An attempted minority takeover from an undisclosed location in Illinois?

Two blogs, one day.  Yes, its true.  This one is likely to get me in trouble with non independents.



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Before I get started; I still think Walker and the Repubs have handled this whole thing terribly, and I still have very little trust in their respect of the political process.

That said, I think it's time for the Fab 14 to come home while both they and the public opinion are in unison.

I'm not convinced the Fab 14 alternative budget repair bill was a great idea.  Scott Walker got into office on 52%/46% majority.  He viewed this as a mandate to do whatever the heck he wanted.  It didn't work well for him.  Public polls shows 57% oppose restricting collective barganing and 37% agree with the Governor's proposal.

The world isn't black and white.  Walker did -not- campaign on collective bargaining restrictions, yet the Democratic minority -must not- confuse public opinion with a mandate that the democratic minority should get to call the shots in the legislature.  We just don't know if the public is for or against the whole bill, so I think the assumption they are was rather rash and possibly unwise.

I'm an independent that has voted non Republican 100% of the time, and that's unlikely to change.  We are [for now] a democratically elected republic.  As a protestor that has been at the Capitol seven or so times myself, I still fully support the Dem Senators 100% for providing a filibuster, allowing a chance for discourse on the bill.  But it is time to come home united, let the bill pass (hopefully amended to be less evil), and let the voters decide what they want via recall and normal elections.

Walker has released emails that show some level of negotiations have been occurring.  This negotiation process should be occuring in public view at the Capitol.  The Democrat Senators, taking a queue from how this went down in Assembly, had full reason to believe that no compromise or debate would have occurred had they not fled.  That might also happen if they come back.  Heck, it's possible they would be arrested.  But if so, I think it'll further shame what Walker's Administration has done.  This Administration seems to have no problem digging themselves a deeper and deeper hole.  The world is already watching, it's time to act now, and not to make this a media game.

I am not a union member.  I am a UW employee.  In a knowledge based economy, education is our ONLY future, and it will require great teachers.  I am terribly concerned about what the budget repair bill and the budget proposal will do to education in the state.  We need to fix America and while it might start at the local level with personal responsibility, it can really only be fixed at a national level.

Our Democratic representatives have done an -enormous- amount to forward these issues to a state -and- national level.  I can't thank them enough.  But please, Fab 14, come home in Solidarity, while we're still "winning".