It may not have been on everyone’s radar, but a major victory has just occurred in the American Midwest. And pardon my exuberance here, but it is a great day to be from Wisconsin and to be an American. There is hope yet it seems, and now we can bring on November.
The Republican Governor Scott Walker there has just won a recall motion. He is a small government, union-busting, pro-life Governor who was challenged by a big-government, pro-union, and pro-abortion Democrat, Tom Barrett. A loss would have been calamitous, and would have been bad news for future state and national races.
But this resounding win not only means most Wisconsinites still have common sense, but it means that the prospects for a Republican presidential win in November look even more likely. You see, Wisconsin has long been in the clutches of the lefties, and the Democrats have long been in control.
Back in the radical 60s, Madison – the state capital and college town – was like a Berkeley-east. Student rioting, and even deaths due to the militants, were all the rage there in the late 60s and early 70s. It has long been a hotbed of radicalism and leftism.
And the state had been bankrupted – literally and figuratively – by the tight squeeze of out-of-control union power aided and abetted by their chief beneficiaries – the Democrats. Their stranglehold on the state meant ordinary Wisconsinites and small businesses especially suffered big time.
So this is quite a victory indeed. Already a number of commentators have been discussing this historic victory. Some of their words are worth sharing here. As Bill Frezza noted, the “Governor Walker’s Victory Spells Doom For Public Sector Unions”
“Despite a last-minute smear campaign accusing Scott Walker of fathering an illegitimate love child, the governor’s recall election victory sends a clear message that should resonate around the nation: The fiscal cancer devouring state budgets has a cure, and he has found it. The costly defeat for the entrenched union interests that tried to oust Walker in retribution for challenging their power was marked by President Obama’s refusal to lend his weight to the campaign for fear of being stained by defeat. We’ll see how well this strategy of opportunistic detachment serves in the fall as Obama reaches out to unions for support.”
He concludes, “The power of private sector unions was long ago broken by many heavily unionized companies going bankrupt. While this was painful for both workers and shareholders, the economy motored on as nimbler non-union competitors picked up the slack. This approach is problematic for the public sector because bankrupt state and local governments cannot be replaced by competitors waiting in the wings. Yes, citizens can always vote with their feet, emptying out cities like Detroit, leaving the blighted wreckage behind. But isn’t Walker’s targeted fiscal retrenchment less painful than scorched-earth abandonment?
“Chicago machine candidate Barack Obama rode into office to the tune of Hail to the Chief, promising the unions that backed him the gift of card check elections, ending the secret ballot that shields employees from union intimidation. He may well ride into retirement to the tune of On Wisconsin as the era of closed shop unionism comes to an end.”
And Richard Viguerie wrote, “The real reason Governor Scott Walker won is simple and something that Mitt Romney and his presidential campaign team should take to heart. Walker won because he ran and governed as an unabashed principled, small government, constitutional conservative. The power of Walker’s win could contribute greatly to a Romney victory in November if Mitt’s campaign team can shake-off their moderate establishment Republican instincts and absorb its real lesson.
“Just as Ronald Reagan once described his vision of the Republican Party, Governor Walker’s campaign was a campaign, not of pale pastels, but of bold conservative colors – encouraging jobs and economic development, balancing the budget, reducing taxes, and streamlining the state’s bureaucracy.
“By standing for conservative principles, Scott Walker traveled the trail Reagan blazed to victory in 1980 and 1984, that Newt Gingrich followed to the Contract with America victory in 1994, and the Tea Party took to win the wave election in 2010. These were big agenda-changing victories–not skin of your teeth wins, such as Bush’s in 2000 and 2004, where we traded one set of establishment players for another.
“Victory always has 1,000 fathers, but no amount of money or organization could have helped Scott Walker if he had not stuck with his conservative principles. Governor Walker’s victory proves once again the lesson Republicans should have learned in 1980: Reagan’s bold colors win elections. If Mitt Romney will adopt those bold conservative colors for his campaign and his administration, he will win, even in traditionally Democratic-leaning states like Wisconsin.”
And pro-lifers have a real reason to cheer here. Said Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Action, “Governor Walker has already signed into law several pro-life bills during his short, two-year tenure in office. He says he is 100 percent pro-life, and he that he has certainly done things so far that show he is truly 100 percent pro-life. To lose him would mean quite a setback for the pro-life movement in Wisconsin.”
Or as Steven Ertelt stated, “The battle was a tough one for pro-life advocates in the state, who worked overtime to try to keep Walker and pro-life Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, both of whom received endorsements from Wisconsin Right to Life. Kleefisch survived her recall battle as well against a pro-abortion opponent.
“‘Governor Walker’s deep belief in the sanctity of all human life is evident in the courageous actions he has taken to build a culture of life in Wisconsin. His concern for the most vulnerable members of the human family is reflected in the common sense and compassionate laws he has signed into law. Those initiatives will greatly benefit unborn children, women who are considering abortion and taxpayers of our state,’ said WRTL PAC Director Susan Armacost….
“Since Governor Walker took office in January 2011, the pro-life movement in Wisconsin has made monumental gains. Walker signed into law a state budget that included a provision to prohibit the UW Hospital Authority from being involved in performing abortions and from using taxpayer dollars to pay medical students to learn how to perform abortions. Walker steered Wisconsin Well Woman funds to local counties instead of Planned Parenthood. Governor Walker also signed bills that allow Wisconsin to opt out of abortion funding under Obamacare, to protect pregnant women from coerced abortions and to prohibit RU486 chemical web cam abortions.
“Walker’s pro-life achievements have earned him the praise of Wisconsin’s top pro-life groups and, contrary to the claims from abortion advocates, the support of many women. Just one example comes in the form of a letter to the editor in the Stevens Point Journal, entitled ‘Kudos to Governor Walker for pro-life record.’ The author, Kathleen Sommers of Custer, Wisconsin, thanks Walker for standing up for women by signing the bill banning coerced abortions.
“Governor Walker stands as one of the nation’s most supportive governors for the rights of our society’s most vulnerable. Tom Barrett would have used taxpayer funds to destroy innocent unborn human lives.”
Quite so. This is a win for life, for limited government, and for common sense against union thuggery. On Wisconsin. And I can’t wait for November.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/billfrezza/2012/06/05/governor-walkers-victory-spells-doom-for-public-sector-unions/
http://www.conservativehq.com/node/8293
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/wisconsins-fate-pivots-on-recall-of-100-percent-pro-life-governor-walker?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=313f63705f-LifeSiteNews_com_Intl_Headlines_06_05_2012&utm_medium=email
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/06/05/pro-life-victory-scott-walker-defeat-pro-abortion-recall/
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