# Wisconsin GOP passes union-stripping bill **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 10, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111 "2011-03-10T00:56:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/81 "2011-03-10T04:16:45Z")
> [@UncaThomas](#): > > Who cleaned up the signs? Did the protestors leave it looking as good as they found it? Didn’t your dad tell you to return things in a better condition than they were given to you? You know, clean the shovel before you give it back to the neighbor? > > Jesus Fuck…do you think people have a right to just dump their shit wherever and whenever they please and have someone else clean up after them? > > Think before you reply and you won’t look like a jackass. So it’s costing seven million to pull the tape off the walls? You’re not smart enough for this conversation, please go to IMHO and talk about your cat. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![margin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@margin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/margin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/82 "2011-03-10T04:17:44Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > But not sloth, lust, or gluttony? We get to keep those? I think Newt’s got them on permanent loan. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/83 "2011-03-10T04:23:10Z")
Tube socks run about $7 a bag at Target. Noob socks, you get whether you want 'em or not. Can’t believe that shit-for-brains actually offered Freepernoia as a cite. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/84 "2011-03-10T04:26:53Z")
> [@UncaThomas](#): > > So you’d rather have the interest go to China than a US debtholder? Because it doesn’t matter? > > What do you think the Chinese will use that money to do? Invest in _their_ economy/productivity/people maybe? > > You don’t think it’d be better to use that money to do those things in the US? We’re borrowing money from them to do things in the US. I have no problem with that, if the money is _invested_ in America, rather than wasted on wars and tax cuts for millionaires. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/85 "2011-03-10T04:27:50Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Any predictions? > > Will people go home figuring it is a fait accompli or are we about to see the re-birth of serious labor conflicts? > > It looked like Walker was going to lose. He simply could not abide that so he doubled-down and is calling labor’s bluff. Gutsy play if it works. > > My opinion is labor needs to go to the mat on this one. Strikes, protests, endless fucking with the governor. If not they are well and truly fucked. Close to 20 states are trying to pass anti-union legislation. Ohio recently passed some, and they have 2x the population of Wisconsin. So Wisconsin may be in the news, but in most states where the GOP won the state government these bills are being passed. So there are lots of governors who need to be fucked with. The problem is the dems aren’t that great either. Obama governs like an early 90s northeast republican. The choices are an Eisenhower republican (people like Obama) vs. a Christian Coalition republican (people like Palin). So people on the left lose interest come election time. Hopefully things like this will lead to a large scale, grass roots progressive movement that intimidates the democratic party rather than supplicates to it. The tea party was strong but they were also independent. For the most part liberal activist groups (labor, the netroots, liberals) tend to fight for ‘all’ democrats hoping the dems will support them on the issues. Then they get disappointed, and start again. I admire the tea party because they are somewhat independent of the GOP. They work through it, but they have their own agenda and interests. Liberals and labor do not have that kind of independence from the democrats. W/o that, I don’t see enough people voting to stop this kind of behavior. The 2010 election was won in part due to apathy. Hopefully some larger scale economic populist movement comes out of these policies. Cutting taxes on the wealthy while cutting food stamps and the wages/benefits of people who make 50k a year can’t be ‘that’ popular. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/86 "2011-03-10T04:30:49Z")
> [@UncaThomas](#): > > [Caption: Post Rally Images of The Washington Mall. TeaParty, Beck and Obama's Inauguration compared](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2579885/posts) > > A picture is worth a thousand words. Do you have any idea of the differences in size between the rallies? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/87 "2011-03-10T04:31:43Z")
> [@](#): > > …Cutting taxes on the wealthy while cutting food stamps and the wages/benefits of people who make 50k a year can’t be ‘that’ popular. But they won’t be running on that. They’ll run on the looming threat of Sharia law forcing Eagle Scouts into gay marriages. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Messiah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@The\_Messiah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Messiah)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/88 "2011-03-10T04:32:26Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Do you have any idea of the differences in size between the rallies? Some people have to go to work. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/89 "2011-03-10T04:33:32Z")
The lucky ones, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/90 "2011-03-10T04:34:46Z")
> [@The\_Messiah](#): > > Some people have to go to work. 😉 The tea party rallies were full of retired people. ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/91 "2011-03-10T04:36:40Z")
> [@The\_Messiah](#): > > Some people have to go to work. 😉 Wasn’t the inauguration a national event, attended by people from many walks of life, and members of both parties? Dumbass. ---
**Author:** ![UncaThomas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@UncaThomas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaThomas)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/92 "2011-03-10T04:39:14Z")
> [@TravisFromOR](#): > > So, are you alleging that not one spec of litter was thrown on the ground by the perfect teabaggers? > > That’s what I’m getting from your posts. If you can quote where I’ve alleged that, I’ll respond. Otherwise, I can’t help you understand my posts. ---
**Author:** ![UncaThomas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@UncaThomas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaThomas)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/93 "2011-03-10T04:41:08Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > So it’s costing seven million to pull the tape off the walls? You’re not smart enough for this conversation, please go to IMHO and talk about your cat. Thank you. The only number I quoted was the ~$350K reduced estimate. If I had a cat, I’d probably do better talking to him. It appears from your posts that most cats are smarter than you are. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/94 "2011-03-10T04:42:48Z")
> [@UncaThomas](#): > > Fleeing the state really helped this whole situation didn’t it? > > It escalated the conflict. > > Now Walker and the Senators that stayed on the job have escalated the conflict. > > One assumes the Dem Senators/Unions will now attempt to escalate the conflict further. > > Then one must assume the Gov/Rep Senators will then attempt to escalate the conflict still further. > > Gee…this has just been a grand example of a democratic republic in action. Congrats to all involved. How in the fuck could it escalate the conflict? If they were in the state, the Repubs would have jammed it through. That is the cold hard fact. They left and it was delayed. But now, it is absolutely clear that it is a wholly Repub plan . They were taking no prisoners. It was a union busting bill from the beginning. Now they got it. I hope they pay big time. ---
**Author:** ![UncaThomas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@UncaThomas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaThomas)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/95 "2011-03-10T04:43:17Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Tube socks run about $7 a bag at Target. Noob socks, you get whether you want 'em or not. Can’t believe that shit-for-brains actually offered Freepernoia as a cite. That’s right…attack the website but don’t discuss the pictures. You guys are teh funnay. You’d dodge if those pics were on Huffpo. ---
**Author:** ![UncaThomas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@UncaThomas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaThomas)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/96 "2011-03-10T04:50:15Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > We’re borrowing money from them to do things in the US. I have no problem with that, if the money is _invested_ in America, rather than wasted on wars and tax cuts for millionaires. The interest on the debt is the fifth largest Federal budget item, after Defense and Security spending ($890 billion), Social Security ($730 billion) and Medicare ($490 billion). (Source: U.S. Treasury, Interest). This with interest rates very low, a situation that common sense tells you will not last forever. Do you not understand how much more we could do, how much better off we’d be as a nation without paying this huge amount of interest? Interest on the debt is almost as much as the Medicare program budget! That’s really a great plan for success. Piss your income away on interest. ---
**Author:** ![UncaThomas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@UncaThomas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaThomas)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/97 "2011-03-10T04:56:54Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > How in the fuck could it escalate the conflict? If they were in the state, the Repubs would have jammed it through. That is the cold hard fact. They left and it was delayed. But now, it is absolutely clear that it is a wholly Repub plan . They were taking no prisoners. It was a union busting bill from the beginning. Now they got it. I hope they pay big time. Looks like the Repubs DID jam it through doesn’t it? So all the running away from the job, all the Union rallying, all the trash, all the Nazi signs, all the Walker-should-be-run-over-by-a-truck posts really made a difference there. What a great way to get a compromise. As I said upthread, this was a sorry spectacle that left no participant looking very good. I sure don’t see it as beneficial for democratic republicanism in general. It was just one more example of dysfunctional government on both sides. Something everyone can take real pride in; we’re destroying our system of government. The only thing missing was the crowds burning the Statehouse. Then we could REALLY be proud of both sides for failing to work together. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/98 "2011-03-10T05:00:01Z")
> [@UncaThomas](#): > > That’s right…attack the website but don’t discuss the pictures. > > You guys are teh funnay. > > You’d dodge if those pics were on Huffpo. What would you like to discuss about the pictures? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/99 "2011-03-10T05:06:03Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > What would you like to discuss about the pictures? Before we discuss them, I’d like Unca to provide cites that those pictures are actually from the times he says they are. I’d also like additional pics of the overall grounds so we can get a feel for the distribution. Is that okay, Unca, do you mind backing up your citations with facts? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111/100 "2011-03-10T05:08:23Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Before we discuss them, I’d like Unca to provide cites that those pictures are actually from the times he says they are. I’d also like additional pics of the overall grounds so we can get a feel for the distribution. > > Is that okay, Unca, do you mind backing up your citations with facts? Shhh. You’ll scare him away! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wisconsin-gop-passes-union-stripping-bill/574111.md?page=6)