Elected Officials

[DJD]

Just wondering how some of you feel about those Senators fleeing the state in Wisconson. To me it just shows the arrogance of elected officials. I realize they don't want to show up but tough it's time for tough decisions....I just don't understand how these are acceptable actions for paid officials??
I can't hide it.....I pray this hurts the Democrats!!!! It's time this crap stops!

[lroberts]

If it were Republicans fighting for something you thought was right would you feel differently???

[Chubminnow]

Yellow belly is the term that comes to my mind when I think of those idiots leaving like they did. Tell you what....common sense tells me if they left like they did, they must have known they were either wrong in the past about some of teir actions, or they didn't want to face all of the thousands of people right outside their door who had been strong supporters of theirs or, they knew they were getting ready to watch their careers fade or who knows what they were running from. At any rate a man doesn't run, does he? He stands up, stands his ground or admits his wrong doing or whatever the case may be. Anytime I've ever seen a man running I figured he must have done something really bad or was flat out wrong.

Yellow belly wimps!

[greenriverman1]

If it were Republicans fighting for something you thought was right would you feel differently???

The people have spoken by electing the current gov. The dems should do what they are paid to do. If I remember the majority is to rule. That is what happened when the current gov was elected.

[Tyme2fish]

I think when they left the State of Wisconsin, they also resigned their positions in the Senate.

I sure know I would have been fired from every job I ever held if I acted like that.

[DJD]

If it were Republicans fighting for something you thought was right would you feel differently???

I can tell you with 100% honesty I would cop the attitude that it's payback for something the Dems have done in the past but I would realize that this is crap politics at work again. It's so typical of what's wrong in this country. One group is strong-arming locals by using a political party to get their way. It stinks.

Now what about the same question to you?? If another party did this would you feel the same way? Just curious how you feel about it.

Watched an interview on CBS ( I think) and the reporter asked the senator if he felt like he is not doing his job. He replied I am doing my job by doing what the people want. I guess he forgot the folks who voted for change and balancing the budget which started this whole uprising in Wisconsin.

[the_donger]

The ones that left were democrats. They did it for a reason - with the 14 members being out of state, the republican controlled state senate would not have a quorum, thus they cannot vote on, let alone pass, the controversial bills the governor wants passed. It is not about cowardice or anything like that, it is 100% political.

[Chubminnow]

If it were Republicans fighting for something you thought was right would you feel differently???

In my opinion political affiliation in this case doesn't make any difference. It just seemed to come across to me as being the wrong thing to do, right or left doesn't matter, my opinion is it was lame.

I realize their reasoning for doing what they did was 100% political and not cowardess. However I doubt very seriously if there's anything in their job description that says if they don't like a particular bill they need to vote on then they are to hide out for awhile, lol...not directly anyway, maybe something says it without really saying it.

[lroberts]

I can tell you with 100% honesty I would cop the attitude that it's payback for something the Dems have done in the past but I would realize that this is crap politics at work again. It's so typical of what's wrong in this country. One group is strong-arming locals by using a political party to get their way. It stinks.

Now what about the same question to you?? If another party did this would you feel the same way? Just curious how you feel about it.

Watched an interview on CBS ( I think) and the reporter asked the senator if he felt like he is not doing his job. He replied I am doing my job by doing what the people want. I guess he forgot the folks who voted for change and balancing the budget which started this whole uprising in Wisconsin.

I am a Republican.....I was just wondering your position. My problem is that I am a teacher and some of the things that the majority is trying to push could affect me in a negative way....and in ways that I KNOW will be bad for many students across the state. Vouchers for Charter schools that comes from public taxes is the worst idea EVER. If you look at the success rate of Charter schools on the ISTEP tests (which is how Daniels wants to evaluate teachers and schools) public schools FAR outscore them. You have to go through almost 200 public schools before you find a charter school that scores as well on ISTEP. Out of the 50 lowest scoring schools on ISTEP, 31 are Charter schools. The Dems are fighting for Unions (good for me/bad for some I guess) and the fact that our state Legislators are blaming the economy and perceived problems in education on Unions which is just not true. The economy and our deficit was caused by the home loan mortgage idiots and reckless spending/investing on Wall Street. The little/poor guys are the ones who are now paying for it. I agree that the size of our govt. and its spending needs to get smaller....but lets find the true root of the problem and solve it that way. Busting the teachers union is not going to magically solve our budget issues....in fact I just got an email from Tony Bennett and he said that no bills he supports or is pushing through will lower any teachers' salary....so how are is the state saving any money? Maybe through less pension and insurance input......but even that is not a guarantee at this point. Daniels and Bennett are not really concerned with saving $$$$ through education....they just want to bust unions and take power away from the people.

[DJD]

I agree Unions did not cause the economic bubble that burst. I will say they had a handout from politicians for years. In good economic times people don't really notice the bond between unions and politicians but it hasn't been good for many years.
Now it's time to check our spending and it's getting ugly. Throughout the country folks are not getting raises, getting laid off, paying more for insurance, losing retirement momentum with lower rates and basically being financially strapped. Am I understanding this correctly about the Wisconsin problems that they don't want to be treated like the rest of us? Is that the real issue? They might have been told they are safe from the reality of how the rest of is live and are now having to feel the pinch?
The country has to start somewhere. Plus remember we all recently sat back and watched millions go to the auto industry unions. When does it stop?

[lroberts]

I agree Unions did not cause the economic bubble that burst. I will say they had a handout from politicians for years. In good economic times people don't really notice the bond between unions and politicians but it hasn't been good for many years.
Now it's time to check our spending and it's getting ugly. Throughout the country folks are not getting raises, getting laid off, paying more for insurance, losing retirement momentum with lower rates and basically being financially strapped. Am I understanding this correctly about the Wisconsin problems that they don't want to be treated like the rest of us? Is that the real issue? They might have been told they are safe from the reality of how the rest of is live and are now having to feel the pinch?
The country has to start somewhere. Plus remember we all recently sat back and watched millions go to the auto industry unions. When does it stop?

"Now it's time to check our spending and it's getting ugly. Throughout the country folks are not getting raises, getting laid off, paying more for insurance, losing retirement momentum with lower rates and basically being financially strapped"

I'm not sure about all unions across the state, but my local teachers union has made many concessions in the past two years. No raises, paying more for insurance, teachers being laid off, and larger class sizes. Not all unions are the same....some are much more out of touch than others.

[DJD]

"Now it's time to check our spending and it's getting ugly. Throughout the country folks are not getting raises, getting laid off, paying more for insurance, losing retirement momentum with lower rates and basically being financially strapped"

I'm not sure about all unions across the state, but my local teachers union has made many concessions in the past two years. No raises, paying more for insurance, teachers being laid off, and larger class sizes. Not all unions are the same....some are much more out of touch than others.

Well sounds like you folks are doing what alot of private sector jobs are doing. As an example we still pay for the employee health insurance but the deduct is up to $3000. So every office visit is out of pocket at the negotiated rate of in network doctors. Family healthcare coverage is up to $650 a month and we still pay for our meds. Increased work loads since we are much more lean now. We can't chance hiring or adding folks we need with Obamy at the helm (we did replace one guy...a little different) since who knows what they plan on doing to HELP us little family owned companies.

If we want personal retirement we have to contribute our money in the plan but we do get matching funds from the company if we follow the guidelines. I'm not sure how that compares to teachers union bennies but thats how we do it.

Many companies I deal with don't pay for employee health insurance or not 100% of it. Family plans are about the same. Some have little to no retirement plans as well.

I keep reading/hearing that the union folks up there are making more than alot of the folks who pay taxes and pays their salaries. With that info and seeing the folks walking out as they did and the unions organizing and the dem senators running away they are pissing off alot of voters. The Gov. ran on the ticket up there to clean up and focus on balancing the budget and was voted in which means to me that more folks approve than disapprove of what he is doing.

I see these unions and it looks like a strong showing but there are alot more folks who think like me. Unions make up a small percentage of the work force but they are very powerful in the Dem party. I am hoping that the Gov sticks to his guns and cuts these unions deeply.

Most of us have heard the old saying of working for the gubment and your set for life. I think people are tired of seeing that happen. Those days are coming to an end and I'm hoping it happens sooner and quicker than ever.