Walker strikes back after Obama rips him on right-to-work

Economic success in Wisconsin - which will serve as an embarrassment to Democrats and their union allies
Walker strikes back after Obama rips him on right-to-work



It’s not a typical practice for a president of the United States to publicly attack a governor for a policy enacted at the state level. But then, Barack Obama is not a typical president. He’s all politics all the time, so why not assail Scott Walker for the way he does his job? It’s easier for Obama than doing his own.

So even though Walker is far from the first Republican governor who has signed a right-to-work law during Obama’s presidency - having been preceded in recent years by Indiana’s Mike Pence and Michigan’s Rick Snyder - Walker is the one who is currently threatening the Democrats’ hold on the White House, so he comes in for the special presidential ire:

  “It’s no coincidence that the rise of the middle class in America coincided in large part with the rise of unions -– workers who organized together for higher wages, better working conditions, and the benefits and protections that most workers take for granted today,” Obama said in a statement released by the White House. “So it’s inexcusable that, over the past several years, just when middle-class families and workers need that kind of security the most, there’s been a sustained, coordinated assault on unions, led by powerful interests and their allies in government.”

  The president added that he was “deeply disappointed” with the law because it would “weaken, rather than strengthen” Wisconsin’s labor force.

  “Wisconsin is a state built by labor, with a proud pro-worker past,” Obama said. “So even as its governor claims victory over working Americans, I’d encourage him to try and score a victory for working Americans -– by taking meaningful action to raise their wages and offer them the security of paid leave. That’s how you give hardworking middle-class families a fair shot in the new economy –- not by stripping their rights in the workplace, but by offering them all the tools they need to get ahead.”

So let me see if I have this straight: Relieving workers of the legal obligation to pay dues to a union if they don’t want to is “stripping their rights in the workplace”? Democrats have an interesting definition of “rights,” which basically amounts to: We will force you to pay for the privilege of joining the organization we want you to belong to. You’re welcome for your rights.

Walker wasted no time in responding:

  On the heels of vetoing Keystone Pipeline legislation, which would have paved the way to create thousands of quality, middle-class jobs, the President should be looking to states, like Wisconsin, as an example for how to grow our economy. Our reforms are moving Wisconsin forward and helping create family-supporting jobs for people in our state. Despite a stagnant national economy and a lack of leadership in Washington, since we took office, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is down to 5.0 percent, and more than 100,000 jobs and 30,000 businesses have been created.

  The Freedom to Work law that I signed today continues to put the power back in the hands of Wisconsin workers by allowing the freedom to choose whether they want to join a union and pay union dues. It also gives Wisconsin one more tool to encourage job creators to continue investing and expanding in our state. Freedom to Work, along with our investments in worker training and our work to lower the tax burden, will lead to more freedom and prosperity for all of Wisconsin.?

Word. Obama has some nerve prattling on about workers getting ahead when he continues his all-out assault on the energy sector - particularly the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Walker understands Obama’s real concern, which is that right-to-work will be a successful policy and will spur more economic success in Wisconsin - which will serve as an embarrassment to Democrats and their union allies. Their idea of being pro-worker is to cattle-herd workers into mandatory union work environments where organized labor stooges make the rules and workers just depend on them for whatever beneficience they might feel like bestowing.

Scott Walker believes that workers can make their own success given the freedom to do so. If more workers figure that out, the Democrats are finished. And that would be awesome.

By Dan Calabrese