted, you must join the union after a specified period of time.

So sometimes you have to join the union and sometimes you don't. I think people should have the option to join or not to join a union, BUT, I think that any benefits that are negotiated by the union representatives should only go to those in the union.

 

Why shouldn't every state simply decide for itself?

 

The entire argument Walker is making is completely false. Texas doesn't have unions for their state workers and they are like 14 billion dollars in debt. Walker is simply trying to bust up unions that have worked fine for decades. He is trying to make a name for himself and doing it at the expense of his state. Worst of all, he is a complete idiot.