The Wisconsin wakeup call

It's funny how in my working years I always benefited because of the threat of the union but I never gave them their due. I selfishly applauded the fact that I didn't have to pay union dues or have to go on a picket line at reduced wages. Now that I see an organized effort by the republicans to crush unions taking hold; I wish I would would have been one of millions that made an effort to prevent that. Union members and democrats got too complacent and a tip of the hat to the republicans for exploiting that weakness.

Rachel Maddow  thoroughly explained how the republicans will use their power to stymie the democrats. Instead of trying to increase their numbers by recruiting minorities and young people, they will use methods to make it harder for the democrats to cast votes. Crushing the union's will cripple the cash flow needed to get out the vote but they don't stop there. Young people usually vote for democrats, so states like Wisconsin and New Hampshire are voting on laws that will make student IDs invalid for voting purposes. Minorities have always been a big constituency for democrats, so Texas will eventually(when passed) require a state ID to vote but there are two exceptions; the elderly and a holder of a concealed handgun permit. Naturally, the elderly in Texas vote for republicans as well as those with concealed handgun permits.  All across nation GOP control states are implementing abortion laws, taking that issue off the table, so it will no longer give women voters an excuse to vote for democrats.  This is definitely taken place but Rachel never provided the proof that it was a coordinated effort.

The national democrats were angry at president Obama for various reasons. The liberals  thought Obama dissed them at various points so they stayed home in 2010.  All democrats are not liberals but it's the union and liberal base that will lick the stamps, seal the envelopes, make phone calls, and go door to door campaigning. The more moderate democrats tried to mend fences and tried to work in a bipartisan way with their republican counterparts and paid a price because the republicans were only interested in the 2010 elections. It paid off for the GOP  and they're letting the democrats have it every chance they get.
The Wisconsin union loss should be a lesson for democrats to stick by their principles thick and thin because the voters will reward you for that. The protesters are not necessarily democrats; they are the policeman, firemen, and other professionals that see their unions been crushed by republican overreach. The independents will not aligned themselves with a party that is at war with itself that makes it  look weak and indecisive. That’s the reason democrats will have to keep the union fight going before it’s too late.

I have to admit that I didn’t see what all the criticism was about when it came to the health care bill. A lot of independent voters thought the democrats weren't paying enough attention to the issues important to them and just wanted to push their agenda. That's what I see of the republican overreach.