Political junkie that I am, I spent a lot of last night watching the returns in Wisconsin’s special recall election. Things just got more difficult for the Republicans in the Senate, but they are still in control, with a one vote majority.

Some of the highlights of my watching included an interview with three New York City firefighters who had been in Wisconsin, knocking on doors, in support of the Wisconsin firefighter’s union. They said that Wisconsin sent help to New York after 9/11, and so they wanted to return the favor. That sounds a lot to me like neighbor helping neighbor, which we need more of.

Another factoid was that prior to these six election contests, there had only been 20 recall elections in the history of the nation. So, win or lose, this was an historic election, and demonstrated that people working together can make government more responsive.

Somewhere along the line I saw a chart of the trend in numbers in union workers in the US superimposed on a chart of the percentage of GDP controlled by the middle class. Amazing chart. The trajectory on both statistics is negative, and almost identical.

Wake up middle class! Unions created a middle class, and now that the Republicans are intent on destroying unions, the middle class is disappearing. This isn’t a coincidence. It is past time for the pendulum to swing in favor of unions.

Homework

Milwaukee Report of WI Elections

Chart Comparing Middle Class GDP with Union Membership

Wisconsin Republican State Senator Glenn Grothman caused me to stop what I was doing and stare at the TV screen last night. I couldn’t believe I was hearing right. But I was. He said that protesters in Wisconsin were nothing but a bunch of slobs stinking up the State House. Evidently earlier he had called them dirty hippies.

I’m not surprised that he believes that, I’m just surprised that he said it out loud. He went on to say that he believes that the protesters are nothing but a bunch of unemployed people or college students who are looking for somewhere to go. Politicians are usually more circumspect in what they say on national TV. But this guy’s been drinking some polluted water.

It seems that Senator Grothman is prone to sticking his neck out. His homepage talks about how there should be no kindergarten for 4-year olds. Clearly he doesn’t want unruly children emulating their teachers by turning schools into pigsties. Do you have any idea how troublesome a bunch of little fingers covered in peanut butter and jelly can be?

I don’t know much about his congressional district. Maybe they really do think that policemen, and firemen, and prison guards, and teachers, and four-year-olds are despicable, stinking, worthless human beings. But I’ll bet that there are enough despicable, stinking, worthless human beings there to stink up a voting booth on occasion. They are already chanting “shame” at the Senator.

Homework

Wisconsin Senator Calls Protesters Slobs

Glenn Grothman's Home Page

Protesters Chanting "Shame" at Grothman

Blogger From the Senator's District

It has been a really busy week for anyone trying to stay on top of current events. The Middle East is still imploding. Democrats in Wisconsin actually demonstrated a backbone and stood up for unionized public workers by fleeing the state. And Republicans continued speaking with one voice everywhere but in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Last night Richard Engle, Chief Foreign Correspondent for NBC news was shown reporting from the studios of CNBC in Bahrain. His comment was that usually the stories coming out of that nation were about business. Today Manama, the capital of Bahrain, looks more like a war zone, with families mourning their dead and tanks patrolling the streets after violent skirmishes in the city.

Bahrain is a tiny island country, but it is important to the US because it hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. The 5th Fleet is there as a show of force to Iran’s military leaders. (It is also only 26 miles from Saudi Arabia, and a four hour drive from the Saudi capital.) In the wake of the violence in Manama, the British government has been trying to decide if they should continue to export arms to Bahrain. Hillary Clinton asked the government to exercise some restraint.

Bahrain is a tiny country with a religious problem. It has a Sunni monarch and Shiite citizens. Expect some Glenn Beck Paranoia about the developments there. Saudi Princes might share some of Beck’s paranoia, as they are not likely to be happy if a fellow Sunni monarchy falls. Saudi’s Shiite minority happens to live in the oil producing areas of that country. Oh my!

Meanwhile, back in the US, Boehner has lost control of his House. Those dang upstart Freshmen Republicans just aren’t voting the way they are told, and yesterday voted down one of his personal pork perks. No problem with Colorado Republicans still staying in line, however. I have it on good authority that Senator Steve King listens only to the American Legislative Exchange Council when he’s looking at issues. If you haven’t heard about ALEC, you should research it. They write model legislation that promotes “conservative solutions.” It figures that King would be guided by them—he’s not known for his original thinking. I’m pretty sure that Laura Bradford and Ray Scott drink from the same well. Ask Laura about her trip to Washington DC to learn all about Red Cards.

There is a theory that ALEC is behind the events in Wisconsin. Clearly a lot of Republican governors are working to demolish unions. It has been a Republican mantra ever since Ronald Reagan took on the Air Traffic Controllers. But it looks as though unions are finally fighting back, especially in Wisconsin. What do Republicans have against unions? They write checks to Democrats. What I can’t figure out is what American workers have against unions.

Finally, I found a story in the American Thinker, a right leaning publication, about how our economic world is about to come crashing down. This represents the thinking of the right pretty well. Anything that helps business is good. Anything that helps workers is bad. You can find this stuff all over the internet, but this one had an amusing coincidence. I’d never heard of the author, so I goggled him. You won’t believe what I found. I’m not sure it is the same guy, but if it is…

The blind are leading the blind in the Republican Party.

Homework

Protesters in Bahrain

US Navy's 5th Fleet

Glenn Beck on Bahrain

Bloomberg Talks About Saudi Arabia and Suni Shiite Sects ßPretty good analysis.

All Is Not Well in Boehner's House

American Legislative Exchange Council

Fighting Public Sector Unions

The Tipping Point is Near

Jeff Thomas Allen Barred by SEC