January 5, 2012

Last week Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker took to the airways to try to quell the rising tide against him. During recent interviews he called the recall process currently underway to unseat him “unusual.”

The only thing “unusual” about the recall movement is Scott Walker’s inability to listen to the will of the people of Wisconsin. Scott Walker was elected by the people of Wisconsin, but as soon as he was elected he forgot who he was there to represent – the people of Wisconsin, not the Koch brothers, the Tea Party or any other special interest.
He ignored the people of Wisconsin, refusing to even sit down and negotiate with union leaders and proceeded to push through a law virtually eliminating public employees’ collective bargaining rights. These actions sparked mass protests in Madison and across the state of Wisconsin and ultimately led to the State’s first ever recall campaign against a governor.

Now we are witnessing Scott Walker’s chickens coming home to roost. The same people that he ignored are now letting their voices be heard. So far the people of Wisconsin have gathered more than half a million signatures on petitions to recall Scott Walker and the number is still climbing. In Wisconsin, the momentum is palpable. And despite some mounting hostility from the opposition – with disappearing yard signs and recall volunteers experiencing heckling – never before have I seen so many mobilized and focused on the common goal of recalling Scott Walker.

WASHINGTON — When Congress handily passed a bill to set payroll tax rates, jobless benefits and Medicare doctors’ fees for the next two months, it seemed to end an epic political struggle between President Obama and Republicans on Capitol Hill. In fact, that was just the beginning.

Every issue in dispute remains unresolved, waiting to be addressed when Congress returns next month for an election-year session in which agreements could be even more elusive.

Basically, the new law, signed on Friday by Mr. Obama, preserves the status quo through February, so House and Senate negotiators can try to reach longer-term agreements on the Social Security payroll tax, unemployment insurance, Medicare and a few other issues, like the shape of the welfare program that provides cash assistance to more than 4.6 million poor people.