Monday, November 3, 2014

What Happens If Walker Wins

What happens if Walker wins?

Let’s just imagine—for a minute—that Walker wins reelection tomorrow.  If you’re like me, you’d rather pry your eyeballs out with a shrimp fork. But still, it’s possible.  What has this man promised—and we all know he loves to make promises—to do in a second term?  What’s he alluded to wanting to do, without quite promising?

1)  Sale of State Property: Even though you taxpayers have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire and maintain properties all over the state, Walker’s big donors think they are entitled to buy these properties from the state at fire sale prices.  No-bid contracts are already written, and are probably going to be signed on November 5. Sadly, this will probably happen no matter who wins tomorrow.

2) Right-to-Work-for-Less: Walker can’t stand that our bankruptcy rate is still lower than the states that have enacted the so-called “right to work” laws.  He’ll finally make good on this not-so-subtle suggestion of his love of this law, made in multiple times and in multiple ways, if he is reelected.

3) Women’s Health Care Access: Expect continued assaults on women’s rights not only to safe, legal, rare abortions, but to even the most basic preventive health care services. Well over 10,000 women were denied access to basic cancer screenings when Walker pulled the Wisconsin Well Woman Program funding from Planned Parenthood, saying that these services were available to rural women plenty of other places. They weren’t, and if he wins reelection, expect the GOP war on women to keep ramping up on the health care front. I repeat: this is BEYOND intrusive vaginal probe ultrasounds that go against medical recommendations: we’re talking lifesaving care that mainly focuses on keeping lower income, rural women cancer-free, or at least finding their cancers early enough to cure.

4) Eroding Environment: The recent headlines about the Department of Natural Resources tell only a tiny bit of the story. Much like the manufactured crisis in the public schools, Walker’s appointees have so underfunded and understaffed the DNR that they are playing Whack-A-Mole to try to keep up what paltry regulations still remain under this administration.  Folks at the DNR are mainly science-minded people who love this state, especially its proud legacy of great fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, and outdoor recreation in general.  By manufacturing a crisis with the DNR, making them seem ineffective and unconcerned, he hopes to scare up more distaste for “big government inefficiency” and do away with these pesky rules and regulations that keep our water safe and our air clean. Just ask the good people in Jackson what they drink with their dinner these days. I guarantee you it’s not tap water! 

5) Pay-to-Play: Expect the fee-for-service state of Wisconsin government to get even worse.  Despite there being no proof that there would be high-paying, long-term jobs created by a Gogebic mine, and despite Minnesota’s mines spending more time idled than productive, Walker has a $700,000 debt to pay. He’ll do that, and more, figuring it’s the only way to keep his delusional presidential hope alive. 

6) Expect Everything to Get Worse: Walker will figure that the ONLY way to keep working toward his eventual presidency will be to virtually bankrupt the state. He’s got a great running start, at our expense (literally and figuratively). 

7) Voter Suppression: You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet: Expect the US Supreme Court’s 90-day timeline to run out exactly one day before the WIGOP rolls out an even-more-suppressive set of rules that are designed to suppress the votes of our elders, people with disabilities, people from lower income households and/or without transit options, and individuals of color.  Despite their very tenuous grip on math in general, the GOP has done the math on how much closer this will get them to winning elections. 


Feel free to add your own comments about the myriad ways Walker will continue to screw this once-proud state. Better yet, use that time to drive people to the polls!!  

10 comments:

  1. I'm ready to collect signatures to recall him again; who's with me?

    ReplyDelete
  2. if he gets elected again the people of Wisconsin deserve him.

    bottom line.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Disagree. Only the people of Wisconsin who VOTED FOR HIM deserve him, and not even really them, since they're in for the benefits they'll get at OUR expense. You might blame low-info and stay-at-home voters, but they've been brought up to believe the system is corrupt, which it is, and to believe the GOP insinuation that there's nothing that can be done about it. And lay that one on the corrupt GOP machine and large institutions that for profit extend the meme.

      Delete
    2. ignorance is not an excuse.

      that's what the GOP thrives on, that and stupidity.

      Delete
  3. I predict that he will institute a self funded state health insurance program for state employees with high premiums and high deductibles and crap coverage and will sell this to the public that public employees have better insurance than the private sector. He will then force public schools and local governments to participate in this insurance program by cutting aid again and telling school boards that by participating they can recoup their aid cuts. He will also try to raid the Employee Trust Fund through some dark of night behind closed doors legislative action. This will spark the largest protests ever seen at the Capitol and Walker and his Capitol police will have a mess and a P R nightmare!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm ALL FOR another recall, if necessary. That would gum up any Presidential run.

    ReplyDelete
  5. And who would the Dems run in a recall? We all know how great it went when Tate picked Barrett for all of us, after he'd been beaten once. If the Dems squander this current opportunity, Tate should be fired, as should most of his staff. Why Wisconsin hasn't bounced these consistent failures is beyond any of us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think they should have been fired a long time ago. It seems like the Dems haven't even tried against Walker. It's like they handed the recall election to Walker on a silver platter...we all knew Barrett was going to lose in 2012 just like he did in 2010 and yet that's who they gave us.

      Delete
  6. If he wins, this state is going to feel like Illinois under George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich.

    I'm also not sure that the voter suppression will go as predicted. The only group you have listed that reliably votes Democrat is individuals of color. I have one relative who is disabled and has drunk the special tea party mix. I personally don't think he has a disability - laziness and anger management issues aren't a disability, they are character flaws.

    I'm worried how they plan to pay off the increasing deficit. I hope they don't cut education further or take money from the Wisconsin Retirement System.

    Act 10 probably will be expanded to include public safety unions. Walker didn't get endorsed by the police union this year, so it's time for payback.

    ReplyDelete
  7. We are screwed. He will take everything he can get from the working class people of this state. Then maybe the tools that carry the water for him will feel it. When the money starts flowing out of their pockets and they lose their jobs. Maybe just maybe those butt heads will understand that they have been used. But, I am not holding my breath. They are just to fucking stupid to get it even when it hurts them. (Sorry for the profanity. It just fits)

    ReplyDelete