WASHINGTON - In an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker expanded on his comment that battling his state’s teachers’ union had prepared him to fight the terrorist group ISIS, telling host Chris Wallace, “All I meant was, if you want to eliminate ISIS, the first thing you must do is get rid of their teachers.” Expanding on that remark, Walker said, “Chris, we must identify the people who are teaching ISIS their tactics - in other words, their teachers - and eliminate them. I did that in Wisconsin and I can do it in Iraq and Syria.” As President, Walker said, he would rebrand the war on terror as “a global war on teachers,” adding, “Behind every problem, there are teachers you need to get rid of.”
Yes, I realize the above paragraph is satirical, but what makes good satire truly special is when it’s grounded in truth. That Scott Walker was elected, re-elected, and survived a recall as Governor of Wisconsin is something I’m not certain there’s a rational explanation for. Of course, Wisconsinites voted him into office, so one could say that the Badger State doesn’t have exactly the (poor) quality of leadership it deserves. Scott Walker is destroying unions and along with it the middle class in Wisconsin because he told voters what he would do, they elected him, and now he’s following up on his promises.
Despite the thousands who appear at the state capitol in Madison to protest his latest attack on Wisconsin’s middle class, polls have consistently shown that Gov. Walker still enjoys considerable support among the people of Wisconsin. That many of those supporting Walker are the same ones his policies are intended to destroy seems not to have occurred to Wisconsin’s Republicans. Many of them still somehow believe that Gov. Walker and the rest of their state’s GOP is all about protecting the middle class.
Here’s something they might want to keep in mind: “Right to Work” might not mean what you think it means. What it actually means is “Right to Work for less and with fewer rights.”
I think that the anger directed at Gov. Walker is amply justified, but I also think much of it is misdirected. Perhaps those thousands protesting should be directing their anger at their friends, neighbors, and co-workers who voted for him. After all, democracy is all about choice…and far too many Wisconsinites have chose to be willing- even eager- participants in their own marginalization.
This is what you get when you can’t be bothered to pay attention.
