Washington Budget Battle Raises Specter of Government Shutdown

The Wall Street Journal reports otherwise, "Ryan Says Not Looking for Government Shutdown." But previously at Investor's Business Daily, "Will D.C. Budget Standoff Repeat 1995? GOP Hopes Not":

2011 is starting to look eerily like 1995. GOP lawmakers and a Democratic president are far apart on the budget, raising the specter of a government shutdown. Republicans are readying Medicare and Social Security reform plans, easy fodder for Democrats.

Republicans hope the parallels end there. Voters blamed the GOP for the 1995 shutdown.

"It's possible that we are seeing" a repeat, said Matt Bennett, vice president for public affairs at the centrist Third Way. "In 1995, the Gingrich revolutionaries demanded tough budget cuts and took it to a government shutdown. It appears Speaker Boehner is responding to the more strident people in his caucus."

More at the link, and also at the Louisville Courier-Journal, "Washington heading for a possible shutdown."

Frankly, I think the 1995 comparison is just too nifty for the media to pass up. Ace of Spades had a piece the other day which showed some Republicans with little ideological principle when it comes to reining-in government. See, "Um: Half of Republican Caucus, Especially Leadership and Old Guard, Votes With Democrats To Block Additional $22 Billion in Cuts."

Okay, I give up. I wanted to give this two party system a try. Forget it. It's time for a third party, the Tea Party.

The GOP is dead to me. Hal Rodgers and posturing lying phony Eric Cantor need to be replaced.

The Republican Party

If you like your ruinous behemoth tax-parasite government, you can keep your ruinous behemoth tax-parasite government.

And that is is promise we will definitely keep. Because, in the end, that's the one thing that matters to us.

I'm going to be keeping an eye on this over the next few days. The GOP needs to be on the right side of history. Hundreds of billions can be cut just for starters, as many have pointed out, and Ace is going to have my vote if the GOP leadership caves to Democrat-progressive spendapalooza politics. So until later, check out NYT's morning report, "As House Votes to Cut $60 Billion, Standoff Looms."

IMAGE CREDIT: The People's Cube.

Christine Teigen Bikini Beauty

Time to take a break from Wisconsin blogging. Enjoy the lovely Christine Teigen:

And please visit American Perspective, "Sophia Vergara," Maggie's Notebook, "Ivanka Trump," and TCOTS, "Rule 5 Saturday."

Bonus: I'm not seeing any babes at Daley Gator, but considering the theme of the day around here: "VIDEO: This Dude Knows What The Leftist Public Unions Are All About."

Tea Party Crashes Madison!

At ABC News, "Tea Party Descends on Madison Protests" (via Memeorandum). And a reader sent along the link to Ray Cunningham's Flickr set:

More at Gateway Pundit, "Amazing!… Tea Party Movement Brings in 15,000 Protesters to Madison With 24 Hour Notice Embarrassing Left."

And TrogloPundit was on the scene: "Let’s rebut some Lefty protest signs!" (c/o Midnight Blue).

RELATED: From The Right Sphere, "Wisconsin Union Protests Expose the Real Left."

Madison Police Detain Union Thug After Attempt to Disable Tea Party Sound System

At Daily Caller, "Union operative attempts to destroy Tea Party rally’s speaker system."

The weird thing is, I was just commenting on the hopeless dishonesty of the progressive left: "Watching the videos, at Althouse and the MacIver Institute, confirms one more time just how low progressives will go. Nothing's above board these days. It's all corruption and thuggery."

More reporting from the Daily Caller: "Tea Partiers strike back in Madison."

And speaking of dishonesty, Glenn's got a roundup on the doctors in Wisconsin handing out bogus sick notes, with a quote from a physician:

“Is it really his position that he is conducting medical examinations in the midst of thousands of people while attaining a right to privacy? One of the most important things in a genuine patient/physician interaction is honesty and this dude is dishonest! . . . He has abrogated his professional responsibility for political expediency.”

Andrew Breitbart Rocks Madison!

As promised, here's Breitbart's speech at the Wisconsin Capitol earlier today:

And speaking of Breitbart, his name's a verb now? "Wisconsin Protesters Breitbarted Over Bogus Teachers' Excuses" (at Memeorandum). That's Karoli at Crooks and Liars, by the way. She's angling for the left's dumbest blogger award, but Matthew Yglesias still holds the crown. Seriously. Even the commenters there are pushing back, supplying all kinds of links showing the massive fraud taking place. If protests were part of the contract teachers wouldn't need fake sick notes to get back to work. Watching the videos, at Althouse and the MacIver Institute, confirms one more time just how low progressives will go. Nothing's above board these days. It's all corruption and thuggery. In any case, NYT as a report, FWIW, "Dueling Protests in a Capital as Nothing Much Gets Done."

Ann Althouse Covers Budget Protest at Wisconsin Capitol

Here's Ann's headline for the doctors writing fake sick notes for fleebagging teachers:

"So you're really providing real doctor's notes for people that miss work?"

"I thought this was a little street theater..."

She's got lots more at the blog (and follow the links to additional videos). Wonderful coverage all around.

And at Fox News, "'Fake' Sick Notes Given to Wis. Protesters as Sides Face Off Over Anti-Union Bill":

As thousands of protesters on both sides of an epic budget standoff in Wisconsin faced off Saturday at the Capitol, alleged doctors were handing out 'fake' sick notes to protesters -- allowing them to call in sick while the budget impasse continues.

FOX News' Mike Tobin reports that according to protesters, both on the pro-Governor and anti-union sides, they obtained the notes from alleged doctors standing on street corners handing them out to whomever asked.

They added that doctors did not examine or inquire about their current health condition before passing the notes away.

RTWT, and also at Memeorandum.

Rachel Maddow Caught Lying About Wisconsin's Budget Crisis

At NewsBusters, "Rachel Maddow Exposed for Lying About Wisconsin Having Budget Surplus."

The full exposé is here: "Rachel Maddow says Wisconsin is on track to have a budget surplus this year." (At Memeorandum.)

Teaching Hatred and Profanity in Wisconsin

At Michelle's, "Photo gallery: What Big Labor protesters are teaching kids (language warning)."

And this one below from Gateway Pundit, "Hey-Hey, Ho-Ho, This Is What Thugocracy Looks Like – More Leftist Hate at Madison Rally":

Andrew Breitbart Speaks in Madison

At Instapundit, "ANDREW BREITBART AT THE MADISON TEA PARTY RALLY TODAY":

I'll be updating with Breitbart's speech, and more ...

Doctors Writing 'Doctor's Notes' for Wisconsin Protesters Who Missed Work

Ann Althouse will be updating:

I went down to the demonstration, to get today's share of abuse, and I've got lots of new photos and video from today's demonstration/counter-demonstration, including video of the Tea Party group, audio of Andrew Breitbart speaking, my encounter with the Dane County police who strictly narrowed the entrance to the Tea Party section, and a group of doctors who offering to write doctor's notes for people who'd missed work.

And Michelle's got killer coverage, "Badger State Battle: Unions vs. Tea Party in Wisconsin; Runaway Dems could be AWOL “for weeks;” recall campaigns launched; nine anti-Walker protesters arrested; fake doctors’ notes for fake sick teachers (VIDEO)":

Majority of Americans Against Public Employee Unions

Here's this from CBS News, "Lawmaker: Gov's plan has torn Wisconsin apart" (via Memeorandum). State Senator Jon Erpenbach is cited there, and he's at this AP clip:

Gov. Scott Walker is destroying neither the unions nor the state of Wisconsin. We're in tough economic times, but there's more to the union backlash. It's also the thuggery and authoritarianism that's central to the progressives' political agenda. Gov. Walker nailed it yesterday when he said that by fleeing the state, Democrat state senators had broken their vows to the people and the public good. From President Obama on down, progressives have excoriated Gov. Walker, often using the exact same Hitler comparison the leftist media exploited to marginalize the tea parties.

This is unconscionable, as Rep. Michele Bachmann warned. We're at the tipping point in American politics, and the backlash is growing. A new survey has the numbers: "Clarus Research Group: Clarus Poll: 64% of voters oppose government employee unions":

WASHINGTON -- As President Obama has joined the political battle in Wisconsin that pits Republican Gov. Scott Walker against public employee unions, a nationwide Clarus Poll finds that a substantial majority of Americans believe government employees should not be able to belong to labor unions. In the Clarus Poll, sixty-four percent of voters polled said government employees should not be represented by unions. Twenty-nine percent of voters said government employees should be represented by labor unions that bargain for higher pay, benefits and pensions.

The full pdf is here: "CLARUS POLL: 64% OF VOTERS OPPOSE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE UNIONS WISCONSIN FIGHT SPOTLIGHTS ISSUE."

It's interesting that even MFM outlets are getting the message. At Los Angeles Times, "Unions Losing Their Grip in Stronghold":

The bill proposed in Wisconsin to remove collective bargaining rights from government workers is similar to measures advancing in other Rust Belt states. Such battles are part of a nationwide backlash.

The pampered nature of public employees is obviously not helping their cause. See Astute Bloggers, "TEACHERS IN WISCONSIN MAKE MORE THAN TWICE THE PER CAPITA INCOME OF THEIR FELLOW WISCONSINITES." And Jennifer Rubin responds to the left's attacks on Gov. Walker, "Who's been overreaching?":

Walker's proposal to limit collective bargaining rights of public employees is bold but hardly original. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels did the same thing. A similar effort is underway in Tennessee.

I would suggest it is not Walker who has gone too far, but public employee unions who for years have ruled the roost in many blue states. The voters sent a signal last November not only to Washington, but to Madison, Lansing, Columbus and elsewhere. We're going to see whether their will, or the ambitions of union leaders, prevails.

See also, Phil Boehmke, "Wisconsin Madness as Seen by the ‘Little People’."

Okay, a little roundup of today's developments:

Ann Althouse warns against outside activist seizing the spotlight in Wisconsin: "There's a Tea Party rally in Wisconsin today — pro-Scott Walker — and I'm a bit wary," and "'Keep our protest CIVIL/Don't become Incited/THE NATION IS WATCHING/And so are our children!'."

Well, let's hope she's not too prescient: "Bloggers For Peace Flotilla Arrived In Madison…SITUATION TENSE…UPDATE: Thousands of Walker’s Supporters Are Here!"

And from Glenn Reynolds: "READER BOB WIRKA SENDS THIS PICTURE from the Madison Tea Party rally in support of Gov. Walker."

RELATED: At Big Government, "'Winning the Future' Means Winning in Madison."

Expect updates ...

What's at Stake in Wisconsin's Budget Battle

From John Fund, at WSJ, "Who's in charge of our political system—voters or unions?":

This week President Obama was roundly criticized, even by many of his allies, for submitting a federal budget that actually increases our already crushing deficit. But that didn't stop him Thursday from jumping into Wisconsin's titanic budget battle. He accused the new Republican governor, Scott Walker, of launching an "assault" on unions with his emergency legislation aimed at cutting the state budget.

The real assault this week was led by Organizing for America, the successor to President's Obama's 2008 campaign organization. It helped fill buses of protesters who flooded the state capital of Madison and ran 15 phone banks urging people to call state legislators ....

The labor laws that Wisconsin unions are so bitterly defending were popular during an era of industrialization and centralization. But the labor organizations they protect have become much less popular, as the declining membership of many private-sector unions attests. Moreover, it's become abundantly clear that too many government workers enjoy wages, benefits and pensions that are out of line with the rest of the economy.

Mr. Walker's argument—that public workers shouldn't be living high off the hog at the expense of taxpayers—is being made in other states facing budget crises. But the left observed the impact of the tea party last year and seems determined to unleash a more aggressive version of its own by teaming up with union allies. Organizing for America is already coordinating protests against proposed reforms in Ohio, Michigan and Missouri.

It's thuggery.

Be sure to read Michelle's essay, "Apocalypse Now: Wisconsin vs. Big Labor."

And the best coverage overall is at Althouse. She's literally all over it.

A Watershed Moment for Public-Sector Unions

At New York Times:

In the half century since Wisconsin became the first state to give its public workers the right to bargain collectively, government employee unions have mushroomed in size and power — so much so that they now account for more than half of the nation’s union members.

But the legislative push by Wisconsin’s new governor, Scott Walker, a Republican, to slash the collective bargaining rights of his state’s public employees could prove a watershed for public-sector unions, perhaps signaling the beginning of a decline in their power — both at the bargaining table and in politics.

Three-fourths of the states allow collective bargaining by some or all of state or local government employees. And labor’s friends and foes alike agree that if the Wisconsin legislation passes, it will create momentum for similar bills in Ohio, Indiana and other states.

“These kinds of high-profile public-employee battles have enormous stakes,” said Benjamin Sachs, a professor of labor law at Harvard. “We’re still feeling the consequences of President Reagan confronting the union in the air controllers’ strike. For anyone interested in union rights, the fight in Wisconsin couldn’t be more important.”

From Florida to California, many political leaders are seeking to cut the wages and benefits of public-sector workers to help balance strained budgets.

But Mr. Walker is going far beyond that, seeking to definitively curb the power of government unions in his state. He sees public-employee unions as a bane to the taxpayer because they demand — and often win — generous health and pension plans that help push up taxes and drive budget deficits higher.

To end that cycle, he wants to restrict the unions to bargaining over just one topic, base wages, while eliminating their ability to deal over health care, working hours and vacations. Moreover, he wants to require unions to win an employee election every year to continue representing workers.

RTWT.

Clearly, organized labor understands the stakes, and progressives have met the challenge with some of the most despicable thuggery in generations. And at the clip above, Gov. Walker's press conference is followed by a segment from MSNBC's Ed Schultz show. Folks obviously know the MSNBC line, but notice how they're rooting for the AWOL Democrat state senators to "hold out" as long as they can to prevent legislative passage. It's almost like something from Egyptian state-run media.

Ronald Reagan Greatest President, New Gallup Poll Finds

Amazing: "Americans Say Reagan Is the Greatest U.S. President" (via Memeorandum).

'They Should Spellcheck the Hell Out of Their Signs'

That was Althouse yesterday, "Is anybody going to apologize for laughing at "Teabonics" — the misspellings on Tea Party signs? I mean, this is a demonstration for unionized teachers. They should spellcheck the hell out of their signs."

I think the sheer stupidity of the protesters magnified Ann's radar. At the photo below, from today's protests, the man's holding an anti-Scott Walker sign likening the Wisconsin governor to Joseph Stalin, but he spells SCOTT STALIN with the runic SS insignia of the Nazi Schutzstaffel. Ann's got video as well. The guy justifies this by arguing that he's throwing all of history's dictators into a "melting pot." And no doubt Governor Walker's right up there:

And here, Ann notes, "I asked the woman if by "Dread Scott" — evoking the Dred Scott case — she meant to suggest a connection between Scott Walker and the era of slavery. She said "Of course."

And lots more from Grant Jones, "Obama/Democrat's 'New Civility'" and Instapundit.

Plus, at Marooned in Marin, "Obama Astroturfers Behind Uncivil Protests In Wisconsin; Counter Protest Planned for Saturday," and Gateway Pundit, "Join Andrew Breitbart, Herman Cain & Jim Hoft at Wisconsin Freedom Rally to Support Scott Walker Saturday."

Michele Bachmann: 'This is Outrageous, Beyond Conscionable'

Jeff Poor has the full report at Daily Caller.

Rep. Bachmann hammers both the derelict Wisconsin public unions and the Obama-Democrat-OFA thugs now raping the democracy:

“They have the support of the White House, but I don’t believe they have the support of the people of Wisconsin,” Bachmann said. “Remember what we’re talking about. These are public servants. They serve the people of Wisconsin. In Greece, for instance, we saw beneficiaries of government checks who took to the streets because the retirement age was going to be raised from 61 to 63. In this instance, [Fox Business Network host] Eric Bolling was on earlier, showing this is simply a contribution being asked to pay for part of their health insurance, not even the full part that the private sector counterparts pay for, and part of their pension. This is something that happens every day in the private sector. So now we are at the tipping point. This debate needed to come. It’s good that it came. What’s shocking is that the White House is weighing in, taking sides, and bringing in a campaign apparatus to set this up.

Plus, at Hot Air, "Video: Union activist demands Walker “come to the table” on CNN, but …"

PREVIOUSLY: "Socialist Public Employees Call for Revolution in Wisconsin."

Socialist Public Employees Call for Revolution in Wisconsin

These folks are from International Socialist Organization, revolutionary Trotskyites committed to global anti-capitalist struggle. What's fascinating is how the lady speaks about how "all of our members" are up every morning organizing for the dictatorship of the proletariat. That's amazing, since I thought we only had imaginary communists in America:

So with that, here's a roundup of reports that you won't be seeing in the Democrat-Media-Industrial-Complex.

First, check Ed Morrissey, "WSJ: Unions about power, not democracy." There's good commentary and a link to "Athens in Mad Town, at the Wall Street Journal:

For Americans who don't think the welfare state riots of France or Greece can happen here, we recommend a look at the union and Democratic Party spectacle now unfolding in Wisconsin ...

The battle of Mad Town is a seminal showdown over whether government union power can be tamed, and overall government reined in. The alternative is higher taxes until the middle class is picked clean and the U.S. economy is no longer competitive. Voters said in November that they want reform, and Mr. Walker is trying to deliver. We hope Republicans hold firm, and that the people of Wisconsin understand that this battle is ultimately about their right to self-government.

There's also a wonderful background report from Stephen Hayes, at Weekly Standard, "Scott Walker vs. Public Sector Unions." The proposed reforms are moderate and Wisconsin public employee benefit contributions would be smaller than the national average. But get this:

... beyond the thousands of protesters in Madison, several hundred protesters even showed up at Walker’s personal home in Wauwatosa to register their displeasure with his leadership (and, perhaps, intimidate his family).

It's thuggery. Michelle has more, "Apocalypse Now: Wisconsin vs. Big Labor; Plus: More out-of-state union recruiting & another teacher speaks up for Walker; police order for AWOL Dems." The entire essay's a gem, and that's not even mentioning the fabulous updates. More on those later. Plus, John Hawkins reports that Speaker John Boehner's house is also being targeted by progressive terrorists: "Call The Civility Police: Liberal Threats and Violence Surge."

Now let's go to Ann Althouse, "I went down to the demonstration this morning... just now..." She'll be uploading, so check back over there. And check the succinctly awesome William Jacobson's essay, "Gadsden Flag Bad, Egypt Flag Good." And I couldn't agree more, "Obama Acted Stupidly In Picking Sides Against The Taxpayers."

I'll have updates this afternoon. Michele Bachmann is speaking with Megyn Kelly as this post goes live. She says: "This is outrageous... now we are at the tipping point."

RELATED: From Doug Ross, "Top 15 Photos From the Wisconsin Hate Rallies You'll Never See in Legacy Media."

Conservatives Don't Need to Cheat or Break the Law to Win the War of Ideas.

This is from the Heritage Foundation, discussing David Rivkin, lead attorney in the multi-state lawsuit challenging Obamacare, "Lead Lawyer Challenging Obamacare Under Cyber Attack." Rivkin's come under a vicious denial-of-service attack from hacktivists in the WikiLeaks mold. As we've seen around here, communists and progressives (and faux-conservative pedophiles) can't win in the realm of ideas, so they resort to thuggery and intimidation.

More on this later ...

Julie Henderson: 'The Strangest Thing You Have to Do Is Bodypainting'

Oh boy!

Readers will no doubt be anxiously awaiting the full-length clips:

CNN Refuses to Cave to Media Matters' Ongoing Crusade to Blacklist the Right

Great piece from John Nolte, at Big Journalism:

Something strange happened today. Something, in fact, I never thought was possible. I not only gained some respect for a cable news network not named FOX, but I have, of all organizations, the George Soros-funded, 501(c)(3) Media Matters to thank for it. In Media Matters never-ending crusade to purify the news into their unholy Leftist vision, we here at the Bigs all knew that once our very own Dana Loesch was hired by CNN as a political contributor, that Soros’ minions would then set out to do what they always do, and that’s find a way to convince CNN to drop her. We didn’t know how they would go about it, we just knew that they would. Because attempting to blacklist conservatives off the air is their specialty.

RTWT.