It is becoming increasingly apparent that there is just one political party that represents the American people. The Republican Party is the only party of, by and for the people. The Democratic Party is the party of the government. The Wisconsin issue, and the President’s response to it, is but confirmation of the fact. Writing for the Washington Post, George Will said:
[T]he Democratic Party is the party of government, not only because of its extravagant sense of government’s competence and proper scope, but also because the party’s base is government employees. Second, government employees have an increasingly adversarial relationship with the governed.
What George Will did not point out is how this President has taken the union between the Democratic Party and the corpus of government to a new level by explicit support of government employee labor unions over the will of the majority of Wisconsin’s citizens. Random polls show the public supports the governor’s action by a two to one margin. Random polls include government workers, of course. The ratio would certainly be even higher if civil servants themselves were not included in the polls.
Civil servants, now there’s a misnomer, unless you consider this example civil.
Random Thots will have more to say on the symbiotic relationship between labor unions and government. Stay tuned for future posts.
I think McCain-Feingold was a mistake. It enabled groups like the Swift Boaters and MoveOn.org to form. Both sides have reason to object to it but it has been more benefit to the Left than the Right.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
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I believe is dangerously convenient to label one party or the other in such a black and white fashion. Look at the relationship between the GOP and the defense and energy industries. These relationships benefit and protect the profits of these companies to the detriment of the national good and the national debt. I agree that the Unions have too much influence in local and national elections and policy but so do corporate interests. While I am not necessarily pro-union, I am currently pondering the balance they provide for the time being. We need to work to reverse the Citizens United case which has allowed corporations to make unlimited, anonmous campaign contributions. Doesn’t that cause you concern?