Scott Walker’s Magical Thinking…

He’s actually a progressive!  Really!

Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) testified before Rep. Darrell Issa’s Committee Oversight and Government Reform today, saying:

In Wisconsin, we are doing something truly progressive. In addition to holding the line on spending and finding efficiencies in state government, we are implementing long-term budget reforms focused on protecting middle class jobs and middle class taxpayers.

While our idea may be a bold political move it is a very modest request of our employees. We are reforming the collective bargaining system so our state and local governments can ask employees to contribute 5.8% for pension and 12.6% for health insurance premiums. These reforms will help them balance their budgets. In total, our collective bargaining reforms save local governments more than $700 million each year.

Well, no, not exactly.  You might recall the “negotiations” in March, in Madison.  They attracted some attention, and the Bitch has examined them here.  To recap, the Governor asked for two separate concessions from Wisconsin public service unions: he asked for the pension and health care concessions, which he received.  And then Governor Walker demanded that the state employees give up the right to collectively bargain for work rules (they may bargain for salaries); however, he exempted the police and firemens’ unions.  (And oh, gee, those two groups tend to vote Republican.  Who woulda thunk it?)

Then with no small amount of drama and invective, the Gov, assisted by his bros The Bros, shoved his collective bargaining legislation through the Wisconsin legislature, spawning 1) the mass flight of Wisconsin House Democrats to Illinois to avoid the vote: 2) numerous recall efforts for Wisconsin legislators (Walker has to be in office a year before recall efforts can start); 3) recall petitions have been filed against Republican State Senators Dan Kapanke and Randy Hopper (Republicans are circulating petitions against Democrat Senator Robert Wirch).  And then a quiet little state supreme court race became, overnight, a proxy war for the pro-Walker/anti-Walker forces, where the Dem candidate was leading by 200 votes, so it looked like a recount.  Then, two days later, some 14,000 uncounted ballots showed up… oh never mind.  Just Google “Wisconsin” and read about it there.

The point is, Scott Walker is probably the most polarizing elected official in America today, beating out even Sarah Palin, the President, Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi.  And Chairman Darryl (“I used to steal cars”) Issa brought him to town to chat about his “progressive” reforms in Wisconsin.

Chairman Issa also asked Vermont Governor Pete Shumlin (D) to testify about his progressive efforts to close his state’s budget gaps, which the Bitch feels compelled to point out don’t involve trashing collective bargaining rights or mass protests, unlike some governors in the room.  Shumlin professed confusion:

“What is puzzling to me about the current debate about state budgets is that the focus has been not on bringing people together to solve common problems, like we have done in Vermont, but on division and blame,” he said.”I do not believe that those to blame for our current financial troubles are our law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other state employees whose services we take for granted.”

But possibly the best moment came when Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11) relentlessly pursued the question of Walker’s forthrightness regarding his intensions to bust union butt during his 2010 campaign.  Watch the exchange below:

As Greg Sergent points out,

The debate over whether Walker campaigned on that plan has been central to the Wisconsin battle since it began, and it remains significant now that the drive to recall Wisconsin Repubicans is under way. Labor and Dems have argued that their reaction to Walker’s proposal — from the Dems’ fleeing of the state to the decision to initiate the recall drives — has been justified by the fact that Walker never leveled with voters about his truly radical intentions.

The claim that Walker campaigned on the proposal has also been central to Walker’s defense of himself throughout the whole fight, and has been widely repeated by many Republicans and conservatives defending the Governor.

Uh oh.  I guess Scott Walker lied, huh?  And we all know how the Bitch feels about lying liars who lie…

UPDATE

He even admits it won’t save any money!  WFT?!!

Lying Liars that Lie, Lie, Lie

As we await the news of the deal to avert the shutdown, let’s review what happened today.

We knew that both sides agreed to cuts in the ballpark of $30-$40 billion in cuts, but that the GOP were insisting on riders concerning EPA regulations and funding (or defunding) Planned Parenthood (and evidence that the EPA riders reflected good ol’ lobbyist influence).

Around 1 pm, the women of the Senate held a press conference where they swore before God and Everybody that they wouldn’t throw PP under the bus, like the GOP was trying to do.

Later that afternoon, the GOP House ladies held their press conference where they insisted this wasn’t about PP, women’s health, abortion or any other damn thing, it was about cutting government spending! Spending! Spending! Awk!  Spending!

No-0ne bought it.

We all entered the dinner hour (or rather, those of us that don’t have lives, entered the dinner hour) checking our blackberries (rendered illegal if used by federal employees once the gov’t shuts down) and our iPhones to see if a deal had been reached.

Rumors abounded; hopes were raised then dashed; one frustrated reporter tweeted, “How about we just designate one reporter to tweet about whether or not a deal’s been reached and everyone else starts drinking?” Finally, a little after 9 pm, the birthday boy @chucktodd tweeted that the negotiators had reached a deal, but that the respective conferences had to approve it, and that Planned Parenthood had been bought with a further $1 billion cut, which put the total cuts at about $37-$38 billion.

As the Bitch writes, the GOP Conference is meeting to review the deal, which may or may not include a three-day extention; BreakingNews.com is tweeting that John Boehner has told the conference “this is the best deal we can get out of them,” and “we are very close.”

Let’s be very clear on what went on here: the GOP, indignantly claiming “concern” for the country’s overspending, targeted discretionary spending (that only totals 1% of the total budget) and includes things like Title X and Planned Parenthood, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, etc., because they believe these programs run contrary to traditional GOP values.  This was never about money; it’s about using the budget process to achieve policy that can’t be achieved legislatively.  It’s smoke and mirrors; it’s lying, and the Bitch hates, hates, hates Lying Liars that Lie.