What's Happening in Wisconsin- May Have Big Effect

If you haven't heard about what's happening in the great state of Wisconsin, politically, you should know about it. Here are some things you should know, because the Wisconsin conservative platform is being used to launch the national platform. See what you think...

1) Governor Scott Walker (R) is now under recall.

2) Gov. Walker STRUCK DOWN collective bargaining rights for all unions in the state. 

3) WI Governor Scott Walker Quietly Repeals Wisconsin Equal Pay Law

4) Governor Walker's Policies Set the Stage for National Republican Policies 

5)  Walker signs bevy of bills into law: More Abortion Restrictions; "Abstinance Only Way"; Preventing Discriminated from Suing 
6) Reuters:  Wisconsin Governor Walker to face recall vote on June 5

 

1) Governor Scott Walker (R) is now under recall. 50,000 signatures were needed to get a recall in effect for the governor, and 930,000 were collected. The recall happens in June. He is being recalled for eliminating all bargaining rights for unions in the state.  Voters decide for only the third time in the nation’s history whether to recall a sitting governor.
WASHINGTON POST: Wisconsin recall effort against Gov. Scott Walker now at center stage nationally.  ARTICLE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/wisconsin-recall-moves-to-center-stage/2012/04/07/gIQAiqQ71S_story.html

2) Gov. Walker STRUCK DOWN collective bargaining rights for all unions in the state. 

ARTICLE - HUFFINGTON POST: 
WASHINGTON -- A year after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed groundbreaking anti-collective bargaining legislation into law, union supporters from across the world are gathering in the state to to share lessons from the fight and rally for the governor's recall. Candelight vigils are planned across the state Friday night, with a "Reclaim Wisconsin" march on the state capitol building in Madison planned Saturday at 10 a.m.
The law, signed by Walker on March 11, 2011, after a weeks-long battle, stripped most public employees of collective bargaining rights. Labor leaders denounced the law as an attack on working families.
SOURCE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/09/scott-walker-anti-union-law_n_1335658.html?ref=wisconsin-protests

3) WI Governor Scott Walker Quietly Repeals Wisconsin Equal Pay Law

The Governor of Wisconsin, with little notice or discuss, repealed the state’s Equal Pay law.  For Scott Walker, it was no doubt the most logical step in his ongoing war on women and the working class, as the Equal Pay Law protected not just women but any protected class.
But for the Republican who was most enthusiastic about rescinding the law, it was really about fairness.  After all, according to him, money is more “important” for men.
   The 2009 Equal Pay Enforcement Act was meant to deter employers from discriminating against certain groups by giving workers more avenues via which to press charges. Among other provisions, it allows individuals to plead their cases in the less costly, more accessible state circuit court system, rather than just in federal court.  In November, the state Senate approved SB 202, which rolled back this provision. On February, the Assembly did the same. Both were party-line votes in Republican-controlled chambers.
 SOURCE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/06/scott-walker-wisconsin-equal-pay-law_n_1407329.html?ref=tw

4) Governor Walker's Policies Set the Stage for National Republican Policies 

This homegrown fight has national implications. Walker has become a symbol of Republican governance in today’s GOP. He is campaigning energetically and unapologetically, arguing that he took courageous action to deal with his state’s severe fiscal problems — the same thing Republicans are saying should be done nationally. Walker contends that his policies have been good for the state’s economy and its taxpayers.
ARTICLE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/wisconsin-recall-moves-to-center-stage/2012/04/07/gIQAiqQ71S_story.html

5)  Walker signs bevy of bills into law: More Abortion Restrictions; "Abstinance Only Way"; Preventing Discriminated from Suing

Gov. Scott Walker has signed bills putting new restrictions on abortion, requiring schools that teach sex education to promote marriage and barring those who are discriminated against at work from suing for punitive damages in state court.
The new laws would:

• Require schools that teach sex education to promote marriage and tell students that abstinence is the only reliable way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. The change in law also allows public schools to teach abstinence-only courses, which had been barred since 2010 under a law Democrats approved when they controlled state government.
• Prevent people subjected to employment discrimination from seeking punitive and compensatory damages in state court.
• Require doctors to consult with patients face-to-face - rather than via Web camera - when administering abortion-inducing drugs. That measure would also require doctors to speak privately with women seeking abortions to ensure they were not being coerced, and physicians could face felonies for ignoring the law.
• Prohibit insurance plans offered in Wisconsin under the federal health care reform law from covering some abortions.      SOURCE  MILWAUKEE-JOURNAL SENTINEL: http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/walker-signs-dozens-of-bills-into-law-gh4t9ll-146443915.htm

 6) REUTERS NEWS ARTICLE:  Wisconsin Governor Walker to face recall vote on June 5
(Reuters) - Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker will face a recall election on June 5 over a new law he championed that strips public sector unions of most power, becoming the first U.S. governor to face a no-confidence vote in nearly a decade.  FULL STORY:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/30/us-usa-politics-wisconsin-idUSBRE82T0UF20120330