And technically, the workers in WI have not been denied their right to organize and collectively bargain yet.

I wonder if he will have any effect on WI... he's ok on social issues, but pretty right wing on economic issues. This situation covers both. Who knows what will happen.

Actually, now they have. The Republicans held a "flash vote" during which voting was open for approximately 15 seconds, thus registering every single Republican vote, but was then closed before most of the Democrats could get to their seats.

Stanley: it only passed the Assembly. It would still have to pass the Senate, and all the Democratic senators are staying out of the state.

I'll add some conjecture: I believe Obama to be setting himself up for 2012 reelection, after which, if he wins, a more "progressive" agenda will probably occur.

Somehow I don't find that really very comforting.

Obama is the chessmaster, all you sheeple that don't understand his plans are the fools.

From change we can believe in to a change we can't believe.

That was supposed to be in the above thread.

ahh it works down here too.

good post. five stars

Uh, if Obama is able to stop Walker from repealing collective bargaining writes (he isn't) but is instead opting to "let the situation play itself out" for the sake of telling people "how bad things actually are now," he is a monstrous buffoon.

The only strategy here is 1) make hyperbolic promises on the campaign trail, always a winning strategy, and 2) only follow through on them if it's politically expedient, also a winning strategy. Obama is not walking the picket line because it would be a waste of time and would if anything make him look like a weak powerless dude begging a Republican governor for mercy.

Futurebot, I just disagree.
“I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem. To me, it’s part of the solution. You cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement.” He said this while in office, after installing pro-labor appointees and instituting a pretty resounding executive order repealing Bush's anti-labor acts and endorsing the Employee Free Choice Act, an act that would in essence cripple Taft-Hartley. The stimulus was also very kind to unions.

I agree that appearing before Walker as a protester would make him look small and that he's a politician who does things politically while taking into account election cycles and timing and political things like that.

I'm not arguing that Obama's anti-labor, I'm arguing that your strategic analysis is wrong for reasons given. He's staying out of this because there is literally nothing he can do at the moment, not out of some kind of clever forbearance. There is basically nothing anyone can do about Walker except what the D legislators are already doing, denying him a quorum.

I should add that he's not *completely* out of this - OFA has been pouring money into the protests. But that is a different thing O getting directly involved.

^ This. Although I'll be damned if I'm going to vote again for someone who thinks we can just "turn the page" on war crimes.

Cthulhu help me, I'll be sacrificing an abbatoir of small children for him to turn into a left wing tyrant if re-elected in 2012. Just to counter all the pansy-ass bowing and scraping to the right and Wall Street since day one.

Why were we so blind Cena Mark? Obama illegally blew sand in our collective faces while the ref of the world was distracted by his valet.

yeah all of the people who voted for Obama because of his shelter dog stance have to feel pretty betrayed right now

kill yourself