It’s with frustration and annoyance that I, a democrat, watch pro-democrats dance around with feigned surprise regarding the successful re-election of the Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker.
The core issue that President Obama faces and that is at least partially responsible for the failed recall in Wisconsin {failed for the democrat that is} is the disparity between government workers and public sector workers in terms of salaries, benefits and job security in fact accomplished through actions like collective bargaining.
Collective bargaining to preserve their entitlements for public unions is either an OUTDATED and antiquated concept that long before now should have been assigned to the annals of the “good old days” as it has been for many workers in the public sector for years OR President Obama should have pushed a lot harder and a lot longer to support health insurance changes and jobs programs that at the very least acknowledged that all workers should have broad options to have the quality of life and mental peace of mind that government workers have.
From outsourcing to salary reduction to “empowerment” to find whatever health insurance we can afford, unfortunately President Obama has largely failed average workers. Could he have done it alone? No. Could he have done something to acknowledge that civil service was never designed to be a “glamour-job” in this country? Yes. Governor Walker did something his constituents approved of in these hard times, he stopped some entitlements available for civil service workers and saved his government money doing so. Our President...he has not. He remains mute when it comes to the obvious inequality of civil-service worker experience in the Federal government especially and in general and hopes no one will notice.
As a democrat I applaud the fact that the Republicans are finally focusing on a real issue where Obama really owes citizens answers and is weak and that is in the area of ignoring the government entitlements of civilian government employees while attacking and hacking away at other sectors of our economy.
This blog has discussed this many times including in October of 2008 stating:
“As the election draws to a close, our next President should not be able to stall on acting on this issue because it requires more "studying" or anything else UNLESS the provision of these great benefits packages for government employees are suspended and beginning in the year 2009 they (government employees) must be "empowered" like the rest of us searching for decent insurance coverage at an affordable price. Then we'll see our government officials act.” http://conoutofconsumer.blogspot.com/2008/10/end-of-government-entitlements-and-well.html
It remains true. Until and unless Federal government workers face the same problems as other workers so that the President actually leads by example and so that government workers are incentivized to accomplish change because of shared experience, President Obama remains on an uncertain surface that will make him appear weak-kneed and wobbly when it comes to his promises and rhetoric.
It would do the President more good if these issues were brought up instead of spun by pro-democratic media. They have reduced themselves to a democratic version of Fox news. It doesn’t matter how democratic fans twist statistics and argue gross trends, most of us are in a jam and the President has failed to establish anything that promises relief.
The disparity between rich and poor especially with the likelihood that President Obama will throw up his hands and explain why the Bush tax cuts will have to be extended yet again. The disparity between governmental worker experience and private sector workers with the likelihood that President Obama will focus on how much more time it will take to see positive results because we were in such a bad state all the while still ignoring the entitlements of Federal civilian employees.
It’s time to look up the Federal civilian governmental worker health plan options and compare them to your own. Look up the “no fire” clauses in certain Federal civil service union contracts and try to find any such reassurance in your own. Look up the pension benefits Federal civilian employees get and compare them to your own. Yet the pro-democratic talk-show hosts are “surprised” by the Wisconsin results?
President Obama will likely be reelected but not because of ANYTHING he’s done but more because of the behavior of the Republican Party has amounted to personal bullying, uncompromising extremist language and ignorant recitation of pretend “economics” by Republicans. But results like the one in Wisconsin, surprised? Why?
