Thuggery in Wisconsin

"We will hunt you down. We will slit your throats. We will drink your blood. I will have your decapitated head on a pike in the Madison town square. This is your last warning.”

No, this is not from the Mafia, al-Qaeda, or an excerpt from a vampire tale. It is an email sent to Wisconsin State Senator Dan Kapanke, after he voted for Governor Scott Walker’s budget and budget repair bill, which was devoted to getting the state’s fiscal house in order after the largesse of previous Democrat administrations. Taxpayers got tired of getting the shaft. That is why they threw out the Democrats en masse in Wisconsin last fall and replaced them with Republican majorities in the Governor’s Mansion, the State Senate and State Assembly (i.e. the lower chamber).

Republicans have been receiving threats of death and violence that go beyond political hate mail; they constitute the making of a threat which, by the way, can be a felony. Despite the fact that last January when Jared Lee Loughner went on a killing spree in Arizona with no warning, the mainstream media and the political left have been conspicuously silent as constitutionally elected legislators are threatened, their property is damaged and destroyed, and their phone numbers and addresses have been made public.

I saw your remarks in todays (sic) paper about the people who appose (sic) the Walker Plan – you sorry piece of sh_t – you won’t have your cushy job very much longer – as soon as we get your boss the faggot Fitzgerald [Republican Speaker of the State Assembly] recalled – the sorry fu_king parasite on the taxpayer of Wisconsin – every damn one of you should be exterminated.

The attempted murder of US Representative Gabrielle Giffords stirred curmudgeons of the mainstream media to rise in high dudgeon and lecture the less high-minded among us about the dangers of incivility in political discourse that leads to the violence. Where are the same calls for civility today?

This week is the first anniversary of the atrocious legislation that spawned ObamaCare. When opponents complained that it was an unprecedented display of federal power to seize control of the private healthcare system and dictate the behavior of 300 million in using it, Obama’s response was, “we won.” When Republicans objected to the bribery used to win Democrat votes, the strong-arm tactics used by the Democrat leadership to keep its caucus in line in passing a law no one had read, and the unorthodox procedures used to reconcile the House and Senate bills, Reid and Pelosi simply said, “elections have consequences.”

Yet when Republican majorities were elected in the Wisconsin Senate and House, as well as the governor, which worked to pass a budget bill curtailing the collective bargaining power of state unions and compelling them to pay more of their retirement and healthcare, the 14 Democrats in the Senate fled to Illinois to prevent a quorum – essentially shutting down the democratic process Wisconsin voters had elected their government to enact. No chest thumping Republican cried “we won” or “elections have consequences.” Unable to stop the passage of legislation with constitutional procedures, the “flee-baggers” attempted to negotiate a compromise from the motel in Illinois rather than the Senate chamber, assured (so they thought) that the Republican majority would be forced to negotiate without a quorum to pass any legislation.

"April 4 (is) the day on which Martin Luther King Jr. gave his life for the cause of public collective bargaining," Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO said in a speech in Washington. "Join us to make April 4, 2011, a day to stand in solidarity with working people in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and dozens of other states where well-funded, right-wing corporate politicians are trying to take away the rights Dr. King gave his life for," appealed the official blog of the labor union.

The call served to import into Madison members of the AFL-CIO, the SEIU and other big public worker unions, Democrat party organizations, and activist groups like MoveOn.org. Obama spoke on behalf of the Wisconsin public unions. Apparently advised to back off by his reelection campaign staff, Obama’s Labor Secretary – whose salary is paid by the US taxpayers – inserted herself into an organized effort to interfere in the government of a sovereign state of this nation. "I am so inspired and proud of all of you, especially those who went down to Wisconsin and also around the country," Labor Secretary Solis proclaimed. Her remarks made it obvious that she will use a government agency (the US Labor Department) against the Governor, State Assembly, and Senate elected by the voters of Wisconsin. She referred to herself as pro-union and anti-Walker. "I say let's keep fighting," Solis said, "let's stand up for all workers, and let's mobilize and do what we do best,” she said.

“Do what we do best …” You mean like violence? Historically unions have done a good job of that. Remember Jimmy Hoffa?

Milwaukee radio host Charlie Sykes reported that Wisconsin businessmen were getting letters recommending that the business owner oppose Governor Walker’s efforts to disconnect the IV line making taxpayers permanent blood donors to the state’s public unions. Read this not-so-subtle invitation:

The undersigned groups would like your company to publicly oppose Governor Walker's efforts to virtually eliminate collective bargaining for public employees in Wisconsin. While we appreciate that you may need some time to consider this request, we ask for your response by March 17. In the event that you do not respond to this request by that date, we will assume that you stand with Governor Walker and against the teachers, nurses, police officers, fire fighters, and other dedicated public employees who serve our communities.

In the event that you cannot support this effort to save collective bargaining, please be advised that the undersigned will publicly and formally boycott the goods and services provided by your company. However, if you join us, we will do everything in our power to publicly celebrate your partnership in the fight to preserve the right of public employees to be heard at the bargaining table. Wisconsin's public employee unions serve to protect and promote equality and fairness in the workplace. We hope you will stand with us and publicly share that ideal.

In the event you would like to discuss this matter further, please contact the executive Director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, Jim Palmer, at [phone number redacted].

The police? You mean Guido the knee-cracker wears the badge of a police officer sworn to uphold the law? Way to go, Secretary Solis! The goons you confess such pride in are now doing what you say they do best – corrupting the bedrock of a community and threatening people who refuse to help them gain their aims. Way to go!

Oh, but it threatens only an economic boycott. Yeah, sure. That’s why the contact person is the head of the police union, which incidentally, is specifically exempt from Walker’s bill along with firemen and other emergency personnel. I’m sure the Director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association was totally unaware that being a shill for the public workers and teachers unions infers that citizens may not be able to rely on police protection for their safety. Could a business owner receiving one of these letters expect a prompt response if he or she is the victim of a personal or property crime in retaliation for not supporting "the dedicated public employees who serve our communities"?

Radio host Sykes spins it this way: "That's a nice business you got there. Pity if anything was to happen to it if, say, you didn't toe the line and denounce Governor Walker like we're asking nice-like." Sounds like “organized" law enforcement could bear a disturbing resemblance to “organized” crime. Wasn’t Al Capone the one who said, "You can get much further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone"?

Plan B of the Wisconsin thuggery campaign is a recall election targeting eight Republican State Senators. A Washington DC labor website called for recruits to go to Wisconsin and serve as “field organizers” for the recall campaigns. Local and national labor unions are pouring money into the state to pay for the manpower needed to collect the signatures. Wisconsin Republicans are trying to respond in kind by mounting the recall of eight of the 14 “flee-baggers” but the head of the state party admits that taxpayer groups and volunteer organization have less money and are more loosely organized than their union counterparts and Democrat machines.

Wisconsin law says that recalls can only apply to incumbents who have served at least a year. That eliminates Governor Walker and newly elected Senators. It also requires that after filing a recall petition, thousands of signatures of registered voters must be collected in each district within 60 days. The number of signatures varies by district but ranges from 15,000 to 22,000.

The organizing strength of the AFL-CIO and its unions, coupled with Democratic allies (even Hollywood actors have joined in) gives the advantage to the Democrats over the Republicans. The union also understands that Wisconsin is a battleground state which cannot afford to lose this contest of political will if it hopes to discourage other states with fiscal problems from following Wisconsin’s lead. The Republicans don’t have the same passion for recalling Democrat senators that the Democrats do in their recall effort, which could be problematic.

Plan C of the Wisconsin thuggery campaign involves Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi, the latest hero in the left’s effort to subvert the people’s government. Last Friday, before leaving on vacation, she issued a temporary restraining order blocking the publication of the so-called Budget Repair Bill in the Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations. Publication of new laws is the job of the Secretary of State, Doug LaFollette, a Democrat, who decided to delay publishing the law after it was enacted until March 25, the latest date allowed by statute.

While lawsuits alleging grounds that justify judicial review are often filed to delay or prevent implementation of a law by those opposed to it, Judge Sumi’s participation in this case is an egregious perversion of justice. Her son, Jake Sinderbrand, is a political operative, formerly an AFL-CIO lead field manager and data manager for the SEIU Wisconsin State Council. The union members affected by the new law are members of the SEIU and the AFL-CIO. Here is what Sinderbrand’s Facebook page says:

RIP middle class – Wisconsin has officially become the Tea Party's laboratory for plutocracy. This is the beginning of the end unless we can get these fu_kers out of office. 299 days to recall; please do what you can to fight this travesty.

Judge Sumi’s husband, Carl Sinderbrand, donated to the campaigns of three of the “Badger 14? – Dave Hansen, Jim Holperin and Robert Wirch – who shirked their senatorial jobs and ran away to Illinois hoping to shut down the legislative process. Additionally Sinderbrand donated to Tom Barrett in his fight against Scott Walker for the governorship.

In 2007 Sumi gave a speech at the Temple Beth El for the Jewish Federation of Madison (WI) entitled “Judicial Decision Making: Activism or Accountability?”

Maryann Sumi is hardly an unbiased judge in this case. Any self-respecting arbiter of the law would have recused herself from hearing the case. Judge Sumi didn’t. That speaks volumes about her liberal activist view of the judiciary’s role in government.

The Associated Press reported that the reason LaFollette delayed publishing the new law was to give local governments as much time as possible to reach agreements locking in generous contract terms. In other words, he used the limits of the publication statute to benefit a favored Democratic constituency that will cost the taxpayers more money – a delay that was legal but hardly public-spirited. And it had the happy consequence of giving Dane County District Attorney Ismael R. Ozanne, also a Democrat, sufficient time to file the lawsuit in Sumi’s court alleging that the way in which the measure was passed violated the state's open meeting law, which normally requires notice of 24 hours before a vote.

Sumi said that the Legislature had the right to reconvene and reenact the Budget Repair Bill – a guarantee for further delay, mass demonstrations, and possible violence. If the Legislature did that, Sumi said, it would give her one less thing to worry about when she returns from spring break. Well, we sure don’t want Sumi’s court calendar interfering with the euphoria of her vacation, do we?

Republicans, who hold the majority in both the State Assembly and State Senate, refute the allegations of the suit before Judge Sumi because the official Rules of the Senate and Assembly waive that notice requirement during special sessions of the legislature, like the one in which the budget repair bill was considered. Either Judge Sumi is aware of these procedures and still issued a TRO because of her ideological sympathies with the unions – making her just another political hack, not a judge – or she is unaware of legislative procedures and therefore unqualified to serve on the bench.

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen wasted no time last Friday in announcing the Department of Justice will appeal Sumi’s TRO. Van Hollen said:

The Legislature and the Governor, not a single Dane County Circuit Court Judge, are responsible for the enactment of laws. Decisions of the Supreme Court have made it clear that judges may not enjoin the Secretary of State from publishing an Act.

To add to the opéra bouffe taking place in Wisconsin, there is a state Supreme Court election coming up on April 5. Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg, a liberal, is trying to unseat conservative incumbent David Prosser. If she wins, she could shift the balance of power on the court that might ultimately hear the appeal of Sumi’s order and undo Walker’s bill.

Is there an end to this? For weeks we’ve seen television images of malcontents camped out at the state capitol interfering with the legislative process and sometimes threatening the legislators. Signs and the mob chanted, “This is how democracy works.”

No, that’s not how democracy works.

Government employees are subject to the will of the people. That’s how democracy works. Unions are not a fourth branch of government with the power to veto the will of the people, embodied in their representatives, by forcing those elected representatives to sit down with unions as equals.

This is why federal employees have no collective bargaining rights with Congress. Congress represents the will of the people. It is not compelled, after negotiating among its members, to further negotiate its decisions with a union. If government workers feel they are being exploited, they should take their case to the people. And they should participate in the political process themselves – lawfully. That’s how democracy works.

To demand collective bargaining rights for public employees, as Wisconsin is doing, is to demand powers above democracy – to demand that after the democratic process has produced its outcome, that outcome must be ratified or renegotiated with a union representative. If that be the case, power in state government would reside only in one person – an unelected union official.

That is not how democracy works.